Chapter 5

Fully healed, Gojyo began to pace restlessly a few minutes after he'd finished eating what Hakkai handed to him, walking to the window and back to the bed, sitting on the edge for a few seconds before walking over to the table in the center of the room and sitting on that. After two hours and nine sighs from Gojyo that may or may not have been pointed, Hakkai couldn't take it anymore. He didn't particularly want to let Gojyo out of his sight, but he didn't want Gojyo going out of his mind, either.

"You can go out if you want," he said, looking up from where he'd been using the excuse of grooming Hakuryu, all the while watching Gojyo surreptitiously.

Gojyo jumped, obviously not expecting Hakkai to speak, and Hakkai could have sworn that the man dropped into a defensive stance for a moment. It made him mentally hesitate. He figured that of all the things about him that were horrifying, his voice was not among them.

The redhead recovered quickly, covering his flinch by turning to look at Hakkai, head tilted curiously. "You're sure?"

"Of course. Just come back tonight, I want to leave early tomorrow." Hakkai replied. 'Or just come back in one piece,' he added mentally.

To Hakkai's surprise, Gojyo didn't even try to argue, despite the man's general aversion to waking up early. "Fine." He said, turning to his pack to take out a small sack of money before heading to the door. As he reached out for the latch, he stopped, staring at his hand again. Then, looking back at Hakkai cautiously, he grinned.

"Thanks."

"Of course." Hakkai replied, finding himself once again troubled. Gojyo rarely said thanks, and certainly not in a tone of voice that implied he was saying it because someone had told him it was the right thing to do.

'Say thank-you to the nice man who let you go out and play,' was really the only way to describe it.

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It was a little over two hours after Gojyo left that Hakkai looked up at the clock for the tenth time, still quite certain that it had been a great deal longer.

"What do you think, Hakuryu?" he asked, absently. "Should I go after him?"

The small dragon let out a whine, which could have meant anything from "of course you should, you idiot, he's your friend" to "Why are you bothering me? I was having a great dream about dragon tail."

After a moment's thought, Hakkai decided it meant the former. "Thank you," he said, scratching Hakuryu's head gently before standing up. "I'll be back soon. Just a little peek. Maybe I'll buy him a drink."

Another mewl. Probably meant "Alright, you do that. I'm going back to sleep now."

Such a wonderful thing, anthropomorphism. Left all kinds of doors open for interpretation. Hakkai smiled slightly, leaving the extremely helpful dragon on the bed as he went in search of Gojyo. He didn't particularly like doing this, randomly wandering to taverns looking for the redhead, but it couldn't be helped. He stopped briefly at the bottom of the inn, hoping that maybe Gojyo had decided not to leave, and was just downstairs, but his luck wasn't that good.

Ultimately, though, Hakkai thought it should have been harder to find Gojyo. Because while it wasn't exactly hard to wander around the city asking if a tall redhead playboy had come by, it wasn't usually the first stop that was the right one. The tavern was far seedier than even Gojyo tended to enjoy. It was dark and dreary and the atmosphere was soaked with anger and xenophobia. The men at the bar sneered at Hakkai as he walked in the door, probably wondering if he was worth beating up. So when Hakkai bent over the bar to ask if Gojyo had stopped by, he was really only asking if Gojyo had walked through the door in search of somewhere to rest his feet before wandering back out. He was surprised when there was more of an answer.

"Oh, i him /i ?" the man sneered. "Yeah, he's here."

Hakkai forced himself not to take offence at the tone. The "him" implied more of a "that" or an "it" than anything remotely intelligent. Hakkai took a deep breath. He wasn't here to defend Gojyo's honor, he was here because the nagging little voice in the back of his head kept telling him that he needed to go find Gojyo and make sure everything was alright with the man. So, instead, he smiled and asked the man where exactly Gojyo was.

Of course the response wasn't verbal. It rarely was with men such as the bartender. Possibly this particular one didn't know the words for "over there". The odd-sounding derisive grunt seemed to imply that. So Hakkai turned in the general direction of the half-hearted wave of the man's hand, venturing deeper into the enemy territory.

Ah. Of course. The corner of the room where no one seemed to be sitting. The people in this place weren't going to allow themselves to sit in proximity to any demon. Hakkai wondered again why any demon would want to sit next to them.

Of course it wasn't very hard to find Gojyo. It wasn't very hard to him find even when there were people around, let alone when there was no one within 15 feet of him. He did look up as Hakkai approached, for which the man was glad. He would hate to startle Gojyo a second time.

"Wha' are you doing here?" Gojyo asked. Not angry, but curious and confused.

"I thought you might need a drink," Hakkai said, smiling as he sat down across from Gojyo.

The redhead gestured vaguely at the array of glasses on the table in front of him. "I seem t' have qui'a few," he said.

Hakkai forced the smile to remain on his face. "Then maybe you need a hand back to the room?"

Gojyo hesitated for a moment, looking up at Hakkai, trying to judge whether the brunette accept any bullshit. Hakkai hardened his gaze and looked serious.

"Migh'be goo," he muttered into the remains of his current glass. Whiskey.

"Yes. It might be," Hakkai replied, briefly wondering when he'd gotten so good at understanding a drunk Gojyo. He watched the redhead closely as Gojyo stood, ready to lend assistance if needed. It was, as Gojyo swayed unsteadily before his first step. Hakkai sighed, closing the distance between them and pulled Gojyo's arm over his shoulder. As he did so, he hesitated, looking at it closely. It was still tinged a light blue, much to Hakkai's concern. He shook his head, made sure Gojyo's center of balance was reasonably stable, and took a step forward. Slowly, the eyes of the bar patrons glaring holes into their backs, they made their way out of the bar and into the street.

As they reached the first turn back to the inn, however, a shout followed them, demanding that they stop, although not in so many words.

"Yo!"

For a moment, Hakkai seriously considered not paying it any mind. He had Gojyo laying on his shoulder already, heavy and not being particularly helpful with the whole walking thing. But not being helpful about moving was different from not moving. Gojyo in a funk could be impossible to move. He didn't want to try to get Gojyo up again, if the redhead suddenly took it into his soggy head that he didn't want to go back to the inn, for whatever reason. Today had been odd enough that Hakkai wasn't even sure he knew what planet such a reason would even spring from.

He considered ignoring the word. For longer than was generally considered polite. But the call, however brash, was directed at them, and Hakkai also saw no reason to annoy the locals. Especially since whatever had happened in the last town had ended with the death of four of the locals.

"Yes?" he asked, coming to a halt slowly, turning even more slowly, and only a half step. More than enough time to allow the alcohol-soaked Gojyo to come with him.

"Your friend didn't pay his bill!" the barkeep snapped, loud and angry. Hakkai blinked. Somehow, he doubted that, and his thoughts were mostly confirmed when the semi-conscious man hanging off his shoulder managed to form a few mostly coherent words.

"'id," Gojyo slurred, "Pai' for each one when i'came."

Hakkai sighed. Wondered not for the first time who hated him. Whoever it was probably had every right to do so. Hakkai figured that many people had a decent reason to hate him, but he just wished whatever god or great manipulator would just give up on this whole "bad situations" thing and just come punch him in the face a few times. It would be far easier that way.

"My friend says he did," Hakkai replied. Softly. No need to try and cause an altercation, and he just wanted to be on his way. Get Gojyo back to the inn and tucked safely into bed, where there were no dead children, no men randomly trying to kill complete strangers, and no speciest demon-haters.

"I don't mean to insult your intelligence – you seem a smart man," the barkeep said, pursuing them down the street. Two other men flanked him, holding to the shadows. "But perhaps you should consider that he's just too drunk to remember."

"'kai?…there more behinyou."

Lovely. Yes. He'd pissed someone off. Or maybe Gojyo had. Didn't really matter, since they were kind of a package deal.

"Think you can stand?" Hakkai whispered softly, to Gojyo. No need to let the bastards see what was coming.

Gojyo paused for a moment. Considering seriously, and then nodded. "Yes."

"Alright. You might have to. Let's see if I can't convince them to go away, first."

Gojyo seemed to find that amusing. He barked careful laughter into Hakkai's shoulder. "You shou know tha'they have clubs." Trying to enunciate clearly. Trying to prove that yes, he really did still have the faculties to stand up straight.

"Yeah? And that barkeep up there has a knife, too. Tonight just isn't our night." Hakkai straightened, looking the man in the eye.

"I will consider that my friend is too drunk to remember, if you consider the possibility that your simply an ass who wants to take advantage of a downtrodden man."

The insult wounded the man's pride, and he snorted like an angry bull, the sound echoed by the men surrounding them.

"Kff," the barkeep snorted a second time. "Perhaps your eyes also need adjusting, sir, or perhaps that glass of yours needs a good washing. Although even one nearly blind and stupid could see that your friend there is no man."

Gojyo sagged slightly even as Hakkai stiffened, the brunette full of fire and protective instinct. Exiling Gojyo to a dark corner, ignoring his presence, and pretending he was dishonest were all in one category. This was something different. From the increase of weight on his shoulder, Hakkai was pretty certain Gojyo felt the same way. A brief glance also told him that Gojyo did not feel like ripping them to shreds in the same way Hakkai did.

"If he isn't a man," Hakkai said, the words quiet and dangerous, and the hand he had around Gojyo's waist tightened as he spoke. Even one completely dumb, deaf and blind should have been able to see the threat behind the words. "Then I hate to think what you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the man asked. Apparently i he /i was feeble. A demon was seriously considering taking his spine out through his throat, and he didn't have a clue. Possibly about the demon bit, or maybe he just figured that a scrawny man holding onto a much larger, sodden guy wasn't much of a threat. Hakkai was seriously considering giving him a lesson in humility. It would be good for him.

"It means that you are a fool who doesn't pay proper attention to his till, to know when a customer pays, and whose only knowledge of the measure of a man comes from the inches dangling between his legs."

Real mature, Hakkai thought, to mention some guy's dick, but the statement served its purpose as the tavern-keeper turned purple, raising his hand and waving it, obviously signaling to the men behind Hakkai and Gojyo.

"Gojyo," Hakkai said firmly, making sure the words got through whatever little thing was eating at the redhead's brain and making him upset, "Stand up."

Gojyo did. Swaying slightly, and looking deathly pale under his hair as he did, but he stood, watching the people coming at them disinterestedly. One quick look at the barkeeper and the men with him, to confirm that they weren't attacking, too, and Hakkai swung around, slamming his hand into the sternum of the closest attacker, and beating the other two back with a chi ball that had been waiting to tear loose since the barkeeper had first used the spiteful tone back in the bar. All three men fell to the pavement, one groaning in pain while the others rolled around, certain they were on fire or worse. Hakkai sighed and turned his attention back to the ringleader, who had gone from purple to pale.

"Are you certain this man didn't pay his bill?" he asked, idly twirling another small ball of chi around his fingers.

"I…think maybe I was mistaken," the man said hurriedly. "I seem to recall there was a pile of coins on the counter. Those must have been his!"

"Alright," Hakkai growled, slightly disappointed that the man hadn't pressed the issue. He wasn't impressed and rather thought the man needed a lesson. "You'd better get back before someone decides to steal them."

"….yes, of course."

The man wasn't changing his mind and coming after them with the knife, Hakkai decided. It had either been for show, or to be used once his goons had knocked them silly. Another quick glare to reinforce that any idea other than going back inside would be a very bad one, and Hakkai turned back to Gojyo, who was still swaying and looking defeated in the middle of the road.

"Why'd you do that?" The redhead asked, and genuine shock and confusion temporarily drove the slur from the words.

'Because,' Hakkai thought tiredly, 'you weren't going to fight for yourself, and this is what we do. We fight when the other falters. That way, we never actually have to hold ourselves up.'

"They were idiots," he replied, slinging Gojyo's arm back around his shoulder and getting them moving again.

Some things, they just weren't supposed to say aloud.