Disclaimer: Silly Saiyuki I don't own you or the World of Darkness references if I did it would rock the freakin' bomb but I don't. ;-; Back to my author cardboard box for me.
Now For Something Completely Different:
Saiyuki: Turning in Circular Motion
Chapter 1: Slowly Beginning to Turn
-The wheel of Time has begun its motions by which none may escape.
"Sanzo! Sanzo!"
"Where is he?"
"Sanzo!"
Three men were yelling as they made their way down the hall. Two of them, getting annoyed with the futile shouting, began to grumble amongst themselves.
"Why the hell did he bring it back here anyway?"
"I think he's getting soft in the head. Seen too much. It'll happen to all of us eventually."
"Did you know that Kanzeon let him keep it? She said no one but Sanzo is even supposed to lay a finger on it."
"You want it to bite you or something. Better it bite that stiff old priest than me."
"It's not a vamp, you idiot, you can't contract demonization."
"That damn priest better show up soon before—"
"Before what exactly."
Sanzo who had been walking up the corridor adjacent to theirs had heard more than enough of their conversation that it had him supremely pissed off even before he showed up. When he turned the corner, his glare was enough to freeze the trio up in instant fear. He continued staring hard until one of them spoke up.
"S-Sir…your demon…he's…"
"He has a name, use it." Sanzo's voice fell wrathfully.
"Er, ah, Goku… he's in the kitchen again. We can't get him to leave."
Sanzo put one hand to his face then dragged it down with an exasperated sigh, "Gods…"
Without another word to the terrified trio, Sanzo stalked off toward the kitchen with loud heavy steps. Once again, he wondered why he had brought the damned boy back with him. Upon entering the disaster zone a.k.a. the kitchen, Sanzo nearly laughed at the scene before him. Almost, because someone was responsible for cleaning this up and hell if it was going to be him.
Goku was sitting or rather perched upon a countertop covered in flour, sugar, and what could possibly be identified as egg, stirring madly at a bowl. An ingredient-splattered cookbook was open before him. The cause of Sanzo's amusement, however, lie in the look of sheer concentration that was on the boy's face. Reaching into his long coat, Sanzo took out his implement of punishment…THWACK…and struck his victim hard across the back of his head. The demon nearly fell off the counter.
"That hurt!" Goku rubbed the back of his head.
"Stop that, you're getting it in you hair you idiot." Sanzo gave him a glare while attempting not to be amused.
Goku put on a hurt look, "What was that for?"
"The mess, idiot."
"But I wore an apron!" Goku pulled at the messy cloth, "See?"
"The floor isn't wearing an apron." Sanzo sighed then returned to glaring, "And get off the counter, its unsanitary."
"But Sanzo, the counter's too high." Goku pouted as he hopped off the counter, "I can't reach everything."
"That's because –you- are not supposed to." Sanzo crossed his arms.
"But Sanzo, I can't make everyone dinner if I can't get to the stuff."
"Who would want to eat anything you made? You'd poison it on accident." Sanzo stopped when he noticed that perhaps he had hit on a sore spot when the demon's head drooped. That look irritated him, "If you have something to say, say it."
Goku looked up at him with a look that verged on tears, "I thought that if I made everyone dinner, then they would like me and if they liked me then they would stop saying mean stuff about you."
Sanzo let out another long exasperated sigh. He had tried explaining the thing about humans and a general disliking for the creatures beneath the Veil. Also, the fact that this was the Hunter's Guild and it was their job to kill things like him. Apparently, this had gone over the little demon's head. Jealousy would be a topic of discussion when speaking about the other Hunters and how they talked about him. He did not think that Goku would understand that either. Instead of getting angry, Sanzo just felt tired.
"You're an idiot." Sanzo put his hand lightly on the flour-powdered hair, "I can take care of my own business."
Goku looked up at him. There was much that he did not understand, but in the week that he had spent with Sanzo, he seemed to know everything that there needed to be said about the priest. He knew well enough to read between the lines. A tiny smile crossed his lips. Goku started to move forward when Sanzo gripped his hair tightly.
"Ow! That hurts!"
"Don't hug me. You're filthy and we are not having a moment." Sanzo let him go and dusted off his hands, "Clean this mess up and get a bath. I'll see what I can do about making –us- dinner."
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"Full house."
"Straight flush."
"Damn it!" Gojyo snatched up his cards and began shuffling furiously then dealt them again.
"One please."
Gojyo grinned ear to ear at his hand then lay it down on the table, "Straight flush, got you this time Hakkai."
"Oh, I'm sorry." The dark haired vampire lay down his hand as well, "Royal flush."
"W-what the hell?" Gojyo stammered then he glared at the traitorous cards, "Are you some kind of shark because there is no way you are that lucky. No freaking way."
"I'm not cheating if that's what you think. I'm just good with cards." Hakkai shrugged with a smile.
"I'm taking you to play cards at the pub sometime. We'll make a small fortune." Gojyo reshuffled the cards, "Two royal flushes in one day. That's not luck Hakkai, that's impossible."
"Impossible as being found nearly dead in the middle of a rainstorm on a rarely used road in the middle of the night just in time to save my life?" Hakkai shifted a few cards around then glanced up, "Now, now Gojyo. You shouldn't try cheating; the Goddess of Fortune will frown upon you."
"I'm not cheating." Gojyo spoke up, perhaps a bit too quickly.
"My eyes must have mistaken that ace of clubs that you just drew out of your right shirt pocket. Silly me." Hakkai grinned.
"Fine, fine. I'm cheating." Gojyo folded his cards and placed them on the table leaning back in his chair, "You've got to give me a break. You've won for the past hour."
"Then let's take a break and I'll cook you something." Hakkai folded up his cards and placed them on the top of the deck.
"Heh, I still can't get over the notion that you cook. Real food, I mean." Gojyo walked over to the old worn couch and flopped back on it. The springs cracked in protest to the abuse.
"Is it really that odd?" Hakkai asked while tying on a simple white apron.
"I don't know. It's kind of weird don't you think? A vampire cooking and eating real food." Gojyo snatched up a magazine from under his couch.
"Not really. Haven't you ever heard people talk about attending feasts at vampire's castles? We eat real food too. Blood is a necessity." Hakkai lit the stove then began to search in the cabinets for food.
"Yeah, but some of those guests in those stories always end up as a midnight snack for the vampire or some kind of love slave." Gojyo flipped disinterestedly though the pages of the book.
"Well we all have to eat sometime don't we?" Hakkai smiled sweetly.
"You had just better be glad we both like our meals rare." Gojyo smirked with a chuckle.
"Very true." Hakkai put a pan on the stove, "But don't you forget to eat your vegetables."
"Bleagh. Don't tell me you're cooking stir-fry again?" Gojyo whined.
"Well, you haven't been eating right." Hakkai's smile never wavered, "A round of greens won't hurt you, and it's good for your blood."
"Wolf, not cow. Green stuff is for herbivores." Gojyo pointed at himself, "And I'm one good lookin' carnivore."
Hakkai laughed, "You're still an omnivore Gojyo. Humans eat both."
"Humans, eh?" Gojyo went silent and suddenly seemed to find an interest in the reading material before him.
Hakkai glanced over at the werewolf for a moment with a soft look, "I was a regular human once too." It was an offer of common ground.
Gojyo looked up and watched Hakkai chopping up a few vegetables, "So…how are you feeling? I mean it's only been a week since the incident and all."
"I'm fine." Hakkai added the vegetables to the pan and waited for the hiss to die down, "Gojyo?"
"Hm?" The werewolf peered over his magazine.
"Does it bother you that you took me in but know nothing about me or what I've done?" Vegetables hissed in the pan as he turned them.
Gojyo sighed, closed the magazine, and stood up. Tossing the literature to the couch, he walked to the kitchen with his hands in his pockets. When he got next to the vampire, he put his hand on the man's shoulder, "You asked me this before, and I haven't changed my mind. Everyone's got shit on their backs, you're no different. I really don't care. I mean, I got my own junk to deal with. If you want to talk about it, I can tell you that I'm not a good listener. I think I'll just judge you on what I know instead of what's gone on in the past, huh?"
Hakkai gave him a smile, "You're very kind Gojyo."
"Bah." Gojyo shrugged and skulked off into the living room again, "Don't get me wrong. I really don't know why I brought you home. You're the only man let alone vampire who has ever or will even sleep in my bed. Gives me a bad rep with the ladies."
Hakkai chuckled, "I see." He could sense the unspoken emotion. Gojyo had perhaps in his own lonely isolation form the rest of humanity felt a certain pity for him that night and perhaps a bit of kinship. He turned back to the meal adding the rest of the vegetables.
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Sanzo sat bored in his chair while half listening to what Kanzeon was going on about. He had sat through more than enough of these meetings in his lifetime to know that they were just reviews of useless information that he already knew. He sighed, how bothersome. He almost had her annoying voice tuned out when he caught the words speaking of an artifact that he had yet to hear of before. Almost against his will he tuned the conversation back in.
"The Heart of Galinearhe has been rumored to have found its way back into existence from where it had been lost five hundred years ago. We need to find it and keep it away from supernatural hands."
"What does it do?" A young voice asked. Sanzo recognized it as belonging to Hazel, one of the younger more obsessed Hunters.
"According to legend, the Heart would allow the wielder to possess a power greater than the Gods themselves. With it, one could conquer all of Shangri La and Heaven as well. We had some informants arrive yesterday having clearly seen it but they were a bit scrambled in the brain so we didn't get much. I'm just lucky that they made their way back here at all." Kanzeon turned a smiling face toward Sanzo, "I would like you Genjo, to check out our lead.
"Yeah, whatever." Sanzo frowned at her smirk.
"But Kanzeon, I'm more than qualified to take this mission!" Hazel spoke up in outrage, "Why does he always get the important missions?"
Kanzeon chuckled, "So you feel that way about it, fine you can go with him."
"Thank you." Hazel looked proudly pleased.
"What?" Sanzo opened his tired droopy eyes in indignation, "I never asked for a partner!"
"Too bad Genjo." Kanzeon grinned sharply, "You'll take two more people with you as well. This is a precaution. The mission won't be a cakewalk."
"Old bat." Sanzo ground angrily.
"The other two that you take with you, I'll let you choose. Maybe that will soothe your fury a bit." There was almost something dangerously feral in the look she shot Sanzo. It nearly made him flinch, "Stay after the meeting Genjo, I want to speak with you."
"Whatever…"
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Goku was sitting hunched up on the floor by the War Room door. Sanzo had told him to stay here and wait on him. The little demon did not understand why he was not allowed in the room. It was just a room. Besides, it was boring out here. All the people who passed by gave him mean looks. He did not like it. No matter how much he smiled at them, no one ever smiled back. He stood quickly to his feet as the door opened. Hovering just off to the side of the open entrance, he tired to peer past the exiting Hunters and find Sanzo. Suddenly, one person going past him roughly bumped into him, knocking him to the floor. Goku looked up to see a young man looking down at him with disdain.
"Stay out of the way you filthy demon."
The man smirked then stalked off down the hall. Goku stared blankly after the man. What was his problem, Goku had taken a bath this morning. He started to get to his feet when he found and hand offered to him. Blinking, Goku looked up to see a black haired man with glasses. Taking the hand, he got to his feet.
"Don't take it personally little demon. Hazel's just like that." The man smiled. Goku smiled brightly back. Finally, someone nice. The man reached into his pocket then look surprised as he pulled out a sucker, "I guess I had some candy left, you wouldn't want it would you?" His voice was sly and almost charming.
"Candy?" Goku looked ecstatic as he took the offered sucker and promptly began to eat it. Grinning happily, he watched the man, "I'm Goku. What's your name?"
"You can call me Nii." He patted Goku on the head observing the demon the way someone looks at something interesting, "I have more candy in the lab if you want some."
"Really? I can have more?" Bright eyes sparkled.
Nii smiled keeping the sharp corners of it smoothed over, "Of course you can. Come with me."
"Ok!" Goku started to reach out for Nii's hand when suddenly he was hit hard over the head with the paper fan of punishment, "…oww…Sanzo that really hurt…"
"I thought I told you to stay out of trouble you stupid brat!" Sanzo raised the fan and struck him again, "Little pest!"
Dr. Nii's face had been crossed by a slightly irritated look but it was quickly replaced by a mask of amusement, "Now, is that anyway to teach someone Genjo?"
Sanzo turned a displeased angry face to the doctor, "You stay away from him. If you want a test subject, go out and get your own. I don't want him anymore screwed up than he already is."
"My, my. Is that how it is?" Dr. Nii pushed up his glasses. His smile had turned dark.
"Don't try reading anything into it. He's my charge and he's already stupid beyond belief without you tampering with him." Sanzo glared with unspoken treat, "This is your only warning." He turned back to Goku and took him harshly by the upper arm, "Let's go Goku."
"B-but Sanzo…why are you so mad? I didn't do anything…"
Dr. Nii watched them disappear down the hall with his fake smile plastered on his face. There would be other opportunities. A certain someone had promised the demon to him when the Heart was obtained. The wheel had been set into motion and he had only to wait for it to make its turn.
Sanzo dragged the half protesting demon back to their room and shoved him in. He entered and shut the door then walked over to the table and picked up a pack of smokes. Taking one out and setting it in his mouth, he grabbed his lighter and lit it. Sanzo blew out a stream of the white smoke then glanced down at Goku who was sitting on his pallet on the floor like a scolded child.
"Spit that damn candy out and throw it away." Sanzo took another drag.
"But…Sanzo…"
"Urasei! Spit it out and throw it away, now! So help me if I have to come over there…" Sanzo fixed the demon with an icy glare.
With a defeated expression, Goku took the sucker out of his mouth and tossed it in the trashcan. The demon sat back down on his pallet with a depressed sigh. Sanzo rolled his eyes then walked over to his desk. Opening a drawer that had a talisman on it, he took out a small bag of cookies and tossed it to the little demon. Immediately, Goku's expression brightened.
"S'ank you Sanzo!" Goku opened the bag and began to munch on the cookies.
Sanzo finished his cigarette then took to standing by the window, thinking. Stupid candy was probably laced with something anyway knowing the doctor. After a few moments, Sanzo turned his attention back to the room, "Goku, do you think that you can stay out of trouble for a week or so. I've got a mission and it's going to take a while. There'll be no one here to get you out of situations." Almost as an after thought he added, "And don't go anywhere near Nii. You got that?"
"Sanzo's going on a long trip?" Goku's eyes widened, "You're going to leave me here?"
"Of course I am." Sanzo frowned at him, "You're annoying and will only get in my way."
"But-But—"Goku looked panicked, "I won't get in your way! I promise! I'm a good fighter; I can watch your back. Please, don't leave me here alone."
Sanzo sighed and put a hand to his face, "I knew you'd pull this shit you gods damned whiny brat."
"Sanzo…"
Sanzo tried not to look. He knew those damned eyes were watching him with their large sad emptiness. The same melancholy longing look that had caused him to take the damn thing back to the Guild with him. The same expression that had caused him to look after the annoying thing. He knew that was what awaited him if he looked at the demon.
"I said you're not coming. In fact, I don't want you to leave this room for the entire time I am gone." Sanzo continued to look out the window.
"Sanzo…" The voice sounded really small and hurt. Damn it don't look. Sanzo felt a tug on his sleeve and out of habit, he looked down. Those eyes were there waiting on him, "Sanzo…" The demon did not beg him with words anymore; it was written across his face. It looked pained and frightened.
"Gods…I hate you." Sanzo ground out then he sighed and put and hand on the demon's head, "Fine you little brat, you are coming with me but if I tell you to do something you do it. You will kill who and what I tell you to kill when I tell you to kill them. And if I see you associating with any of your little Veiled friends, I'll fucking kill you without a second thought. You got that?"
Goku smiled, "I understand." He hugged the priest tightly.
"Let go. I've got stuff to do." Sanzo sighed in annoyance but petted the demon's head anyway.
End Chapter 1
Chapter 2 : Fate Meetings Coming Soon
Where everyone meets up for better or for worse. What is that Heart thing anyway?
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you guys rock!