Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Saiyuki.
Depression Day
"BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ! BU-." Goku quickly but sleepily turned off his alarm clock. Face still burried into his pillow. He groaned into the pillow and pushed himself up. It was 11:00am. He was going out with his friends Gojyo and Hakkai today. He slowly stood up and wandered his room for some decent clothes.
From his room, he heard some noises from the living room. It was probobly his father. Goku lived in an apartment with his father now. His mother had been diagnosed with a fatal disease and passed away two years ago. Goku was now 18, so he could manage on his own. But his father...disgusted him.
He lost his train of thought, and pulled up a pair of blue jeans over his boxers. He found a white, button-up shirt and put it on too. He sighed as he reached for the doorknob. He didn't want to face anything his dad had to say to him, so he decided to leave a note on his door and go out the back way.
He wrote on the note I went out for a while...expect me back around 6:00pm. With that, he walked out of the house. Moments after he reached the end of the block, his cell from began to ring. The screen read Hakkai's cell He flipped open his phone.
"Hello!"He spoke, happily into his phone. Hakkai had told him that him and Gojyo were on their way to pick him up. Goku told them to pick him up at the corner of his street. There was a change in Hakkai's voice...a curious change. Goku could tell that he was suspicious about why Goku had wanted to picked up at the corner. Hakkai simply waved it off though.
A few minutes later, Hakkai and Gojyo arrived. Goku wasn't paying attention, and didn't notice them pull up almost completley in front of him.
"Hey monkey boy! Get your ass in the car!" Gojyo shouted. Goku immediantly looked up. He smiled a little, and jumped into the back of the green jeep.
"I'm not a monkey," Goku protested. "Anyways, where are we going Kai'?" He asked. He didn't have a lot of money, but enough to have a good time. It was now 12:58pm. They still had about a good 5 hours. Hakkai suggested going out to a resturant; Goku complied, happily. He hadn't eaten breakfast, he was starving. They drove for a few minutes and finally reached a resturant. It wasn't at all packed. So they decided to go in.
"Table for three, please." Hakkai said to the woman in the front. They were soon led to their tables and given menus.
"OH! I want this...how about this? Yeah! Oh, I need some of this..." Goku began ranting about what he wanted to eat, which was basically the whole menu.
"Do you ever shut up, monkey?" Gojyo asked. He was asking for a fight. He opened his mouth to speak, but he was quickly silenced by Hakkai finger against his lips.
"Just let him have some fun, remember things aren't all that good at home right now." Hakkai whispered to Gojyo. Taking his finger off his lips. Gojyo just smirked and continued looking at his menu. After the waitress had taken their orders, they just talked among themselves. Not once did the subject of Goku's home life come up. It was a good thing. Hakkai and Gojyo felt that he needed to have a little fun. Though the subject didn't come up, Goku was still thinking about it. He tried his best to keep a happy apperance though. Every few minutes though, he would daze off. Staring out the window at nothing in particular, or staring at the table until Gojyo or Hakkai would say something.
They had eaten enough, paid the bill, and decided to go see a movie. Goku had not realized that it was 4:00pm now. They took about a half an hour to get to the theater. The places around the theater were always fun. They had an arcade, a food court, and a lot of shops. Hakkai said that we were going to look at them after the movie though. They walked into the movies, got snacks, and chose their seats. The lights dimmed, and the picture began.
The movie took longer than expected. It was now 6:08pm. Goku didn't know. They wandered the shops. Hakkai had bought some books, Gojyo had bought some smokes, and Goku had bought some food. It wasn't until they reached the giant, digital clock in the middle of the shopping center that Goku realized it was 7:01pm. He was in panic.
"Shit! Guys I need to get home. I told my dad six o' clock!" He shouted. Hakkai was worried, knowing that Goku's father would not take this situation...lightly. Gojyo knew too. As did Goku. They drove home in silence. Everyone was worried. But they all hoped for the best. When the arrived in front of Goku's apartment, Goku hurried out.
"Thanks guys! I'm sorry I had to rush you! I had a great time!" Goku said happily, even though he was hurting inside. He knew what he was in for. After their goodbye's were said, they drove away. Leaving Goku and his thoughts. When he gathered enough courage to enter his home, his eyes widened. Beer bottles everywhere, cigarettes used and new all over the counter, and then...his father with the note Goku had left in his hand.
"Where the fuck have you been?" He yelled. Advancing towards him.
"You said 6:00pm...you know what time it is? Do you? It's 7:39pm!" A fist made contact with Goku's jaw.
Goku struggled to speak. "I- I'm sorry, father," He said shaking. " I lost track of the ti-." He was cut off with another blow given by his father.
"You lost track of time! Thats your excuse? You are the most pathetic excuse fora human-being I have ever seen." His father's words were harsh, hurtful, but most of all...they were killing him inside. There was a sharp pain in his side. He was almost used to these beatings, but tonight...tonight was the worst. He cried out in pain, hoping someone would hear him. One of the neighbors in the apartment, a passing person outside, anyone. He was desperate when he got another blow in the stomach. He could almost feel one of his lower ribs, breaking. It hurt so much. Not so much the physical pain, he was numbed out, but the mental pain. All he ever wanted was someone to love him. His mother did just that. But then she was taken away from him. The only one that cared for him, the only one that could protect him, was gone. The worst part of the beating came last. His father had a glass beer bottle in hand. As he was about to hit him, only mere inches away from his head, there was silence. No pain. No noise. Goku's eyes opened quickly. His eyes widened. Golden met Violet. There was a man in the doorway. His hand wraped around his father's wrist. He had blond hair and violet eyes...just like his mother had.
The alcohol and tabacco in his father's blood must have caught up with him. Because his father had fainted only moments after his rampage had been interrupted. Goku didn't know whether he should be scared, or thankful. In a way he was both. Though the fact that someone heard him was comforting.
"I heard you calling." The blond said. He had a low, raspy voice, but the slightest hint of care was in it. Everything went blurry. It was because of the tears falling from his eyes, and because he was dizzy. The combination caused him to pass out. The man didn't know what to do. He couldn't leave the boy here, his father might wake up. He could take him to his place, but he didn't know who this kid was. Choice two won out.
Goku awoke to a familiar sound.
"BUZZ!BUZZ! BU-." The alarm was quickly shut off. Goku tightly closed his eyes. He felt the pain now. It hurt like hell. But when he opened his eyes. Once again...Golden met Violet. The blond was leaning over him. Goku blinked, obliviously.
"You...You saved me." He said no louder than a whisper. A few strands of hair fell infront of the man's eyes. Goku just smiled. "Oh! By the way...my name's Goku." He said, still in pain.
"Hn...Sanzo." was the only reply that he got. Then blond stood up and walked towards the kitchen. "Are you hungry?" He said, showing no real emotion.
"Umm..no, not at the moment." Goku said hesitantly. He was actually a little hungry. But he was more curious about Sanzo.
Goku layed back down. He was still tired. After about 3 minutes Sanzo emereged from the kitchen. He layed down a plate of toast on the table next to Goku.
"I know you're hungry, you don't need to be scared anymore." Sanzo's words were comforting. Goku sat up a little to fast. He hissed in pain, and cracked open one golden eye."All I did was bandage your stomach, so don't you try and do anything to intense." Sanzo spoke simply. Goku obliged and sat up slower this time. He took a look around the apartment. It was really big.
"So, how many people live here?" Goku asked curiously. He reached for a piece of toast and held it in his mouth.
"Two." It was a simple answer. Goku didn't want to intrude on his buisness but he just had to know.
"What's her name?" Goku asked again. Chewing on a piece of toast.
"Her?...Last I checked. You were a boy." He said, smirking to himself a little. Goku was shocked. Was he serious...? "It's up to you. I can understand if you don't want to live with some guy you just met, but I promise you it's better than that hell you used to live in." He said looking up and taking a sip of coffee.
"I...I'll stay." Goku said. He was happy. No. He was more than happy. He had finally found someone that cared. Not that Gojyo and Hakkai didn't. But this guy...he was different. He was Sanzo. He was his the person that saved him, he was his role model, he was his sun.