:: Perfect World ::

Gensomaden Saiyuki

Disclaimer: I don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki, which rightfully belongs to Minekura Kazuya.

Rating: PG-13

Pairings: none

Warnings: AU-ish, violence, language

Notes: As always, many thanks for the reviews. I love the concrit I get, and the feedback, and it's so thrilling to know people are enjoying the story.

As for betaing, I'm not sure when, if ever, my beta will have time to help me with this particular project. So I'll just redouble my efforts and do better on my own. It's good practice anyway.

I still intend to update on Christmas. Happy Holidays, everyone!

Constructive criticism and feedback is appreciated.


Chapter Fifteen

Insomnia was really the last thing he needed bothering him. Unfortunately, Sanzo's mind had never been one to agree with his body. He was restless, and it was this that made him exasperatedly give up any hope of getting to sleep.

Making sure he had everything necessary with him, Sanzo left the inn as quietly as possible. Outside was a little chilly, but he was protected from the cold well enough in his robes. Sanzo hadn't walked very far before a flare of pain in his knee rudely reminded him that he wasn't completely healed yet. Grimacing, he quickly found a railing to lean against, taking the weight off his injured leg.

Damn brat, he thought in annoyance, searching for his cigarettes and lighter. It was that damned kid's fault he was limping, even nearly a week after the fight.

That child was one of the reasons he hadn't been able to sleep, too. He wasn't certain how, but Sanzo knew that boy was the one the Sanbutsushin had ordered him to take with them. Hell, not just that, but they had to halt their journey wherever they saw him, not making any further advances until they had the brat going with them.

What a pain in the ass.

Taking a deep drag from the cigarette served to mollify Sanzo's nerves a little. Blowing smoke out between taut lips, Sanzo allowed himself to relax against the railing of the inn. It wasn't too bad a place; it was sturdily built, but the designer had taken time to make sure it looked decent as well. The framework had a simple pattern carved into it. Sanzo lazily trailed a finger over it, gladly letting the idle thoughts distract him from his previous worries.

By the time his cigarette had burned into little more than a stub Sanzo was feeling far more relaxed. His leg didn't ache as much, either. Flexing his knee a bit, Sanzo ground out his cigarette and looked toward the back of the inn. The town was a tiny, compact place, three sides of it surrounded by dense forest. It would be easy for demons to ambush them, what with the inn so close to the woods.

Well, if they were smart -- which they usually weren't -- they wouldn't bother Sanzo tonight. He pulled out another cigarette, holding it between his lips as he brought out the lighter. A faint, warm breeze tickled the back of his neck.

A sudden dull crash behind him made Sanzo drop the lighter. He was on his feet, whirling around to face the enemy; unfortunately, he also lost his cigarette in his startled state.

At first he saw nothing. A small groan of pain made him arch an eyebrow, and stepping back to the railing he could see a mess of brown hair. His assailant had fallen face-first to the ground.

When his attacker pushed himself up, whining softly and rubbing his nose, Sanzo was both nonplussed and not surprised to see it was the boy who had been causing him insomnia. The boy rolled over on his knees in front of Sanzo with a sheepish look on his face. "Hi," he said abashedly.

Sanzo twitched.

The boy quickly picked himself up, dusting off his jeans. It was the first time Sanzo had ever really taken notice of what the boy was wearing; his jeans were ordinary enough-- faded and dirty, made unusual by the stitched crimson flames from the knees down. His shirt made Sanzo raise an eyebrow. It was black with mesh from the lower collar to his throat and from his shoulders to his wrists, making them weak as long sleeves.

The boy's eyes kept flickering to Sanzo, his expression a mixture of awe and delight. It made Sanzo uncomfortable.

"Um..." The boy seemed at a loss for words, but he quickly fixed it. "Oh, good. You're standing!" He seemed oddly relieved.

Narrowing his eyes, Sanzo said flatly, "You didn't kick me that hard. Don't be so full of yourself, you brat." In reality, Hakkai had prodded at his knee after the fight, determining it was fractured. Since it was a minor fracture the man had been able to heal it fine, but the soreness behind Sanzo's kneecap still flared up if he was on his feet too often. It wasn't as bad as it had been right after the fight -- then he'd had to let Gojyo support him back to the jeep, which had been humiliating on top of everything else -- but it still acted up fairly frequently.

"I'm not a brat," the boy whined. He rested his arms on the railing, though it had to have been a little awkward since the boards of the front porch came up to his shins. The railing was low enough for Sanzo to sit on, but high enough for the boy in front of him to not be able to relax against it where he was standing. His elbows were at level with his shoulders. Sanzo noticed that the boy's left "sleeve" appeared to be torn off midway between the shoulder and elbow. "I was thinkin' about you," he began.

"How nice," Sanzo interrupted, turning away to go back inside. "Now go away."

"Hey!" The boy reached out quickly, grabbing a handful of Sanzo's sleeve. The blonde growled, ready to jerk his robes free, but for some reason the look in the boy's wide golden eyes made him hesitate. "I just wanna talk," the kid finally said, his fingers tightening on the fabric of Sanzo's robes. "Please?"

"No."

The boy's eyes narrowed. "I know which room you're sleeping in," he said stubbornly. "And I swear I'll bother you until morning if I have to!"

Sanzo used his free hand to smack the boy upside the head. The brunette yelped but still didn't let go. "Stupid," he snapped. "I'll just shoot you for good this time-- and you're in no position to kick me and get away."

"I..." The boy floundered a moment. "I'll... haunt you after you kill me!"

Rolling his eyes, Sanzo gave a final hard tug on his sleeve. The boy reluctantly let go, seeming sullen. "You," Sanzo said, "are an idiot." Despite his words he turned away from the front door, heading down the steps and around the side of the building. It wasn't because he wanted the boy's company. He was just going to go for a short walk-- and if the kid followed him, so be it.

That seemed to be the plan, because the boy scampered after him. Sanzo purposefully decided not to comment, instead opting for finding another cigarette to replace the one the damn kid had made him drop. Unfortunately, he'd forgotten that he'd dropped his lighter on the porch.

As though reading his thoughts, the boy suddenly appeared in front of him, stopping Sanzo in his tracks. Grinning, he held up the lighter Sanzo had dropped. "Need this?"

Scowling, Sanzo snatched the lighter from the boy's hands, making a soft, "Hmph," noise as he cupped his hand around the end of the cigarette. Once that was lit he tucked the lighter away again and continued walking. The ache in his leg was returning, but it wasn't unbearable just yet.

The boy bounced alongside him. Sanzo noticed from the corner of his eye that the child kept staring at him, but he pretended not to notice. They made it a good ways into the woods before Sanzo's knee started acting up again. Feigning boredom, Sanzo leaned against a tree, shifting his weight to his uninjured leg and taking a drag of his cigarette.

Wandering in idle circles in front of him, the boy dragged his feet along the pine needles beneath them. "Hey," he suddenly said. "I was wonderin'... why're you and your friends traveling?"

"None of your business," Sanzo muttered, dropping his cigarette stub to the ground. He crushed it beneath his sandal. Damn nosy little...

The boy sulked. "Geez... not much of a conversationalist, are you?"

"I try to keep my association with idiots to a minimum."

"Huh. You're not doing a very good job with that Gojyo guy... or whatever his name is," the boy mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

Sanzo snorted, immediately wishing he hadn't. It was going to give the kid the idea that he found him amusing-- and once children thought they had done something funny, they were only going to do it again. "Those two aren't even my friends."

"Oh." Not seeming to know what to say to that, the boy kicked at a rock that had been barely hidden beneath the thick carpet of pine needles. He made a face. "Why are you traveling with them, then?"

"None of your business," Sanzo repeated, growing annoyed quickly. "Though since we're on the subject, I ought to ask why the hell you followed me."

Blinking, the brunette looked up to meet Sanzo's gaze. He seemed puzzled but not surprised. "Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging and looking around as though afraid someone was going to come along and see them. Sanzo found that odd, considering a part of him was worried about the same thing. "I dunno." When Sanzo rolled his eyes the boy hurried to correct himself. "I mean... I do know! It's just... hard to explain."

"Try." Sanzo folded his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes. Already he was weighing the pros and cons of shooting the boy out here. On one hand it would get him out of his hair, but on the other the gunshots would alert someone. They were well into the forest, but not quite outside the range of civilization.

The boy sighed, looking up toward the heavens. "Um... I guess it's just... I was thinkin' about our fight. And you were pretty good, but I could've easily kicked your ass if it wasn't three on one--"

"If you continue babbling, I'll shut you up my own way," Sanzo growled.

Seeming to take the hint, the boy quickly went back on track. "I just thought afterwards that... well..." He huffed, seeming frustrated with himself as he struggled for the words to express his thoughts. Then again, Sanzo was beginning to doubt the brainless monkey had any thoughts. He felt his brow twitch in impatience. "I guess... I felt that I should have been on your side."

That had been unexpected. Blinking, Sanzo tried to make sure he had heard correctly. "Excuse me?"

The boy seemed uncomfortable now. "I dunno. I just didn't feel like I was fighting enemies when I was fighting you guys."

Of all the trite things... Sanzo rolled his eyes again, reaching up to rub his forehead. "Let me guess," he said dully. "You're regretting the path you took and now you want to switch sides."

"Like hell!" Startled by the vehemence in the boy's voice, Sanzo looked up. Golden eyes glared at him, unquestionable anger smoldering behind the brilliant irises. "Like hell," the boy repeated, his fists clenching at his sides. "I don't know why I came here, but I would never switch sides!"

In other words, he was refusing to have any regrets. Despite the fact Sanzo didn't like the boy, he felt a dim sense of respect budding for him. He was pretty sure it had been Hakkai who had said at one point that living with regrets was foolish-- and Sanzo wholeheartedly agreed. Even if it did make him a hypocrite.

Guess I'm a fool, then, he thought humorlessly. He shook his head, intending to ask the boy another question, but a rustling nearby made him hesitate. He reached for his robes as though to search for his cigarettes again.

"You really are an idiot," he said. "Why the hell are you bothering me?" He drew his Smith & Wesson, cocking and aiming it directly at the boy's head. When golden eyes widened with surprise, he continued unflinchingly, "Forget it. I don't want to know. Just die."

At the last instant he whipped his arm to the left, firing into the distance. There was a cry, but it was one of shock rather than pain. Cursing, Sanzo whirled just as three figures emerged from their hiding places. One dropped down from the trees above, another coming out from behind a large trunk and the final bursting out of the bushes. None looked familiar, none had demonic markings, all wore simple robes, and all bore chakras in their foreheads.

Gods, Sanzo realized. He slanted the boy a look, but he appeared baffled. Clearly he recognized them, but he didn't know why they were here. That basically meant he hadn't led these gods to him-- that he really had come on his own free will, possibly even without the consent of his leader.

That was interesting.

"Well." The man who had previously been hiding in the tree smirked. He stood, curiously enough, with his arms behind his back. It was obvious he was hiding something. "It seems we'd underestimated Genjo Sanzo's ability to sense us, hm?"

"I heard you, you moron," Sanzo snapped, keeping his gun trained on him. This man was his closest opponent. "You might want to practice some stealth."

"No need," the god said cockily. "You can't kill us with that-- as I'm sure you found out when you couldn't kill Lord Homura with it, either."

Narrowing his eyes, Sanzo lowered his gun, but only a little. Damn... it really is going to take more than that to kill them, then.

The boy behind him quickly moved forward, stepping in front of Sanzo. "What are you guys doing here?" he demanded. "Homura didn't say anything about--"

"Quiet, traitor," another god snapped. The boy seemed taken aback by the accusation; he took a step backward. From his angle Sanzo could barely see dark eyebrows stitch in bewilderment. "You left Lord Homura's tower days ago. We have orders to kill Genjo Sanzo and take his scriptures."

"And we have permission to kill you as well." The third god smirked.

The boy seemed at a loss for words; most of what came out of his mouth was incoherent spluttering. "I... who... what?"

"Enough talk! Genjo Sanzo," the first god ordered. "Hand over the scriptures and Lord Homura may spare your insignificant life."

Turning his attention away from the confused boy, Sanzo scowled. "Your lord isn't very bright if he sent you with those words," he said. He almost missed the dark look the golden-eyed boy gave him. "My answer is still no."

"Then you die." With an overly dramatic move the first god finally brought his arms out in front of him, twirling something glinting bronze in the dull moonlight. The exaggerated movements ended with both arms locked in front of him, one butterfly knife wielded in each hand.

Before Sanzo could even raise his gun in defense (even if his weapon was useless against them) the second god smirked, flicking his wrist out in front of him. Smoke suddenly exploded in the air, thick and choking Sanzo almost immediately. He staggered back, trying to ignore the sting in his eyes.

"Kyah!" The sudden cry made him whirl around. He could barely see the boy's silhouette in front of him, his arms raised in the air. He seemed to be blocking something with the staff Sanzo remembered him using against his team only days before.

It seemed they were going to be temporary allies.

"Tch! So you are going to team up with the opposing party." The voice was deep and rough; Sanzo realized it was the third god who had said nothing. Keeping a wary eye out for any other shapes or shadows, he managed to hear their conversation at the same time.

They sounded close, which was bad. Sanzo could only see five dark outlines-- the boy, dimmer contours of the god fighting him, their weapons, and the tree he had been leaning against before the gods had appeared. Everything else was covered by smoke thick and strong enough to make Sanzo's eyes water. He blinked rapidly, squinting to lessen the pain a little.

"You are really pissin' me off," he heard the boy snarl. There was another loud cry, a few sharp thwacks of wood against wood, and shortly after a shrill scream that ended in a gurgle.

The smoke was clearing a little. Sanzo felt a sudden presence at his side, and glancing to his right he could dimly see the boy beside him. Rather than annoyance or fear there was a glimmer of excitement in his eyes-- a glimmer Sanzo remembered seeing during their own fight days before.

"This is gonna kick so much ass," he heard the boy hiss excitedly. "Hey, Konzen-- we teammates for now?"

"My name isn't Konzen," Sanzo said flatly. He didn't bothering answering the boy's question-- it wasn't like they had a choice anyway. "Brat."

"Yeah, well, my name's not brat. It's Goku," the boy said firmly. "We teaming up or what?"

Sanzo snorted, raising his gun and turning slightly. He still couldn't see any hint of another god, or even another presence. "Like I have a choice."

"Cool. I promise I won't kill ya later, then," Goku said impishly. Sanzo rolled his eyes. That turned out to be a bad move, since it let more smoke sting his eyes. He cursed softly, reaching up to rub them instinctively.

Just as he did there was a rustle beside him. He immediately brought his gun up, firing two rounds. They connected with something, but it didn't sound like a body. From the corner of his eye he saw Goku whirl in the same direction, and without thinking why Sanzo stepped out of the boy's way.

Goku made a strangled noise as twin clangs resounded around them. The smoke was fading a lot faster now, and Sanzo was able to see the two butterfly knives that Goku had barely been able to block. The blades were inches away from his face, and the boy looked pale.

The god wielding the weapons smirked, his voice haughty as he spoke. "So... this is the pathetic level... of Lord Homura's student?"

Student? Sanzo eyed the boy skeptically, who glared at the god in return.

"I'm not pathetic!" Goku gave a sudden hard shove. It should have thrown the god off balance, but he caught his footing quickly, bringing one of the knives around to slash at the boy's midsection. Sanzo fired at the same moment.

The god shrieked, the knife falling from his hand. Startled that he had actually hit his mark, Sanzo caught a quick glimpse of the bullet imbedded in the god's arm. It looked broken, as though the force of the bullet had shattered the bone. So only fatal shots don't work, Sanzo realized.

Goku took advantage of his opponent's moment of weakness, giving a loud cry as he brought his staff down on the god's head. There was a sickening crack. The god fell to the ground, the back of his skull caved in. Sanzo stared, feeling numb. The brat had more power behind his blows than he'd previously fought. Thinking back, he suddenly realized how fortunate he, Gojyo, and Hakkai had been to go against the kid three-to-one.

No way in hell...

"Two down, one to go," Goku said smugly, not seeming perturbed by the killing of two men from his own side. He kept surprising Sanzo-- and the priest did not like that.

"Hey," he growled. He opened his mouth to say more, but hesitated when Goku suddenly narrowed his eyes. Without quite understanding how he knew the last god was behind him, Sanzo spun around, slamming the butt of his gun into the god's gut. The man gagged, stumbling back, and Goku moved forward in the same instant, driving his staff into the man with such force that it went completely through him.

"S'what you bastards get for calling me a traitor," the boy said snidely, freeing his weapon with a vicious tug. The god only gasped an incoherent response, falling to his knees, and then to his face. Blood pooled in the grass, and the residual smoke vanished.

Sanzo watched Goku make a face. The boy mumbled something about messy battles as he wiped the blood off his staff using the robes of the dead god at his feet. Unbelievable, he thought, refusing to accept the idea that this cocky little brat was as strong as he was. Not strong enough to take on Sanzo's entire party, but had he only been fighting one of them, maybe even just two...

We would have been dead, Sanzo realized. The confirmation unsettled him.

"Whew!" The boy grinned up at him, his weapon vanishing from sight. Sanzo kept his gun out. "Glad that's over. Oh, wow, it's morning already?"

There was no way this idiot was so strong. There was just no possible way... Sanzo shook his head, finally returning his gun to his robes. The aftermath of the fight combined with his lack of sleep finally caught up with him; Sanzo was quickly beginning to feel drained.

Too late he realized that their scuffle with the gods had attracted the unwanted attention he had hoped to avoid.

"Sanzo?" Hakkai's voice sounded genuinely amazed, as though he could sense Sanzo was both not alone and with unusual company. The blonde turned to face him, not at all startled to see Gojyo just behind the man.

Gojyo narrowed his eyes, striding forward. "Hey! You, kid--"

"I'm not a kid," Sanzo heard Goku snap from behind him. The boy's voice sounded suddenly distant; Sanzo heard pine needles rustling. Without looking he knew Goku was backing away.

"Forget him," the blonde found himself saying shortly. He rubbed the back of his neck, grimacing at the soreness he felt there. His knee ached again as well. Strange; in the midst of battle, he'd almost forgotten about his injury. "Let's go."

Gojyo growled in frustration. "What the hell? No way. I owe that goddamn brat a few good whacks--"

"I said, 'Let's go,' " Sanzo said irritably. Seeming miffed, Gojyo reluctantly stepped back toward Hakkai, shooting the boy behind Sanzo a dirty look. There was a sudden scrambling sound, and Sanzo knew Goku had run.

Brat, he thought tiredly. "Coffee," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. They still stung a little. "Coffee. Then we're leaving. You're driving." The last sentence was thrown at Gojyo.

"What?! What the hell? Just because you didn't get any damn sleep stalking some creepy kid," Gojyo began, bristling.

"You," Sanzo cut in, his voice dangerously low. "Driving. Let's go." Without another sword he strode past his companions, back toward the inn. Behind him he heard Hakkai softly say something about humoring his whims. Gojyo snorted.

It wasn't until they were back in the inn and Sanzo was musing over a cup of coffee that he realized what he should have done-- and what he had to do now. He should have shot the boy when he had the chance, even if it might have missed. He should have tested the extent of Goku's abilities before the gods had come along, even at the risk of waking people.

Now he had to get the boy to come with them. He sure as hell wasn't going to stop the journey; that would be foolish on many levels. But if he ran into Goku again he was going to have to find some way to persuade the boy to come along with them. And if persuasion was going to involve Sanzo knocking the boy out cold and dragging him along with his hands and feet tied... well, at least the idea was appealing.