There are (typically) twenty-six episodes in a regular anime series, sometimes only thirteen. Saiyuki, oh wonderful plot device this traveling is, went on in its original season for fifty-two episodes (that's twice twenty-six, uh-huh), then walked straight into Reload and Gunlock. The manga (again, the original) carries for nine volumes, and continues happily in Reload, thus ensuring that Kazuya Minekura (-sensei, oh-the-Great-One) has a job (though I'd really go for more BUSGamer and Wild Adapter, too).
bpuws! will never go for that long, methinks. Note the significant timespace between chapters 26 and 27, and other. This author will, though, probably keep this going as long as I have something to poke fun at in the Saiyuki universe, especially if I'm trying to write depressing fics at the same time. Remember? Brain-dump fic? Yeah, that.
And the Summer Detour Challenge has been started for this year, so this means more fun and love!
This also means I'm back to torture you again. Apologies.
Oh. And yes, that's the fic he's burning.
Sanzo was burning a book with his lighter. The book was a crudely-bound set of pages covered in crayon and magic marker, and he certainly was not interested in reading it. He was also not interested in doing anything remotely resembling "hanging out with Gojyo and Goku".
Sanzos don't "hang out".
The Three Aspects do the polka in their ethereal space; he'd caught them once while he was taking a shortcut through the temple grounds to get to the coffee machine before Hakkai came over.
(Because Sanzo digs the coffee, but won't let anyone know he's immune to its death effect; he likes having people underestimate him that way.)
But the Three Aspects also gave him a gold credit card, so whatever they did in their free time was none of his business, anyway.
None of this pertains to Sanzos not "hanging out", but it had to be said, anyway.
He'd considered looking for Hakkai (sitting around reading newspapers and drinking coffee with Hakkai wasn't considered "hanging out", since it nearly always resulted in an argument over who would get to eat the coffee grounds and turn the sports page into a paper hat for Captain Sparrow impersonations -
- but no one was supposed to know that)
, but the man was nowhere to be seen. Hakuryuu, though, was clothespinned to a wire out in front, along with a few various articles of clothing left to dry from the last encounter with the creek beside the inn. The little dragon seemed to be perfectly content where it was, so Sanzo let it be.
Not that he would try too hard in rescuing the little coffee-stealer, anyway.
So he continued to sit in the lobby of the inn, burning a crappy little book and filling the lobby with black smoke that smelled vaguely of, well. Burning wax and paper. Go figure.
Gojyo strode into the lobby from the game room, clearly happy, and clearly carrying a large box of somethings hard and liquidy. Sanzo could see hot pink protruding from the top of the box, and could hear the sloshing of whatever it was that was in the hot pink stuff.
"Hey, Sanzo," Goku said from behind said Sanzo, and now all chances of avoiding "hanging out with Gojyo and Goku" were gone. Well, at least, the Goku part, since Gojyo was headed straight for their room upstairs. Sanzo made a mental note to follow the redhead at some point; the antennae were twitching in that 'there will be trouble' sort of way.
"What is it." Sanzo gave the boy a look that clearly said, 'Can't you see I'm busy burning this book?'
But Goku couldn't read that look, as the room was pretty thick with smoke. "Are those Gojyo's, um, y'know..."
... "No. I don't."
Goku lowered his voice and leaned closer, which allowed the blonde to smell the barbecue on the boy's breath. Someone's been feeding him a healthy supply of the stuff lately, and he couldn't figure out who. "Y'know, um. Dogakujiwhasis-that guy, y'know, he told me yesterday that Gojyo was a girl. Are those things in that box, um."
"... a girl."
"... like his, I mean her, personal things?"
"... Gojyo."
"Yeah, well, I thought that if they were, I'd go and find a bag for him, it seems kinda bulky, and hauling that around is - "
"Dokugakuji told you this."
Goku paused. "Sanzo, you know your hand's on fire?"
"I'm burning a book, Goku. Go the hell away."
"Oh. Okay. I'll just be down the street, in that bag store."
"Yeah, well, stay there for a while."
"Can I borrow the card?"
"Dancing polka in the ether - When you find the right bag, just come and get me. I'll be done with this by then."
"Ah, cool! See ya later!"
Someone was tapping on his shoulder. "Sir? Sir? I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you to go outside to burn that book, the smoke is bothering the other customers - "
"How long will it take to burn this place down?"
"An hour, sir. I'll evacuate the premises immediately."