Test of Time
Author: Blubelle
Ch.3 Midnight Wanderings
AN: Ack! Sorry sorry! There really isn't an excuse for this, I've just been a little distracted is all. I love you all, and thanks for sticking around! Oh and I got a puppy!
Numba three! We've made it so far, well not really. Not much to this chapter, but it had to happen. Sorry. Well, I'm sick of this, and now on to your weekly dose of "the monks", who I adore! Hehe, they're so much fun to kick around, don'tcha think?
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies (just look at my other chapters. . .).
Ch.3 Midnight Wanderings
"Ah, finally a moments rest."
"Yes, it seems that our daily chores have increased lately."
"I blame it on those heathens."
"I agree. Did you notice the amount of cigarette cartons being bought lately as well? It seems that Master Sanzo has picked up the amount and frequency of that nasty habit of his. Which, I feel disgraces our very temple." The monk got a distorted look on his face as he spoke, setting his cup down and looking at the monk across from him.
"It is wrong. Just like that poor human girl running around with that boy. Where are her real parents? I just don't understand how she could end up with someone of his nature." The second monk added closing his eyes and sipping from his cup.
"Yes. It is distasteful indeed." At the sound of footsteps down the hall the two of them gasped and grabbed their things in a hurry before scuffling out of the room, leaving it barren and devoid of any traces of their gossiping ways.
X::X::X
"How was the show, Sanzo?"
At the mention of his name he slipped from beside the door so that he was leaning nonchalantly against its frame.
"I need a cigarette."
Goku followed him out of the room, slowly and silently closing the door behind him as he left. He watched as Sanzo shrugged the top part of his robes down to his hips, wearing them just like Goku remembered. He couldn't help feeling a slight bit of nostalgia. He'd always loved seeing Sanzo this way. He was always a little less guarded this way. As if the mere fact that there was less clothing covering his body meant that he was more open. Right, Goku wished.
They moved to a short flight of stairs leading to an open area. The space that spanned ahead of their little stoop contained a small botanical garden, which looked haggard in the moonlight, like it was just begging to be trimmed. There was little more than that to fill up the large area. He figured that the side of the temple they were on was less used.
Sitting on the stairs next to each other, Goku looked up at the unnaturally large moon as Sanzo grabbed his lighter and a wrinkled pack of cigarettes. Goku relished in the relaxing breeze blowing through his much longer brown hair. Sanzo, on the other hand, hissed and moved his hand in front of the flame, trying desperately to keep the lighter aflame. Goku smiled before looking out at the sky once again.
They sat in surprisingly comfortable silence for a long time, it was a nice night and neither could find the right words at the moment. Their silence soon turned into small talk, nothing of great value, only idle conversations about the weather and such. It seemed the tension was only growing. Their discussions came in waves, a few sentences followed by silence then more words and silence once again. They both grew uneasy, not even able to look at each other except for the occasional peek from out of the corner of their eyes.
They both surveyed the grounds before them, outlined in gold and silver from the moon. Sanzo continued to blow through his cigarettes, his drags coming out longer and more exhausted than before. Goku noticed this and couldn't help but feel worried, not only for his health but for the reasons why he was so stressed out.
"Goku. . ."
"Yeah?" Goku asked hesitantly his vision never straying from its position in front of him.
Sanzo paused for a moment, unusually unsure of himself. After contemplating his words for a moment he finally pushed out the question that had been eating away at him.
"Goku, why'd you leave?" Sanzo wasn't one to stammer and spoke clearly and languidly. The question actually coming out slightly harsher than he meant it to.
With one final deep, nicotine excluded breath, Sanzo finally found the words he'd been mulling over for the past five years. He felt a little better now that he'd finally gotten everything out.
Goku was slightly shocked by the question, his head shooting in Sanzo's direction. Goku became lost in thought, unsure of what to think of Sanzo's question, or even how to answer it. He must have drifted off in thought because it took Sanzo's piercing violet eyes to shake him back to reality.
"Well, I. . ." Goku began before looking down at his feet, possibly in embarrassment.
Sanzo continued to look at Goku. He reached a strong hand out and grabbed Goku by the chin, slowly turning his face toward his.
Sanzo's face didn't hide his anger or agitation, but with one look into those empty golden eyes that held such immense sadness, it disappeared.
"I-I. . ." Goku obviously was the type to stammer, he couldn't get a word out as he looked at Sanzo's face now only mere centimeters away.
Suddenly Goku stiffened making Sanzo back away slightly thinking he had done something wrong. Although, before he could get angry or question him, Goku sat up straight, a look of fear in his eyes.
"Shit." Was all Goku could say before a long scream could be heard that discernibly sounded like the word daddy.
As soon as the screaming stopped, sniffling could be heard from behind them. "Daddy?"
"Yeah, Shi, I'm here." Goku said calmly as he looked at Sanzo and stood up.
Nishi ran to him as fast as she could. "Daddy!" Goku lowered to her level as he watched her run blindly through the dark corridor. Nishi sobbed, jumping into Goku's arms, her face buried deep in his chest.
"Nishi, it's okay." Goku made her look at him and wiped the tear streaks from her cheeks. "I told you I'd be back."
"I know, but y-you weren't there." Goku sighed and set her down.
"Well I'm here now. You should have stayed in bed Nishi, it's late." Goku pretend scolded. "And besides, you interrupted me telling Sanzo how strong you're getting." Goku said smilingly before turning around to glance at Sanzo. Who kept his back turned toward the two, but could still see that Goku was obviously trying to distract her back into her bed.
"Nuh uh! Don't lie to me." Nishi huffed, her face red and puffy from crying.
"You don't believe me?" Goku asked in mock hurt. "You can even ask Sanzo."
Nishi looked expectantly towards Sanzo who was still seated on the step. Sanzo looked up, noticeably startled at the fact that the statement had been directed toward him.
"Uh. . . yeah." Sanzo said looking at Nishi's glowing childish face before shooting a glare Goku's way.
Nishi's eyes widened, reflecting her happiness that Sanzo was actually speaking to her.
"Oh! Daddy. . ." Nishi looked at Goku expectantly and placed a finger to her lips. Goku took the hint and moved towards her, putting his ear towards her mouth. She quickly wrapped her small arms around his head and brought his ear even closer.
Sanzo stared as the young girl whispered into Goku's ear. He still couldn't believe how different Goku was. He realized later that his appearance hadn't really changed so much, besides his hair. It was more the air that he exuded, that made him appear as old as he acted. Sure he still had his quirks -the ones that defined Goku would never go away- but underlying all of that was someone who was forced to mature. Sanzo never imagined that Goku would ever change, and somewhere in all of that he found comfort.
Sanzo blinked repeatedly somehow brought out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Nishi pull away from Goku and look into his eyes, their faces a breath apart. Suddenly her eyes enlarged once again as she realized she'd forgotten something. She pulled Goku towards her and began to whisper into his ear once again.
Finally, she pulled away again, grinning hugely with a light blush painting her cheeks. Goku just smiled back and nodded, their foreheads almost touching as he did so.
Nishi turned around to face Sanzo, that same smile spread across her face, eyes shimmering with the reflection of the moon. Slowly and hesitantly, she walked over to Sanzo, who was still seated on the steps. They were both staring now, both unsure as she stopped in front of him. She lowered her face, eyes closed in front of his, to where her nose was almost touching his.
Sanzo backed away slightly with the sudden impediment of personal space, but not enough so that she would notice. He threw Goku a confused look, who in turn, began to laugh silently.
"She wants an Eskimo kiss." Goku stated as his laughter grew to something more audible.
"A what?!"
"An Eskimo kiss." Nishi said matter-of-factly. Sanzo turned to face her and realized that her eyes were now open and peering into his from a very close distance. "You've never had an Eskimo kiss?" Nishi asked and continued without an answer. Sanzo could only stare at her as she grabbed the sides of his face and brought their noses together, rubbing them together firmly with a hint of softness that came with fragility of youth.
After a couple of seconds of fierce nuzzling, Nishi let go of one stunned Sanzo and walked over to Goku with her arms outspread. Picking her up he glanced over at Sanzo's state of confusion and shock, adding, "Don't look at me, if you're going to kill anyone it's Hakkai and Gojyo." Goku said with a smirk.
"Definitely! Gojyo stole my hairbrush and he never gave me back my new hair-tie." Nishi said crossing her arms with a huff as she was carried toward their room.
Goku laughed before he turned around to face Sanzo. "Oh and speaking of Hakkai and Gojyo, they should be here tomorrow afternoon." Goku turned back around to continue in the direction of their room. Sanzo now had a clear view of Nishi over Goku's right shoulder. She yawned and moved her hand in a tiny wave.
Sanzo unwillingly raised his arm in the air, motionless but there nonetheless. Nishi smiled contently and nuzzled sleepily into the crook of Goku's neck. Sanzo stared dazedly after them then looked over at his still airborne hand. With a look of disgust he hastily pushed it through his shaggy, mussed hair.
"Holy shit."
AN: Whew this was a tough one. Nothing really happened now that I look back. You couldn't really call it a filler chapter, due to the fact that it really wasn't entertaining. I guess we could say it's setting us up for the next chapter, which should be fun. I really am excited about that one!
Yeah, so that whole Daddy/Goku thing is coming up soon and you'll find out how she and Goku met. Most of this is planned, of course until we get to the end. Heh. No clue where that is going, I may need help later on. . .
Thank you to all of my reviewers, I love you all so much. And being writers yourselves, you know what reviews can really do to the spirit. The Writing Spirit! Whoo. . .
Questions, anyone?
RaalaLi( ): (And I guess to anyone else that is wondering. . .) "I'm almost ashamed to admit this, since I just finished Saiyuki series 1, but what exactly does 39 and 58 mean? blushes in embarrassment".
Kelly: When describing a pairing, often times, names will just be combined (in my case Goku/Sanzo Sanku. I think they would be kinda funny in this series, even with all of the endless possibilities. I mean really think about them, just combine names. You get stuff like Homku, Hakjo, Gokai, not unlike most series, but still weird sounding. I suppose that this is why people went to the number system, plus it's easier).
Other times, a number will be given. This however, usually involves a deeper link, to where their names or even a part of their name is the number itself (i.e.: Like in Gundam Wing (which I'm sure you've heard of, if not seen in some random fandom. Duo2, Quatre4, as you can see these names mean the number. Can you see it?). In our case, they are derived from the Japanese number system.
3-san (Sanzo)
5-go (Gojyo)
8-hachi (Hakkai)
9-ku (Goku)
As an addition to this, the name/word Nishi, actually means "West" in Japanese.
Better? I hope so, cause that's all I've got. . . Oh well and thanks for the review, feel free to ask me anything and don't be embarrassed, sometimes it takes a stronger person to ask for help (sorry I could barely get that down without falling out of my chair, and now that I have my cheesy quote of the day quota filled. . .).
Next Chapter: "You're getting a kick out of this aren't you?" Goku asked as he pulled his jeans up over his shorts.
Sanzo casually walked over to a nearby chair, watching Goku dress out of the corner of his eye, but failing to make any effort in answering his question.
Thanks and please review, only if it's just a few words, let me know you're out there! Flames, corrective criticism, shout outs, anything and everything is accepted so don't hesitate, but please be honest.