A/N I'm back! I wanna keep this commentary short. I DON'T OWN SAIYUKI! But even so, I hope you'll enjoy this next installment of "Time and Time Again". Thanks for all the support you guys gave me, for I wouldn't be posting this if it weren't for you!

Time and Time Again

Chapter 4

By Crimson Devil

"Uh…where am I…?" he groaned as pain wafted over him. "You're in my bed, that's where." He propped himself up on his elbow and his face was met by a tanned one with strands of long, red hair tied up into a ponytail with some tresses escaping the bind. "W-Why am I here…?" Hakkai asked, scratching the back of his head. "What? You don't remember, huh? Well, here's what happened…" he said, walking up to the bed as he leaned over the brunette. "You were being mugged by some loon with a knife. I whipped his sorry ass and saved your life. Does that ring any bells?" he said with a bit of a smirk on his face. "What?!" Hakkai burst in shock. His face was tinged with pink, especially now that he was just inches away from Gojyo. Realizing what he was thinking about only made things worse. "Uh…uhm…thank you so much! I'm in your debt! How can I repay you?" he stammered, concentrating on getting his glasses back on straight. "Aww c'mon! There's no need for that! You don't need to do that." He said waving two hands in front of him. "Oh but I have to! You saved my life!" Hakkai persisted. "But…I don't think I need any help with anything…" Gojyo said contemplatively, cupping his chin into his hand in thought. Slightly disappointed, but not totally put down, Hakkai flashed his best smile and said, "Well, in any case, just let me know if you need anything. I'd be glad to help!"

Smiling down at the brunette, somewhat taken aback by his disarming smile, ruffled his hair lightly so as not to hurt the lump on his head. "You're a nice kid." Hakkai chuckled and stuck out his tongue playfully. Just then, Dokugakuji knocked on the door. "Yeah, come in." Gojyo called to his brother. Dokugakuji stepped into the room with a tray of steamy noodles and soup and a pain-killing aspirin. "Hey there! I heard about what happened back at the alley. How're you doin' Hakkai-kun?" he said with a concerned look on his face. "Oh I'm doing much better now! Thank you for your hospitality." He said, bowing his head to the older man. "Whoa! No need to be so formal, kid. You're very welcome here. Any friend of Gojyo's is a friend of mine." He said as he placed the contents of the tray on a smaller table made for eating in bed. "You're a very polite teenager. I didn't know there were still kids of your kind left!" the raven haired man laughed. "You're the exact opposite of my brother here!" he said pointing to the red-head beside him. "Hey! You're one to talk!" he retorted, punching his brother playfully on the arm. Hakkai laughed at the sight and said, "Oh I don't know about that. I think that in time, we'll both find out that we have a lot in common. Right, Gojyo-sempai?" he said, looking up at Gojyo's red eyes with his piercing green ones. If he didn't know better, Gojyo could've sworn that he saw a glint of sadness in Hakkai's eyes.

"Sanzo? Sanzo, are you in here?" a voice called to the blonde from outside the door. "Yeah, I'm in here." He responded, not bothering to open the door. Mrs. Genjo came into the room and walked over to her son, who was studying as always. "You know Sanzo, it isn't bad to take a break once in a while." She said, sitting on his bed. "I don't want to let my guard down. I don't want to fail in anything." He said, readjusting his glasses as he looked at his mother. She heaved a sigh and replied, "That's my boy, always a busy body. Don't you know the saying 'All work and no play−'"

"Yes, mother, I know that." He said in exasperation. "All I'm trying to say Sanzo is that I'm worried about you. Though I can imagine that there are a lot of girls that admire you, but I wonder if you have true friends." Sanzo stopped reading. He didn't know why he had to be affected by what she said for he didn't think that he had a reason to. "I may not be that old yet, but we'll never know when I'll move on. If something happens to me, and you're all alone, I don't know what'll become of you."

"You don't know what you're talking about, mom!" he said, hurt and angry at the same time. "You're fine. You're not sick. So don't talk about crap like that!" At this point, Sanzo was up on his feet; his glasses on his study table, and his hands curled into shaking fists. Mrs. Genjo stepped toward him and took him into a protective embrace. "Don't worry, Sanzo. I believe you'll still be happy even when I'm gone. I can assure you."

That same night, Goku was having trouble getting to sleep in his townhouse. He twisted and turned underneath the covers of his bed as beads began to trickle down his temple. Blurred visions faded in and out of his mind's eye, groaning incoherently as they did. He heard and felt his pulse throbbing each time. Soon, he started hearing voices.

"Goku…"

"Konzen!"

"Oi, baka saru!"

"Ken-niichan!"

"Yare yare…"

"Ten-chan!"

With a gasp he opened his eyes and bolted into a sitting position. He scanned his room frantically, searching for the source of the voices. Finding none, he clambered out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. "I need to take a shower…" he told himself as he took off his slightly damp, pale blue pajamas. Stepping onto the cold, smooth tiles of the shower room, he turned the knob and lukewarm water started spraying from above. In a few moments, his chocolate brown hair was matted down; his unruly locks were now dripping tendrils of hair. He grabbed the liquid soap dispenser and took out a liberal amount, smothering it over his body. "That was so…weird. Who were those people? Who was calling my name?" he thought to himself, recalling what had happened earlier. He made no attempt to wash away the fragrant suds of soap from his tanned body. Instead, he let the water do it for him as it trailed down his skin to his feet and into the drain. He turned his face upward without opening his eyes. "What did I…I know that I've had weird dreams before, but this isn't anything like I've had. They looked and sound familiar…although I'm pretty sure I haven't seen them before."

After a few minutes had passed, Goku stepped out in fresh pajamas, with the promise of a good night's sleep as his eyelids weighed heavily, threatening to drop even before he got to the bed. Lying back down on his cool bed, the lingering fragrance from his bath took its toll and was lulled to sleep with his troubled thoughts.

A/N There we go! Sorry this took so long! But I assure you that this fic will be worth the wait! I appreciate all the reviews. You've made it possible for me to keep writing and posting! Wait for the next update, ne?