: Calling :

Gensomaden Saiyuki

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki. All rights go to Minekura Kazuya.

Rating: K

Warnings: Goku-centric, mild series spoilers

Notes: First off, there will be absolutely no shounen ai in this story. This is strictly a genfic; any hinting you guys want to see, that's fine. But this is not going to be romance in any way whatsoever. This is to focus on Goku. That is my priority.

Rating will also go up.

That said, enjoy. Constructive criticism and feedback is appreciated.

Prologue

She was so alone.

Darkness and despair were becoming inevitable. She had fought them for so long, but was now unable to hold back. Emptiness made Her core hollow.

This had never been Her intention. This was not why She had given him up.

Her melancholy was beginning to overtake Her duties. Her anger influenced others when it should not have. She was not in control of Herself; a concept that was dangerous to even contemplate. But what else was She supposed to do? She had never intended to be separated from him for so long. One of his lifetimes, at best, and that was all.

But the gods had interfered. They had crushed Her hope; soiled Her plans. And there was no way She could have fought back at the time. Death for him was something She had not even wanted to consider. If he had to die, She had wanted him to go peacefully and without pain.

But he was so different now. He had changed over time; was now willing to accept agony with death if it meant saving those he wanted to save. This difference made Her cry in despair many days, many nights, and sometimes for weeks on end.

It was all just another example of how She was affected.

No, She decided. She would not allow him to die grievously. She needed him, but would not allow him to hurt. She would kill him, but soothe him in the process. No one would interfere this time; he was with companions that should not care less. And even if they proved Her wrong, She was not without resources.

It was decided. She would retrieve him even if it cost the lives of all else She had to care for.

-

The sight was so rare, he couldn't help himself. Despite his master's obvious twitching – which he felt more than saw – Goku leaned over the front seat to get a good look at the bewilderment on Hakkai's face. Dark eyebrows were stitched in puzzled concern, the tiniest of frowns creasing his lips as he appeared to contemplate their situation.

Truly, this was an unusual picture.

"So let me get this straight," a certain redhead drawled from the backseat. Gojyo made no move to look at their driver's face, indicating he had somehow seen it before and didn't consider it of importance. "First off, you bought this map just last week."

"Correct," Hakkai said. His voice was slightly different than normal; slower, as though he were thinking particularly hard of how to reply.

"Second," Gojyo continued after the affirmation, "There are no signs of a mountain range on this map."

"Not for some time," their driver agreed.

Goku lowered his eyes to the unfolded paper in Hakkai's lap. He didn't know much about the keys displayed, but if he was guessing correctly, the white area was supposed to indicate flat land, and the green higher points. The blue lines seemed obvious; the black marks that smelled obviously of pen looked as though they had been added on after the map was bought. If Goku was indeed inferring properly, then there really were few mountain ranges in sight. Not that he believed Hakkai was lying, but it always helped to check himself.

A sudden chill shot down his spine; a familiar feeling whenever Sanzo was getting particularly annoyed with him. Goku quickly drew back. In front of him, Sanzo visibly relaxed.

"Okay," Gojyo was saying, waving his hand in a grand gesture. "Then how do you explain that?"

Goku followed the motion, and was again reminded of the enormous line of jagged rocks before them. They seemed to reach all the way to the heavens, disappearing into the clouds several thousand meters into the air. It certainly did seem odd for something so obvious not to be marked.

"We were warned the map was not up to date," Sanzo said flatly from the front seat. A metallic clink sounded, followed by a whiff of tobacco. Goku wrinkled his nose slightly, but said nothing.

"This is true," Hakkai conceded. "But it seems quite implausible that this map was made before the mountain was discovered, doesn't it?"

"So maybe it just popped up," Goku said without thinking.

His comment earned him a sound thump from an irritatingly familiar fist. "How stupid can you get?" Gojyo demanded.

Goku shoved the man's arm away. "Lay off! I was bein' serious!"

"That's why I asked," Gojyo sneered in return.

Goku bristled, but what Sanzo said surprised him enough to abandon any idea of continuing the argument.

"The idiot monkey actually may be right," the priest said grudgingly. Without taking his eyes off from a point in the distance, he continued. "The last town we stayed at was shaken by a violent earthquake a few weeks ago. Seems it was all the people could talk about."

Pleased that, for once, his idea had been praised (well, as much as it would be) rather than violently shot down as always, Goku shot Gojyo a smirk. The man returned it with a scoff, refusing to admit defeat.

"Well," Hakkai finally said, delicately folding the map. "Shall we take our chances plowing through without a hope of safe trails, or shall we drive around?"

"Through," said Sanzo automatically. "Around is more time we can't afford to waste."

Nobody had really expected the answer to be any different, so no protests came up. However, Gojyo had something to add. "Yeah, let's go through. I wanna get a closer look at Monkey Mountain."

From the name itself, Goku knew it was meant for him. He also knew it was unwise to rise to the bait, but he was scowling already. "What's that supposed t' mean?" he demanded.

The look Gojyo gave him was devilishly innocent. "Didn't you notice? The rocks look like a monkey's face. Must be your home," he added as an afterthought.

Despite himself, Goku looked again. He squinted, trying to see what Gojyo was talking about, but he couldn't understand it. He couldn't see anything but the jagged surfaces the mountain was made up of; exactly what it was supposed to be.

Besides, he thought as the jeep went into motion again. If anything, the formations looked more like a welcoming face. And as they drew closer, he couldn't help but get a satisfying sensation in the pit of his stomach.

It was almost as though he were being welcomed home.