:: Perfect World ::
Gensomaden Saiyuki
Disclaimer: I don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki, which rightfully belongs to Minekura Kazuya.
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Gojyo/Hakkai, drunken Gojyo/Sanzo
Warnings: AU-ish, angst, language, yaoi, mild adult situations
Beta-read by: Iapetus, Selina
Notes: First off, thank you muchly to anyone who has dropped a review. The encouragements so far are very inspiring, and I'm always happy to receive them. Just don't forget that I still also appreciate constructive criticism as well. Also lots of thanks to my beta-readers, without whom I wouldn't be able to update every weekend.
As you can see, the rating has already been bumped up to PG-13. (Thanks a lot, Gojyo.) Each chapter has its own rating depending on the content, and starting from the 6th chapter the rating is expected to be upped another notch. Just a reminder to anyone who's curious.
And again, since I can never say this enough: constructive criticism and feedback is appreciated.
Chapter Two
Annoying how things could work out in both the most convenient yet inconvenient ways. That was what the priest Genjo Sanzo thought in disgust as he wrote up his report after catching the notorious criminal, Cho Gonou. That assignment had been a true pain in the ass, one of the most difficult and irritating ones yet.
First, he thought irritably, pen not once stopping even as he ranted inwardly. That half-breed bastard decided to have fun showing off his damned Lying Down techniques. He'd been efficient, that was for sure, and that was also what irked Sanzo the most. Then the second I countered Cho Gonou he thought he'd show off and use my gun against me, then run off with it. That was the first time Sanzo had ever thought it would have been useful to have some sort of companion with him, someone to stop Gonou before he'd gotten away.
It worked out in the end; at least for Sanzo it had. He'd been able to capture Cho Gonou, even if it had taken longer and become messier than he'd have wanted.
However, it "working out" for Gonou had been a completely different story.
"Ack! Watch it!"
"Excuse me, Gojyo. I'm not quite used to this."
There was a tense, uneasy pause after that. The voices were muffled outside Sanzo's door, but he could still hear the first voice mutter in an apologetic tone, "Sorry, man. My bad..."
The door slid open just after that. Sanzo didn't have to look up to see who it was; he knew he'd be greeted with the sight of an obnoxious redhead and a man who would bear a striking resemblance Cho Gonou. This was because he was Cho Gonou... or rather, had been.
"What do you want?" Sanzo muttered in annoyance, continuing to write his report. "Don't you two have anything better to do than annoy me?"
"Never," the redhead drawled, though he didn't move right to Sanzo's desk as he normally would have. Sanzo glanced up, finally noting why. He lingered near the man that was previously Gonou, now known as Hakkai, and for good reason.
Rolling his eyes up to the ceiling, Sanzo muttered, "It would be a lot easier if you just used the damned walking stick, wouldn't it?"
From the corner of his eye, he saw Hakkai smiling. "Gojyo and I think we've found a way around that."
"Well, he found a way around it," Gojyo amended. "It just started happening the other day, no explanation why--"
"Just watch," Hakkai said calmly. Sanzo scoffed but focused on the man anyway. Hakkai's eyes were open but unseeing, unfocussed and literally glassy. It didn't unnerve Sanzo much anymore, but he'd still think about how creepy it seemed at times. He'd only gotten a glimpse of the man's eyes when they were still intact, right before he had run off with his gun, into the forest only to be confronted by a figurative demon from his recent past. Even after the fact, Sanzo still hadn't brought himself to forgive Gojyo for nearly sabotaging his mission. When he'd realized Gonou was escaping, Sanzo had finally thrown Gojyo off.
Unfortunately, Gojyo had only made things even more difficult, which was why they had arrived so late.
Sanzo and Gojyo had come just in time to see Gonou dig his fingers into his other eye, shoving it out and making his face quite the bloody mess. From what Sanzo could gather afterward, a young man from Gonou's village had approached him about Gonou's mass murder of an entire human village, furious at what he'd done. In a twisted, hasty form of repentance, Gonou had offered his right eye, and then his left. The damage had been done before Sanzo or Gojyo could catch up, and now he was blind in both eyes. What seemed like eyes were now really just intricately, carefully painted glass.
Blinking, Sanzo was startled to see Hakkai moving about. Normally he would use a walking stick, though it must have been humiliating at first. Sanzo's gaze flickered to Gojyo's black eye, a gift from an impatient Hakkai after being badgered too much. Obviously, Hakkai wasn't one to be reckoned with, especially when crippled.
Still, he was now moving with more ease than he really should have. He'd never seen Sanzo's office, rarely visited it, and so he couldn't know how to avoid that certain chair, or to turn that sharply before he ran into Sanzo's desk. The monk's eyes narrowed. "What is this?"
Gojyo smirked. "Bet you thought I'd have to play housewife the rest of my life, didn't you, monk?"
"I was rather looking forward to you in an apron," Sanzo said flatly, folding his arms over his chest. "Now what the hell is going on?"
Hakkai turned to face him, surprisingly accurate. He smiled. "It's something I seemed to have picked up over the last few days. I can feel things around me for some reason." He walked forward again, resting his hand on Sanzo's desk. "The air around me feels different depending on the density of something."
"How convenient," Sanzo said flatly, though he was quietly marveling at the strange occurrence.
Gojyo shrugged. "It's not perfect; he can't tell when, say, there's a curtain hanging in the doorway rather than an actual door."
"At least that was only a curtain," Hakkai said, seeming amused. Sanzo snorted; there was obviously some inside joke going on, and he really didn't want to know what it was.
"Is that all?" he asked, his voice not once anything but monotone. He didn't wait for an answer. "That's wonderful. Now get out."
Gojyo seemed ready to protest, but Hakkai cut in quickly. "There is actually one other thing." Sanzo narrowed his eyes, but of course that didn't stop Hakkai. "We were supposed to give you this." From his pocket he produced a small slip of folded paper. Sanzo accepted it, unfolding it before reading.
After a minute or so he said flatly, "Great. How kind of you. You can go now."
"Sorry for bothering you," Hakkai said politely before joining Gojyo in the doorway. "We'll see you later."
"If luck is against us," Gojyo muttered, shutting the door behind them before Sanzo could retort. Instead the blonde simply glared after them, leaning back in his chair and reaching up to rub his temples.
It's too damn quiet, he finally decided, opening one eye to glare at the accursed criminal files. Ever since that voice died...
That wasn't exactly the proper way to explain it, but it was accurate enough. Three years ago he'd started to hear a voice in his head, calling out in a wordless plea. Sanzo hadn't been able to understand it, simply that the caller wanted to be freed from something. It had been extremely annoying, but then the day he finally decided to go and shut that damned voice up it suddenly stopped.
Just as well, he'd sometimes think. It was loud and annoying anyway, and I probably would have only killed them once I'd found them.
However, at other times he felt strange, as though he were missing something crucial. The only other time he could remember feeling that way was when his master had been slaughtered. That rainy night when blood had been spilled... Sanzo shook his head to get the image out of his mind, leaning forward again. Work. Work would keep him busy; keep his mind of stupid things like loneliness he couldn't afford.
Genjo Sanzo couldn't afford to be lonely. He just couldn't. That would be the downfall of everything.
------
'Come over to dinner, Sanzo,' he thought bitterly to himself, rubbing his forehead as he lay in bed, reflecting on the earlier night's events. 'You're so worldly anyway, I'm sure the temple's food must seem like they're trying to starve you...' Hell, they may as well have just told me to drive out to the nearest whorehouse and wait, after what happened.
It hadn't seemed too bad an idea at the time. Hakkai he could stand; the man rarely got on his nerves and Sanzo could appreciate how he could keep Gojyo in line... when he wanted to. It was Gojyo that grated on his nerves.
Still, Hakkai'd had a point; that and the smell of incense occasionally got to him enough so that he'd escape for a while. He knew he wouldn't eat much, but they would have cigarettes and beer, even if Gojyo's cigarettes did taste like shit.
He really should have remembered the consequences of getting a man like Gojyo drunk...
"Beer all around!" Gojyo said, sounding too cheerful for Sanzo's liking as he practically slammed a six-pack down on the table. "Except for Hakkai, because he drinks tea like a wo--" He barely caught himself; Gojyo at least knew how to watch himself around Hakkai most of the time, even if he didn't have as much consideration for anyone else.
"Like a what, Gojyo?" Hakkai asked pleasantly, his hands still on his cup of still-steaming green tea.
Gojyo hesitated a moment before saying carefully, "Like any other respectable gentleman, of course."
Sanzo snorted, not believing a word that came from his mouth. Hakkai obviously didn't either, but he humored the man enough to simply say, "Ah, I see," before letting it drop.
"Anyway," Gojyo said hastily, tearing a can from the plastic holders. "Let's just forget about all our issues with each other and get drunk, eh?" He tossed a can to Sanzo, who caught it easily. Sanzo narrowed his eyes, not missing that Gojyo had aimed for his head and that Gojyo seemed slightly disappointed when he caught it. The redhead quickly glanced away.
"You and Sanzo are the only ones that have issues with each other," Hakkai pointed out calmly, sipping his tea. His eyes remained closed, as though he were painfully aware of how creepy his sightless, fake eyes looked.
Gojyo made a face, popping his can open and taking a huge swig. Looking at them, it seemed ridiculous that these two would be roommates. Sanzo scoffed silently, opening his own beer.
An hour later he found himself still stuck in the kitchen, the food all but eaten, the beer nearly gone, and with a very, very drunk Gojyo.
"S'boring in here," Gojyo slurred in his drunken state, mildly impressing Sanzo by only slouching a bit in his chair. For all the alcohol he'd consumed, and on a fairly empty stomach, the composure he had left was commendable.
"We oughtta go pick up a few chicks," Gojyo continued, laughing and nearly falling over as he rocked his chair back. "I can provide the condoms!"
Then again, commendable was probably too strong a word.
"Gojyo, I can hear the squeaking," Hakkai sighed. "Please stop rocking in that chair before you break it."
Gojyo did pause, though he was balancing precariously on the chair's back legs, squinting in Sanzo's direction. "Hey," he drawled drunkenly. "Hakkai, when did we invite a chick to dinner?"
Sanzo snarled, pushing his chair back and getting to his feet. He was barely able to control himself and settle to looking over at Hakkai, saying flatly, "I think I've far overstayed my welcome."
Hakkai raised an eyebrow, seeming more amused than anything else, but Sanzo's voice seemed to have penetrated through Gojyo's inebriated mind.
"Ohh, monk, is that you?" He laughed, tilting his chair back even further, amazingly not falling over. "Wow, and here I thought you were a girl... girly monk," he said in a sudden sing-song voice. "Girly monk!" Before Sanzo could retort the half-breed finally tilted back too far, crashing to the floor loudly enough that even Hakkai winced. Gojyo simply laughed, seeming unharmed. "Wow that was soooome fall!"
Disgusted, Sanzo turned to leave, but Gojyo didn't seem finished. He could hear the man stumbling to his feet; simple curiosity made Sanzo look back over his shoulder just as Gojyo leaned against Hakkai heavily and smirked. "Yo, Hakkai, I always wondered... boxers or briefs?"
Before anyone could react the water demon had shoved his hand into his roommate's pants. Hakkai's eyelids snapped open at the caustic move; even he had been taken by surprise, enough to emit an undignified squeak before he grabbed Gojyo's arm and pulled him back, getting to his feet and saying in a slightly strained voice, "Please excuse us." With that he led a very willing Gojyo out of the kitchen, presumably to a bedroom.
" 'Eyyy, Hakkai, think Blondie could join us?" Sanzo twitched, still able to hear the man's babbling through the thin walls. "Might be a pain in th'ass, but... s'gotta good ass, I'll betcha..."
"Not if we want to live to see morning," Hakkai's calmer, more reasonable voice said. "Why don't you lie down and I'll check on you later?"
Sanzo couldn't hear the snicker, but he knew Gojyo would laugh. "Nah... y'can check on me now..."
Twitching, Sanzo made sure to slam the door shut when he left.
Glancing outside, Sanzo jerked himself from the annoying memory. It was probably about midnight at this point and he was still feeling restless, uneasy somehow... and, unless he was mistaken, that was also a stab of envy.
But envy of what? Of those two morons? That was unlikely; Sanzo was perfectly fine without a lover; better off, even. It had nothing to do with his being a monk and supposedly practicing celibacy but everything to do with simple lack of interest.
Maybe their closeness simply reminded him how severely he was lacking companionship.
Unsettled by the thought, and plagued by the sudden onslaught of painful memories, it was nearly twilight when Sanzo finally fell asleep. When he did he had the strangest dream, one without shapes or feel and little color; for all he knew he was simply floating in a black oblivion. The one sense he retained in this dream was sound... and that sound proved to be one he hadn't heard in a long time: a strange voice.
It was wordless but definitely there, and though it was wordless Sanzo realized it wasn't crying out for the same thing it had so long ago. Back then it had seemed as though the voice was calling for him to come and release it from something, but it seemed the voice's owner had finally achieved that. No, it was calling for something else this time, and Sanzo got a brief image in his mind. It was round and bright, blinding as a light suddenly turned on in the darkest of rooms.
The sun?
He couldn't feel warmth or anything like that, but he instinctively knew that's what it was. But why would the sun be so important?
The strangest part was the flicker of golden eyes, eyes that were wide and childish, holding a glint of wicked mischief. Even odder was when they shifted, melting into a pair of obviously older eyes, the mischief transforming into smug deviousness, the childishness becoming something closer to deep-set sadness... and the left eye flickered until it settled into a deep blue color.
By the time morning came to wake him, Sanzo could only remember the voice. Even so, that was enough to disconcert him; he'd been so sure that voice was gone, but now it was haunting him in his dreams.
In some ways that was worse than remembering his deceased master every time it rained.
That day he had some business in town, though nothing too important. It would have been annoying if he'd gotten more orders from the Sanbutsushin; if they ever made him chase down another criminal, Sanzo swore he would shoot the next one between the eyes to kill off the chance of anyone else getting attached to him in any way whatsoever.
All he really had to do was pick up a few important supplies... such as cigarettes and beer. He didn't really eavesdrop; it was just that while he was paying for his nicotine he heard a few snippets of conversation that somehow caught his ears.
"... Cousin was saying that weird things have been happenin' out west."
"Yeah? How'zzat?"
"Jus' weird shit... a few demons real far west have been goin' a bit nuts, so's the rumor anyway..."
"Oh, I thought you was talkin' about those rumors of a little band o' gods popping up in some random places."
Sanzo shook his head, taking his pack of cigarettes and starting out, but the last important bits of conversation still somehow managed to find him
"I hearda that, too... got some weird weapons, dun they?"
"That's not what worries me... one of 'em's got gold eyes. And another's got gold and blue... looks like some freak taboo man or somethin'."
"I hear ya. That just sounds like bad news..."
The door shut behind Sanzo, effectively cutting the voices off. He tried not to think about the words, but for some reason the conversations about odd eye colors triggered some sort of memory... but of course, he'd never met anyone with gold eyes at all.
It was all just nonsense. Nodding to himself, Sanzo labeled the conversation as unimportant and forgot about it from that point on.
