A Fools Dream
~Chapter: 4~
Wisps of smoke rose up into the air, diffusing amongst the particles as Gojyo lay upon the bed, gazing at the ceiling, thinking about nothing in particular. They had been fortunate enough to hire their own rooms this night, 'A rare luxury, which I hope to experience full-time, one day...I wonder how that girl's doing…' he thought, his mind finally finding a subject to dwell upon. They had brought the girl to the town, much to Sanzo's evident displeasure, and had dropped her off at the local hospital, just in case she was badly injured and needed immediate attention. His chest rose as he drew in another deep breath, the mix of flavours present in his cigarette playing with his tongue, soothing his stresses and on the verge of lulling him to sleep. It was the next best thing to what he did best to relieve his stresses, but he just wasn't in the mood, as usual.
He shrugged as he smiled to himself, tonight was part of a chain of nights he could cherish by himself, no echoing cries of pleasure, no begging for more, it almost drove him insane when they would utter and repeat the same words, over and over again. All they ever wanted was his body, and yes, sometimes he would initiate it, but it was a mere test, to see who was truly willing, not just for his genes, but for himself, someone he could truly be happy with.
A sudden knock on the door sent him into a fit of coughs, as the flavours he held within his mouth were sucked in even deeper, for he was taken by surprise by the abrupt sound that interrupted the silence. The knocking persisted, as he rolled onto his side, fixing his pain-watered gaze on the door, wishing that he were able to harness his Ki just like Hakkai, anything to stop that infernal knocking. He sat up and planted his hands on his knees, fixing his gaze on the pale-carpeted floor at his feet. His form shuddered as he struggled to regain control of his breathing, and avoid hiccoughs if he were to steady the pulls of breath any earlier than they should.
"Who is it?" he croaked, clearing his throat afterwards, as he came to his feet and moved towards the door. The knocking ceased at the sound of his voice, and he frowned. "Who's there?" he asked, placing a hand on the door-handle and turning it about slightly. Sighing irritably, at the lack of an answer, he opened the door and scowled, noting that it was the young, brown-haired member of their troupe. "What do you want Goku?" he asked, the words coming out in a terse fashion. The young youkai scowled, and then quickly calmed himself, as he remembered why he had come to the half-breed's room in the first place.
"Sanzo was wondering if you were ever gonna leave that room of yours," he said, folding his arms in a lax manner. Gojyo raised an eyebrow, indicating that he wasn't quite sure why the foul-tempered monk would even bother querying about his whereabouts…after all; it would mean one less idiot to smack around. Catching the look, Goku sighed and scratched the back of his ear, while placing the other hand on his hip, "You do know you've been in here since we came…aren't you even remotely interested in satisfying your gastrula needs?"
"Quite, but I'll come down in my own time…where'd you learn to speak all grown-up, by the way?" the redhead asked, eyeing the younger man curiously, as he had never heard a single intelligent-sounding word escape the teen's mouth. The brown-haired teen laughed, and waved the matter away offhandedly.
"I picked it up off Hakkai, when I was sent to collect you…so you coming?" asked, changing his look of self-pride, into one of annoyance. Gojyo blinked, and seemed to be thinking over his options, then closed the door. Goku blinked in disbelief, and growled in anger, 'Dammit, that asshole…my foods getting cold just because I came here to check on him, well that seals it…next time, I'm not coming up,' He opened his mouth to say something, when the door reopened and the redhead walked through it, closing it behind him, and stopped before the youth.
"I had to get my jacket," he explained to the young youkai's dumb expression, "so…are we going or not, Goku?" he said, prompting the other with a rhetorical question. Goku blinked several times, and nodded, then led the way down to their table in silence. They descended the stairs and turned about, entering the door on the left, leading to the bar and dining area of the inn. The sounds of laughter, conversation and clanging utensils could be heard, as well as the scent of smoke and various aromas wafting through, upon their entry. Immediately, Gojyo's stomach growled, alerting him to just how hungry he was, and amazing him to the fact that he had not realised as he lay in his room. He followed, as Goku led the way to their table, far in the corner and out of the way of the public eye, "Sorry I'm late…lost track of time," he apologised, claiming the only vacant seat, which happened to be between Hakkai and Goku.
"Glad to know that you're well, Gojyo, we were beginning to worry that something was wrong…weren't we Sanzo," the green-eyed man said, smiling warmly as he did so, and passed the subject on to their blond-haired leader. Sanzo didn't bother looking up from the newspaper he was reading, and snorted as he sipped at his tea. Hakkai's smile turned apologetic, as he shrugged, "Well…what'll you have?" he asked, passing their menu to their new arrival. Gojyo smiled in return, taking the offered menu, and looked about, his brow creased in uncertainty, as he had a vague feeling that someone was watching them. He shrugged, when no one appeared to be looking in their direction, which was uncommon, considering there would have been a few shifty glances passed their way, as the people judged the chosen travelling companions of the almighty Sanzo.
"Hmm…" he said thoughtfully, looking at the list of available meals and drinks, as well as desserts, "tough choice…but I think I'll have the assorted tempura…a whole batch of rice and the special soup…some nikuman, sake, beer and cake for later," he sighed.
"Is that all?" Hakkai asked, sipping at his cup of sake, knowing that what the other had ordered was a little over what he normally ate.
"Yeah, that's all…" he replied, a slight frown upon his brow, then looked up to see a pair of green, unconvinced, yet still silently questioning, eyes, "so I ordered a little over…gotta have some in case the ape tries to sneak a bite," he explained, folding his arms and leaning back, as he took out his current pack of cigarettes, popped one between his lips and lit it. The brown-haired man simply smiled and shrugged, as the young youkai suddenly realised the snide remark sent his way. Gojyo ignored the youth's protests and verbal abuse aimed his way, as he looked about the room again, still unable to shake of the sense of being watched, while Hakkai made their order. He scowled and sighed in frustration, and was about to turn back, when he paused, his eyes just managing to catch a glimpse of a familiar person. The half-breed looked back in the general direction he thought it was, and saw them again, a flash of grey, far in the corner in a similarly out-of-sight location. A smile played on his lips, and he turned back, taking a final drag of his cigarette and put it out, standing just as Hakkai returned. "Hey, is it okay if you can send my order over to that corner," he said, pointing in the direction he was going to.
"Why?" Sanzo asked, his attention grasped by this sudden and bizarre request, as he craned his neck up to see what had caught the young redheads curiosity. When an immediate answer wasn't given, he locked a demanding gaze onto the pair of red eyes that were still waiting for a reply of their own.
"Because…I think I spotted someone we know…I'm just gonna go have a chat, if I'm wrong…I'll be back, and you won't have to send the food over," the younger man replied, folding his arms across his chest. The blond monk pursed his lips, obviously thinking about the request, and then sighed, knowing that the kappa would be in a mood later on…besides, just how close did he keep these youkai anyway, they couldn't be fully trusted, and there were still so many things out of place, or so he felt. Maybe he was just keeping them at arms length, because he was afraid…afraid of getting hurt if they betrayed him…well, whatever the reason, now was not the time to think about them.
"Fine…go ahead, but if you decide to spend the night…and aren't ready by first light tomorrow, we're leaving without you," he snapped, the idea of having to think so deep into the matter having frustrated him. Gojyo smiled and gave a slight nod, then left their table, to walk through the many gaps toward his destination.
~*~
She sat silently, sipping at the hot tea, which the tender had brought, leaving the kettle and the second cup upon her request, and returned to retrieve the rest of her order. She cast a few glances in the general direction of the group she had met earlier, unsure of whether they were the ones she had to seek out, and wondering if this was some game of the gods, making her come across the same people twice in less than a day. She sighed and continued to sip at the warm, milky brown liquid, a hint of honey tickling her tongue, as it washed down into her system. A sudden shadow fell upon her, but she did not look up immediately…though she was startled, she had been trained to display an aura of mysticism, behaving naturally in any situation often gave the impression that you had been expecting such things to happen.
"Mind if I join you?" came the polite, and almost uncertain question, giving the idea that the owner of the voice was unsure about whether they had approached the right person. A small smile touched her lips, and she took another sip of her tea, then slowly looked up, positioning her head in a way that the wide brim of her hat cast her face in shadow.
"If there's a vacant seat, then help yourself," she replied, keeping her voice low and deep, so as to keep in line with the façade she had used on their first encounter. The owner of the first voice smiled, and took a seat, directly opposite her, and obscuring her line of sight.
"You know…you don't have to put up a front," they said, relaxing back in their seat. She frowned, and took a good look at them, he was tall, possibly, since it was hard to tell by the way he was sitting; however his lanky build indicated that he was a tall man. His crimson hair was kept long, and fell past his shoulders, the strands kept out of his face by a deep blue bandanna. His eyes were of the same shade of red, indicating the fact that he was a taboo child…a destiny placed upon him not of his own choosing.
"What do you mean?" she asked, her tone faltering for a mere moment, before snapping back to its false pitch. He seemed to chuckle then, though silently, and he leaned forward, cocking his head slightly to one side.
"Come on…you know what I mean, it doesn't take a genius to know that you're really a woman…what have you got to hide?" he whispered, pushing back a stray strand of vermilion from his eyes. She blinked several times, then took a sip of tea, and set the cup down.
"Would you like some tea?" she asked, resigning to her true tone of voice, clear and gentle. He blinked in surprise, obviously taken aback by the sudden change, "it's laced with honey…unless…you're more of an alcoholic," she continued to say, the last few words rising in their sound, as she hinted to a suggestive thought.
"N-no, tea is fine…I'm having my order sent here anyway, the name's Gojyo, Sha Gojyo, by the way…and you are?" he said, continuing to lean over the table. She smiled and poured tea into the remaining cup, while refilling hers, and set the new cup towards the half-breed.
"Ena…as I have told you and your companions before…how come you aren't sitting with them?" she asked, taking up her cup and gently blowing over it, in an effort to make it cool. Gojyo smiled and took up the cup, blew once and took a quick sip.
"I felt you watching us, I had to find out why…if no one else is, then why were you?" he asked, casting a curious and sharp look towards her, since he had to quell the nagging urge of ripping that wide-brimmed hat off her head. It was her turn to smile and chuckle, as she brought the cup to her lips and took a sip, savouring the taste, and taking her sweet time to answer his question.
"That's my own reason…" she replied, setting the cup down and making space for her newly arrived order.
~*~*~*~
A/N: APOLOGIES! APOLOGIES! I greatly and immensely apologise for the long wait, I had an evil case of writers block, plus I'm busy with school/exam stuff and some stories I intend to publish someday…but that's no excuse for abandoning these online projects I have set myself. Hopefully, in a few more days I'll have Chapter: 5 up, but I'm not sure when this will be finished…maybe around the 10th or so Chapter…who knows, anyways, please keep up the golden quality of patience, which you are all blessed with, and the rewards will come, thank you and please forgive me.