A/N Hi! It's me again! Hope you guys liked the last three chapters that were posted. And for the sake of Akiko Koishi,I will increase my use of spaces. Sorry for making you cross-eyed there! Thanks to all those who reviewed too! This would never be possible if it weren't for all the support that I got. Hehehe! Well, I hope you'll enjoy this next chapter too!
Time and Time Again
Chapter 3
By Crimson Devil
It was already the middle of May, the flowers blooming even more than usual this year at the acclaimed school of Mamiyoka High. And today was Parent-Teacher Day, an occasion for the parents to talk to their sons' teachers. As the parents and students entered the campus, Goku sat at the classroom's window, watching them pass by. "I'll finally get to meet my class' parents. This'll be interesting." He thought to himself, a content smile on his face. That's when he saw him. How could anyone not miss the brilliant blonde hair and lanky figure? "That's right…I'll be meeting Sanzo's parents as well…" he remembered. Ever since the first time he laid eyes on Sanzo, his pupils reddened hands, he couldn't stop worrying about him. He kept on making deductions whether he was in a gang, if he was being bullied or abused, or if he was any sort of trouble. And besides his hands, he saw the look on Sanzo's face. Day in and day out, he would see a kind of pain in his deep amethyst eyes. He wanted to help. "Oh well…I'll find out sooner or later…"
The students proceeded to introduce their folks to their teachers and left them to chatter on about whatever adults talk about. A tap on the shoulder caused Goku to turn around and see Sha Gojyo with another man a tad older than the red-head. "Hi teach!" Gojyo greeted cheerfully. "Good morning Gojyo." He replied with a bright smile. "Uh…I couldn't bring my folks. So I brought my older brother, Dokugakuji." The taller man with black hair stepped forward and bowed slightly to his brother's teacher. "It's a pleasure to meet you sir. Our parents passed away six years ago. So here I am to watch out for my little brother."
"Hey! Don't call me 'little'!" Gojyo retorted, scowling at his older brother. Goku laughed at the sight. "Well, I'm sure that you're doing a good job of taking care of him Dokugakuji." He replied with another smile. "Sir Goku! Please come over and meet my parents!" a voice called out. "Oh! Excuse me. It was nice meeting you." He said stretching his hand out and shook Dokugakuji's. "Same here!"
An hour and a half later, the crowd began to thin out. Just when Goku thought that he had talked to all his pupils' parents, he turned and saw Sanzo and his mother. Walking over to them, he greeted Sanzo. "Hello there. I presume that you are Mrs. Genjo." He said, facing the woman who looked like she was in her mid forties. "Why yes. Are you my son's new teacher?" she asked. "Yes. I must say that you have a fine son. He does very well in all of his classes." He commented. "I'll be outside the room mom. I need to check on something." Sanzo told her. With that, he bowed to his teacher and left. "So…where is Mr. Genjo?" the tall brunette asked. "Oh…well, you see we…" she stopped, her voice faltering a bit. "We broke up. He got too attached to his work." She said finally. "Oh! I'm so sorry…" he started to say. "Oh no. it's nothing too serious." Goku looked at the classroom door and wondered about how Sanzo was dealing with it and if it had something to do with his reddened knuckles. Changing the subject, he talked more to the woman before him. Little did they both know that the blonde teen stood outside the door, leaning on the wall, listening to everything they were talking about.
As the day came to a close, Mrs. Genjo bowed down to Goku as she bid him good bye. "It was a pleasure meeting a young man like you sir Goku." She told him. "I believe that my son and his classmates are in good hands." Goku blushed slightly at the comment. "Er…no! I'm not that great. But thank you for the kind words." He said, scratching the back of his head. Sanzo walked on ahead and was waiting for his mother at the gate, his back turned to them. Mrs. Genjo looked at his son and then at Goku. "Sir Goku. There's something else that I'd like to tell you." She told him. "Something else?" he asked, wondering what it was. "Yes." She motioned for him to lean in closer so that she could whisper into his ear. "If ever anything happens to me…I'd like you to take care of Sanzo."
"What?" he asked surprised and shocked at the same time. "Please. Don't ask now. But please promise me that. You're different…I trust you enough. Call it a mother's intuition. Besides, Sanzo wouldn't want to be with his relatives. He simply doesn't like their company." She looked at him, with a genuine kind of happiness in her eyes, as Goku could see. "Please?" she asked again. "Well… I really do wanna help…I care about this student and his mother. And she's asking me for help…how could I turn my back on such trust?" He thought. He gave her a reassuring nod which was answered by a content and somewhat relieved sigh. "Thank you so much." She said, taking a bow and proceeded towards the gate where her son was waiting.
Sanzo looked up to his mother and looked back at his teacher who was walking into the building, probably to get his things from the classroom. "What did you two talk about?" he asked as they walked towards the car parked near the entrance. "Oh, not much. I asked him about his life and how it was like to be a teacher at a young age. Did you know that he's just twenty-one? He said that he excelled a grade or two higher, so he was in college by the time he was sixteen! He's quite something." She commented. "Hmm." The blonde responded, looking up towards the orange sky.
Meanwhile, Gojyo walked along the street after buying groceries from a nearby convenience store for an errand. "Why couldn't Dokugakuji do the errand?" he complained, digging hi hand into his pocket. As he walked on, he heard a little commotion coming from a narrow alley. Looking for the source, he found an armed robber who had a knife to a boy's throat, his back against the wall. "P-please! D-don't hurt me!" the boy cowered, fearing that he could feel the cold blade against his skin at any moment. "You're gonna have to give me your money first, kid." He said gruffly. "But I told you, I don't have any!" he told him. Gojyo, seeing that he was in trouble, set the plastic down on a safe place, hurried toward the boy. "Hey you! Let him go!" he said startling the other man. With a swift move, he lifted his leg and did an axe kick which sent the robber to the ground. Getting back up on his feet, he charged toward the red-head. Gojyo evaded this attack and got behind the man and tackled him by the arm, hoisting him over his shoulder and back on the ground, leaving him unconscious. "That'll teach you, jerk." He said, brushing himself off. "G-Gojyo??"
Turning around, he saw the brunette before him with green tear-rimmed eyes. "Hakkai?!" Before he could utter another sentence, he collapsed to the ground, but not before Gojyo caught him. "Hey! Hey, Hakkai!" his voice called to the unconscious boy. His crimson eyes grew wide with shock as he saw blood trailing along the freshman's arm.
A/N There! So, how is it so far? I hope you guys like it so far. Please read and review! I look forward to all your reviews!