Water Monkey

Part 2

Later that day, Goku was quiet in his thoughts as he sat on his bed in his and Gojyo's shared room. Said kappa was asleep and near snoring. Goku placed a small note on his own bed and silently climbed out the window. He ran away from the temple with a sour look on his face.

"I'll show Sanso how wrong he is about me!"

Minutes later, Gojyo stirs. A cold breeze from the open window caused him to shiver and wake up all the way. The redhead turned over on his stomach and pulled his pillow around his face, attempting to block and cold and return warmth to himself.

"Goku, how many times do I have to tell you to keep that damn window closed! Close it now, you stupid-"

He stopped, not hearing a retort, which usually came in, interrupting his yelling, and then he sat up in his bed, cradling his, now cold pillow in his lap. Looking around, he found nothing that even closely resembled a stupid monkey.

"Goku?"

He wasn't there at all, and Gojyo was sure he had heard him only moments earlier. Was it just a dream? Gojyo eventually dismissed it, getting up to close the window, himself. He figured Goku had left to find food, somewhere, or something stupid like that. The monk must have given in, he thought, for he heard not sounds of disapproval or anger from said monk the monkey no doubt would have gone to, first. Turning back from the window, Gojyo caught sight of a small paper sitting atop Goku's bed. He looked back to his bed, tiredly, wanting so much to ignore the note, but his kappa-like curiosity got the better of him and he sat on Goku's bed and read the note to himself.

Sanzo and Hakkai were talking in another room and drinking tea when Gojyo knocked loudly and entered. Sanzo was ready to throw a tantrum at the intrusion in the peaceful time, but the look on Gojyo's face had both the men at a sudden loss. Sanzo was the first to regain his composure and glared at the intruder.

"Can we help you?"

"So, he's not here…"

"Who are you looking for, Gojyo?"

"Goku. Have you seen him around?"

"Not since the disastrous swimming episode, I'm afraid."

"Neither have I, thank goodness for that. I thought he would never give me a moment in peace."

"That's not even funny, Sanzo! I'm worried."

"About Goku?"

"Shocking."

Sanzo went back to calmly drinking his tea and Hakkai shot him an almost mad look before turning his attention back to Gojyo. It was then that Hakkai was handed the note left by the monkey-boy. After reading it, Hakkai stood up and his eyes went wide.

"He's GONE! Where on Earth could he- would he go off to?"

"I don't know. I thought he had come in here."

"Then why leave a note?"

Guys I'm going on my own somewhere. Do not try to stop me!

"You know that when someone bothers to write 'don't stop me' is exactly the time when they NEED to be stopped…"

"Gojyo, when was the last time you saw Goku?"

"Just about fifteen minutes ago in out room. He was being so quiet, I decided to take a nap before dinner!"

"Idiot. Goku is NEVER quiet. When Goku is quiet, it means trouble. Why didn't you keep an eye on him?"

"Who do you think I am, his keeper? Uh-uh! That's YOUR job, pal!"

"You're the one who was the cause of all of this! You should have taken responsibility!"

"What? ME? You were the one who yelled at him!"

"But it was because of YOU that I had to get involved in the first place!

"Now, now… lets all settle down and think. Now, where would Goku go?"

This didn't require much thought from either male.

"The kitchen."

"Yeah, the kitchen."

Hakkai sighed at his companion's hopelessness. Then, a monk rudely entered the room without even knocking. He was holding a bundle of orange in his hands.

"Master Sanzo, we have a situation on our hands!"

"Get in line. We're trying to solve a problem of our own right now."

"Wait!"

Hakkai got up and took the bundle from the monk and looked them over. Then he looked back to the others.

"Well?"

"T-these are Goku's."

"Say what?"

"You. Were did you find those?"

"By the river almost a mile away from here."

Sanzo got up and briskly walked out of the room, followed by the others. The monk from before led the small group to the place at the bank of a river where he had found the articles of clothing.

"It was right here."

"Well, the current doesn't appear to be very strong here, so it's not likely he got swept away. It does look deep, though…"

"That monkey couldn't have drowned. We would see something. Anything."

"I don't want to think about that."

"Well, the river does get very rough further down river, especially during this time. Perhaps your companion got curious and-"

"Shh! Wait a minute…"

Hakkai listened.

"It's Goku!"

"What? I don't hear anything!"

Hakkai started off down the bank. Followed closely by the other two and the monk. His hyper-sensitive ears had picked up on Goku further down the river, though it was faint, as was. He led the others along to the much rougher part of the river and stopped to look around. He could no longer hear his younger companion.

"Master Sanzo, there!"

The monk had spotted the boy and pointed out into the raging river. It was no wonder they couldn't hear the boy- he was up to his chin in rising water, and was only getting deeper into trouble.

"Goku!"

"He's slipping into the water! Hang in there, you stupid monkey!"

"Damn him. Of course he had to grab onto an insecure boulder over there. He's such a pain in the-"

"Actually, Master Sanzo…"

"Mm?"
"Though it may have a strong current, this river isn't usually so dangerous."

"What do you mean?"

"Normally, the river is only six feet deep, but once a month, those in the village back the other way release more water to flood the river, raising the level to nearly eight feet."

"You mean…"

"Damn, we just had to come when that was happening!"

"I'm afraid so. Everything along this river bank will be over flooded."

"Wait, then that means that boulder will be-"

They looked back. Goku's head was now bobbing up and down just above the waterline as he tried to call out to his friends and his sun. He was more than halfway across, and wasn't sure if his words were reaching that far.

"H-hey! Aren't you guys going to help me or something?1 You can't just lea-leave me to die like this! It's cold and wet and very unpleasant!"

"Why should we help you? You got yourself into that mess, and you can get yourself out!"

"Sanzo!"

Goku's head fell under the water as he nearly let go in surprise. Gojyo glared at the monk and rolled up his pant legs as he waded slowly into the water.

"Just ignore him, Goku! Hold on, I'm coming to get you!"

The water was cold, and before he knew it, the water had gained much strength and was bone-chillingly cold. Goku must have been frozen by that time. The level quickly rose up beyond Gojyo's knees before he had covered hardly any distance, and Hakkai had to pull him back onto the bank.

"The current is far too strong, I am afraid. We need to go back the other way and cross at the denser area."

"We don't have time for that, you old coot! Goku's gonna drown if we don't do something fast!"

"Not likely. He would be swept down and over the waterfall long before then."

"Sure, what a great help YOU are!"

Holding on for dear life, Goku watched as his friends argued over this and that. He couldn't hear exactly what was being said, due to the water now being at his left ear. He heard the rushing water clearer than their voices, and as more time went by, the less he could see and hear them, altogether. They were yelling, and he was slowly slipping away into the cold abyss as he lost his grip on his lifeline. His fingers were raw and his arms were numb and tired. He looked back up, his tears mixing with the water, so that they were like the same thing.

'What on Earth are they doing over there! Don't they care that I'm up to eyes in water? They are just arguing…I'm drowning, and they just keep… Oh-no…! I can't hold on any longer! Sanzo… Sanzo, I'm so sorry…! I should have done what you told me to! I should have just-'

"Look, we can't keep going on like this! Goku is over there, and he needs help!"

"That's right! The poor monkey is-"

Gojyo pointed back out to where the boy was a moment ago, clinging to the rock, only to find that even the rock was no longer visible. The boulder was gone, and so was Goku. Hakkai gasped and yelled out, having heard a quiet gurgling sound, and then he saw Goku, just barely, being pushed down the river with the current. They, again, broke out into a run in a lame attempt to get to him, but the current was too strong.

"Don't worry, Goku!"

"H-help me! Do something other than tell me not t-to worry!"

"Yeah, whatever! Damn, don't we have any rope!"

"Goku, try moving your arms and legs around like Sanzo showed you!"

"I-I can't!"

The men filled with worry as Goku's head dipped under the water several times, causing the boy to choke and gag.

"Hey, where did Sanzo go, anyway? He better not have abandoned us!"

But said priest had seen this coming and had run ahead down the river while the other had been plotting. He removed his robed, and was now standing on the bank, stripped down to his leathers and jeans. He waited there until he saw his companions running up, but couldn't see Goku in the water.

"Ah! Sanzo, get Goku!"

He was trying, but couldn't see the boy. Finally, he popped up above the waterline again, looking weak and drained. The current had pushed him nearly past the monk, already, by the time Sanzo jumped in. the current was strong, no doubt, but Sanzo wasted no time in adjusting before power stroking down with the current towards the young one. It was, indeed cold, and Sanzo tried not lose his concentration even as he shivered visibly in the cold rushing water. He had to dodge an occasional stationary rock in his way, but he was still making good time. Goku looked up. Though Sanzo was a strong swimmer, he guessed, Goku, what with his smaller size, was still being pulled along faster and faster. A glance to the bank showed that his companions, though they stood no chance where they were, had not given up on the two, managing to keep fair pace with them.

"Goku! Hey!"

Goku opened his eyes again, too weak to even notice they had been closed, and he saw an incredible sight. The swiftness and strength of Sanzo's swimming made him look even more like the god he was in his past. He looked almost majestic, and it gave Goku some strength and hope knowing that Sanzo was really trying his hardest to save him. Their eyes met, and Goku could feel the determination building up in his savior's amethyst eyes.

"Goku, swim over this way!"

"B-but I can't swim yet!"

"Goku, I can't help you if you don't try!"

Goku was filled, next, with sadness at seeing that, now, even Sanzo was having difficulty dealing with the water. Despite his weakness, he attempted to reach Sanzo by using the few simple techniques he had learned earlier. And for a while, it seemed to be working. As he reached out to Sanzo, hopefully, he noticed a drastic change in his expression. From the shore, his other companions started to yell at him.

"Goku! Look out behind you!"

"Look out for the rock, you idiot!"

'Eh? Rock?'

Goku looked behind him only for an instant, and his world suddenly went black. His head collided with the large tock, knocking his unconscious. As he went to that point, Sanzo grabbed onto the rock as he reached out to get Goku. But, because he was no longer fighting against the current, it carried him far and fast, towards the waterfall up ahead. He was almost able to grab the boy's hand, but it slipped away from him and the boy disappeared over the fall.

Almost twenty minutes later, three shadows loomed over a shivering, sopping-wet child look-alike. Blood trickled down from his temple, but a warm green light enveloped him and stole the pain away. He felt lightheaded as he was quickly picked up into warm, protective arms-warmer than his own body could have been. The world slowly gained some color as Goku managed to open his eyes for only a moment. He saw a blackening sky, dark figures standing around him, and then, white. White clothes and golden hair like the sun. He felt warm like the sun, embracing him on a day in the summer. Just before blackness overtook him again, he saw almost gentle features and a mouth that muttered to no one in particular.

"Idiot."

The day had proved to be very educational. He learned he really wasn't meant for water, and something he didn't know before… But, really…

Who knew the sun could swim?