: Worthless :
Saiyuki RELOAD
Rating: 13+
Warnings: excessive blood, MAJOR manga spoilers, angst, character death
Notes: Mostly spoilers for the latest chapter of Zero-SUM. Also my first time writing Hazel, so critique on him is welcome.
Constructive criticism and feedback are appreciated.
His expression was as dead as the bodies around him, his person living alone in the wreckage. Dirt and blood streaked his face, staining his robes until they resembled more of an angry splatter of paint on canvas, rather than the holy clothes they had once been. His arms hung limply at his side; fingers clutched a still-smoking Smith & Wesson until his knuckles were white.
And the air was frostier than his heart had ever been.
Unbelievable, truly, how a moment could turn the wheels of fate in another direction entirely. For an instant, they had been alone, talking of life and death. And then...
And then, blood had exploded out of nowhere. Not all of the blood on the man's robes was of the enemy, or of his own. Far too much was of the person now gone.
He was tempted to kneel beside his fallen companion, to check for a pulse, any sign of life. But such an action was foolish, and he knew it. If the boy had been alive, if he had shown any sign of life whatsoever, he would have done it during the bloody massacre that had followed his downfall. But since collapsing to the ground to create rivers of his own blood, the boy had only gurgled and fallen silent.
So Genjo Sanzo had silenced those who had killed him.
"Ahh..." A quiet sigh cut through the stillness, causing the priest's head to jerk. Within a yard of him was the infamous bishop Hazel, tilting his hat back as he surveyed the damage with a critical eye. The bishop clucked softly, stepping over the ruined bodies. "Such a mess, such a mess. I thought you only killed youkai?"
The last question, though casual, was directed to Sanzo. The man didn't reply but for a cold stare.
"It's a pity," said Hazel, coming to stand beside the dead boy. "Wasn't this one of your companions?"
"He was," stated Sanzo. Emotionlessly.
Hazel flashed him a regretful smile—but his eyes, they spoke naught of his lips. "How sad. He seemed to, how to put it... revere you, in a way."
Sanzo looked down at the prone body, but his jaw was clenched.
He could feel the bishop's eyes on him for some time, piercing and cynical and curious all at once. But Sanzo owed him no explanation, and so he refused to acknowledge Hazel's rudeness.
"I could revive him, you know."
The words made Sanzo jerk again, this time as though jolted with lightening. His cold expression slipped, briefly revealing the underlying vulnerability and hatred. Violet eyes blazed before simmering down to a hot smolder.
Hazel just smiled, cocking his head. His hand went to the crest hanging from his neck, fingering it as though it were as sacred as any one holy scripture. "I could give him a soul back, if you'd like."
And Sanzo hated him for making the offer so tempting, hated him for being a tormentor under the guise of a selfless man. Without proof, only gut instinct, Sanzo knew Hazel had been behind this attack somehow—the attack that had somehow killed the inviolable child of the earth. He wanted to raise the gun to Hazel's head, aim between the eyes, cock the trigger and squeeze until his last bullet passed through the arrogant traveler's forehead.
Instead, he turned his angry glare to the pale glow of the moon. And said:
"If the soul isn't his..."
He could only take satisfaction in seeing Hazel's expression—for once, not smug, not teasing, and well aware he had somehow lost.
"... then it's worthless to me."
It was all he could do to make Goku's death not entirely meaningless.