Sergeant Nu swiped his sleeve distractedly across his dripping forehead as he strode toward the ruckus. He hadn't gotten much sleep in the past thirty-six hours. Shin had better have a good reason for dragging him all the way down the line. When he got close enough to make out the scowling blond, he almost laughed. The guy always seemed to be upset about one thing or another. But, if Sanzo was here, then that meant Gojyo couldn't be far behind. He scanned the group again, squinting a bit as he passed out of the shade and into a patch of sunlight. No sign of the easygoing redhead. He tensed a bit. They'd lost too many good men already. In the short time he'd known the man, he'd come to respect, and even like, Gojyo. His brow furrowed as he finally reached the group.
"What's going on here?" he demanded, gesturing brusquely for the tense soldiers in front of the rusted cart to stand down. They hastily complied, relieved to pass the responsibility on to someone else, and went back to their duties. Nu took in the sight of Shin, standing at attention over his ransacked pack. The man looked miserable. Sighing, Nu ignored him and locked eyes with Sanzo instead. "Who's this?" he asked, gesturing toward the unidentified midget, "And where's Gojyo?"
The blond's unnatural eyes flashed briefly at the mention of the redhead's name. "This is Goku," he answered gruffly. His eyes flicked briefly toward the rusted cart behind him. Nu leaned to the side a bit, to see around the blond, and was able to make out a lumpy shadow attached to a mop of scraggly red hair. Ahhh, interesting. Well, that's a relief. Probably.
Sanzo's eyes narrowed. "And Gojyo's taking a nap," he finished abruptly, moving to block Nu's view of the contents of the cart. The blond crossed his arms and leaned back against the cart, one hand dangling casually next to his bulging pocket.
Nu's glance returned to the brown-haired midget. "Ah, your missing friend." The solider nodded curtly. They'd been looking for a Goku, he remembered. The nickname "monkey" seemed particularly apt, too. The man-child's keen gaze was darting measuringly between its master and the interloper, gauging the level of threat, while it devoured a chocolate candy bar with relish. It still seemed odd that Gojyo would be napping, though, and he got the distinct impression that Sanzo was displeased by his interest in the redhead. How curious.
Nu's brows furrowed briefly before he dismissed the thought. He had more pressing matters to attend to first. "We're a bit busy just now," he explained, running a hand through his sweat-matted hair. "There was another attack late last night. Ten men died." He cocked his head to the side consideringly, taking in Sanzo's bedraggled appearance, including his missing robe. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
"No," Sanzo growled, predictably. Then, after a moment, he continued, his sharp eyes narrowing. "Wait a minute. I thought you said these youkai only ambushed isolated individuals." His violet eyes slid to the side briefly when he got lashed by the tail of the white dragon as it dive-bombed the chimp and snatched an unprotected bag of potato chips.
"Hey, no fair!" the midget wailed, and chased off after the dragon, who had wisely found a perch on a distant branch, its wings fluttering smugly as it dipped its head into the bag clutched in its claws. Goku had obviously decided that Nu was no threat. He didn't know whether to be flattered or concerned.
"That's what we thought," he answered grimly, ignoring the childish chaos continuing behind them as Goku leapt up into the tree to give chase. "These soldiers were transporting iron ore. They were well armed and had been fully briefed on the nature and potential of the poisonous youkai." He paused briefly to frown and swallow the bile rising in the back of his throat. Lieutenant Po had been a good friend of his, and not inclined to be sloppy in his work. "When they still hadn't reported back by the time we'd returned to camp, we were sent back out to look for them. We found most of the missing soldiers, but," he frowned and stared, hard, at the rusty cart in front of him, "I'm pretty sure we're looking at a new threat. All the soldiers had been stripped of their weapons, and their corpses ... looked different." He winced. "Slashed. A few of them had been shot." He paused again, then flicked his eyes toward the carts lined up on the tracks ahead of them. "We're transporting them back to base now for analysis."
"Wait a minute," Sanzo rubbed his forehead irritably. "We got shot at last night!" Goku's legs flailed inches from Sanzo's nose as the branch he'd been climbing on sagged. The leaves rustled ominously, and Hakuryu kyuued triumphantly as the dragon landed on Sanzo's shoulder.
"That's cheating!" Goku complained, twisting awkwardly as he dangled from the wobbling branch. "Sanzo, make him give it back! I saw it first." Irritably, Sanzo ducked to the side, seized the offending flailing limbs, and yanked on them, effectively neutralizing the distraction as he set it firmly on the ground, off to the side. The dragon fluttered off his shoulder, and the monkey once again gave chase, whipping round and round the rusted cart. Sanzo's head throbbed, and he briefly considered tripping the brown blur of energy as it dashed past yet again.
"Really?" Nu's attention focused narrowly on Sanzo. "Where? When?"
"We were in an older section of the mine, looking for this," Sanzo growled, snagging the collar of the ridiculous orange cloak as it floated past. Bending over to glare into startled, indignant brown eyes, he hissed, "Watch where you're going, you damn pest! That was my foot!"
Goku cowered for a moment, looking contrite. Sanzo's face contorted, twitching, before it softened. "Just get in the damn cart and sit still for a minute." Goku climbed obediently into the cart next to Gojyo and stared expectantly up at Sanzo, waiting for further instruction.
Nu was scratching the back of his head. "I see," he said. "So, you were in the caves." He closed his eyes briefly. "I think you'd better come with us. We're headed back to camp."
Sanzo sighed and twisted around to face the soldier in front of him. "Right. Good. Wake me up when we get there." With that, he turned and climbed back into the rusted cart, shoving Goku over onto Gojyo's lap. Hakuryu perched on the front of the cart, its nose thrust forward, its wings spread, and its long tail swishing back and forth in anticipation.
Nu's mouth dropped open in vaguely horrified shock, his face sliding through a number of confused contortions before he finally shrugged. They were wounded, after all, except maybe the monkey. Shin had finally retrieved the majority of his belongings and was crouched over his pack, in the process of zipping it shut.
Leaning over, Nu clapped the private on the shoulder. "Well, since you found them, Shin, you can escort them back to camp." A wry smile twitched into place on his face when he saw Shin's horrified expression. "Feel free to recruit help if you need it, but we're moving out as soon as I've done one last inspection." Nu turned his back on the wilting soldier and strode down the line without a backward glance.
Gojyo grunted in response to the chimp's added weight, his upper body shifting around until his head settled firmly against Sanzo's shoulder. "Mmm, 's cold, Sanzo," he mumbled, trying to snuggle closer. Goku frowned, then shrugged, chalking it up to the kappa's reportedly inebriated state. Sanzo stiffened for a moment, glaring at the arm slung around his shoulder, but, when it became clear that the kappa was once again dead to the world, he sighed and simply laid his head back against the cart, closing his itching eyes in resignation.
"Stupid lazy bastard," he mumbled sleepily as the cart jostled gently into motion and resumed its steady journey down the tracks.
ooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooo
Yaone's eyes flew open suddenly, consciousness returning all at once. She felt like she'd been asleep for years, and her body felt leaden and strange. She could hear a quiet tapping noise in the background and the occasional burble of bubbles rising through a liquid. Lifting her hand cautiously, she pulled aside the sheet covering her face and lifted her head to survey the situation. Within seconds of glancing around, she knew she was in Dr. Ni's lab. She quivered with anger and wasn't even sure why. This was not where she should be. She should go to Kougaiji-sama right now and report this.
Lifting herself up into a sitting position, she tracked down the source of the tapping. Dr. Ni's assistant seemed to be typing away in front of one of those strange glowing screens they were so fond of. Stealthily, unsure as of yet why she was here and unwilling to draw attention to herself just yet, she climbed off the rolling bed she'd been lying on and stared, stunned, at the contents of the glowing glass cases lining the wall. Every single one of them contained a person who looked just like her. She shivered and backed up a step. No, not all of them. The case closest to the wall was empty. And the cases weren't mirrors, either. She could tell because the images didn't move with her, and, besides, the reflections were all wrong.
Steeling herself angrily, she quelled her fear, burying it deep as she turned around to examine the softly glowing cases behind her. They were all empty, except the one nearest her. From inside the glass case, Dokugakuji-dono's face stared back at her, his body floating freely in the greenish liquid. She clasped a hand to her face to stifle a gasp. She'd been in one of these too! After a quick survey, she decided she had no idea which buttons to press to free Dokugakuji-dono. One of them might kill him instantly for all she knew.
Quivering with anger, she whipped back around to stare at the oblivious woman hunched over on the other side of the room. "She'll know how," Yaone thought viciously. Scanning the room for weapons, she finally snatched up the first thing she recognized: a scalpel. Advancing purposefully toward the human assistant, she told herself she was going to get Dokugakuji-dono out of there, and then she was going to get some answers. Somehow, she didn't think she'd like them, but Kougaiji-sama would need to be told.
ooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooo
Gojyo's eyes opened blearily to the sight of a familiar leather-clad back. For some reason he couldn't quite puzzle out just now, he felt immensely relieved by that. Of course, his relief was also tempered by the realization that his head was throbbing, his body felt as limp as a wet noodle, and the world was swaying gently as he rolled forward. "Sanzo?" he croaked. His throat felt scratchy. He coughed, trying to clear it. "Sanzo," he tried again, his voice louder this time, "why am I in a wheelbarrow?"
The figure ahead of him continued to stride along impatiently, if somewhat stiffly. "Because nobody wanted to carry your sorry ass."
"Oh. Okay," Gojyo coughed again and managed to summon up a crooked grin. "Just so I know." He tried to stretch out his cramped limbs and felt a sharp, tingling pain shoot down his leg. "At-cha-chaaa," he whined, clutching his right leg. "Dammit!"
A face framed by familiar sandy brown hair leaned into Gojyo's field of view and smiled indulgently down at him. Huh. It was kinda funny that the face was upside down. "We're almost there," the voice announced. Oh, yeah. Newbie-san. Gojyo closed his eyes and grinned lazily.
"You're making me dizzy hanging upside down like that," he announced as he stretched again, more cautiously this time. He thought he could hear an irritated snort drifting back from up ahead and the sound of thudding feet dashing up from behind.
"Gojyo! You're awake!" A strong hand yanked on his right arm, dragging it across the cold metal edge of the wheelbarrow. Gojyo's eyes flew open, and warm honey-brown eyes suddenly filled his vision. "You shouldn't drink so much, ya demented kappa!" The eyes backed up a bit so he could see the rest of the chimp's grinning face. "'Cause you're heavy, yanno!" The monkey nodded his head sagely for emphasis.
Gojyo smirked smugly for a second, thinking of several irritating responses to that, but then his brow furrowed in bewilderment. Had he been drinking? He shook his head groggily. He thought he'd been swimming, actually. "So not the point, monkey boy!" He reached out to ruffle the unruly brown hair. "Where the hell were you!? You got Sanzo all worked up. We looked everywhere for you!"
Goku pulled the edge of his eye down and leaned closer again. Gojyo reached out to pinch the cheeky little chimp's cheek, but Goku ducked out of the way. "Ya should've seen 'im when you took off after Kami-sama!"
"Oh?" Gojyo asked curiously, his eyes flicking forward inquiringly. The stiff leather back remained determinedly uncommunicative.
"Yeah, he was really weird and pissy! Even Hakkai said so," Goku continued authoritatively.
Sanzo growled warningly but didn't turn around. Gojyo rolled his eyes. Better leave the touchy bastard alone for now. "Uh huh," he grunted, promising himself he'd get to the bottom of that later. Glancing back at the monkey, he waved his hand expectantly. "So, cough it up already, where were you, buddy?"
Goku scowled and crossed his arms, pouting. "I got caught by this really big spider," he complained, gesturing with his hands to indicate the size of his captor.
Gojyo snorted and reached out his hand to ruffle the kid's hair again, but he couldn't quite reach. Reluctantly, he retracted his hand and dropped it back in his lap. "What'd you go and do that for?" Gojyo demanded, chuckling. "I thought you had my back, man, and you let me down."
"It's not like I meant to," Goku grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I was chasing those two youkai. You know, the ones throwing the knives? Anyway, I was chasing 'em from tree to tree, and I almost had 'em." Goku yanked his hands back out of his pockets and mimed snatching something out of the air. "And then ... then next thing I knew I was all tied up," he finished in disgust, kicking a stray pebble. It made a soft thwapping sound when it landed, and Sanzo's head swiveled around suspiciously, scowling. Gojyo managed to stifle a soft snort with his hand, and Goku grinned weakly. After a short, irritated grunt, Sanzo shook his head and went back to ignoring them. "The dirty rotten spider must've snuck up behind me or somethin'," Goku finished in an angry stage whisper.
"Sucks to be you," Gojyo agreed absently, nodding his head. He could feel his memories rapidly falling back into place, and he was a bit preoccupied with one in particular. He rubbed his forehead distractedly, tuning out the sounds of the military camp buzzing all around them, and stared fixedly at the back of Sanzo's scruffy blond head. Had Sanzo, Mr. Touch-me-not himself, really kissed him? The priest's back disappeared as the man ducked through the tent flaps ahead of them. Nah, couldn't have. Then again, he couldn't actually imagine inventing quite such an awkward, chaste kiss.
Before Gojyo could get any further in his musings, he also passed through the tent flaps and into the familiar confines of the military medical tent. It seemed remarkably dim after the bright afternoon sunshine. "Welcome home," a quiet, cheerful voice called from off to the right.
"Heeey, Hakkai!" Gojyo grinned widely, searching for the face that went with the familiar voice. "Damn, man. 'S about time you woke up. We had to leave without ya, yanno."
"I'm sorry for worrying you," Hakkai replied gravely, "but you could have at least left me a note." His soft voice was laced with gentle recrimination.
"Yeah? Sorry, man. The chimp here was AWOL, so we had to go fetch him." Gojyo ignored the monkey's indignant protests as he blinked and squinted, trying to see where Sanzo had gone.
When his eyes finally adjusted to the new lighting, he could see that Hakkai was sitting up in a folding chair, a blanket draped around his shoulders and an open med kit lying forgotten in his lap. Hakuryu was purring loud enough to wake the dead, its wings flapping gently as it hovered, and nuzzling every available inch of Hakkai's face. "Heh, I see your little pet rat beat us here."
Hakuryu's head whipped around briefly to hiss sharply at Gojyo before returning its attention to its master and wrapping itself firmly around Hakkai's neck, licking his ear for good measure. "Damn, guys, get a room!" Gojyo laughed as Nu's strong arms pried him out of the wheelbarrow and walked him slowly over to one of the empty beds. "Does Yaone know about you two?" he asked, still snickering at Hakkai's shocked face. He grimaced and hissed softly as his right leg was eased onto the hospital bed.
There was a short, pronounced silence during which Gojyo realized what he'd said, winced, and felt like a complete heel. He scratched his head distractedly, trying to avoid eye contact with Hakkai. Nu, meanwhile, had drawn the two medics in the tent aside and was speaking to them in a low, hurried tone, his arms crossed. Dammit! Some help here? Come on, seriously!
"Ummm," Gojyo started, eyes scanning the room again to find Sanzo. The blond had set up camp on a bed on the other side of the tent, and a thin trail of smoke was drifting over his head. Bastard! Now Gojyo wanted a smoke. His hands twitched.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Nu nod his head once in acknowledgment and stride out of the tent with one of the medics in tow. The other medic made a beeline for Gojyo, passing Hakkai in the process.
Hakkai's head dipped, his eyes fixed firmly on the ground as he cleared his throat. "Yes, well, about Yaone-san. I'm afraid I caused a bit of a disturbance earlier." His voice was soft and clear, but it carried to every corner of the tent. "I do wish you'd left me a note." When Hakkai lifted his head, a wistful, self-deprecating smile stretched across his whole face.
The medic snorted as he drew out a pair of scissors and proceeded to snip through the ragged remains of the right leg of Gojyo's borrowed army fatigues. "He totally freaked out," the medic translated. Gojyo shot a worried glance over at Hakkai and really regretted not leaving a note.
The white-coat looked like he had a freaking caterpillar hovering under his nose, and the little prat was a shrimp, to boot. Yanking the separated cloth out of the way, the medic continued, "It took six of us to hold him down, even though he was still sick as a dog, before someone managed to get Captain Tenjo to come talk sense into him."
"Please forgive me," Hakkai murmured softly. Gojyo's eyes flicked back over to settle on his friend, irritated that Hakkai hadn't left any lasting marks on the little rat. Hakkai shrugged, apologetic smile still fixed in place. This meant, of course, that Gojyo was completely unprepared for the painful sting of peroxide being poured over his leg. He hissed softly and glared reprovingly at the oblivious medic.
"But he's really nice when you get to know him," the medic added thoughtfully as he scrubbed away at Gojyo's tender leg with a sterile cloth, "and useful, too." Gojyo bit his lip and concentrated on not screaming like a girl when the medic rebroke his leg to set it. Water leaked out of the corners of his eyes anyway, and, by the time his leg had been splinted and wrapped, Hakkai's hands were busily wrapping a roll of bandages into a tight, neat, efficient bundle and packing it away into the med kit on his lap. That's when Gojyo noticed the careful stacks of medical kits lying in neat rows on the bed next to Hakkai. Man, tidy was like the guy's middle name or something.
And Sanzo was still smoking, the bastard. Gojyo could smell it from here, and it was a Hi-lite, too, dammit! Where the hell had he gotten those!? Goku was sitting on the bed with Sanzo, leaning against the priest's back and hugging a pillow between his knees and his chest. His eyes looked a bit glazed, and his head kept dipping and then jerking back up again.
The medic moved briskly toward the basin to wash up, then dried his hands and snatched up another set of bandages, moving purposefully toward Sanzo. Gojyo smiled maliciously, hoping the quack was just as rough with His Holiness.
"What happened to your leg, Gojyo-san?" Hakkai asked abruptly, his eyes looking much sharper and his face more genuinely relaxed.
"Uh, a bear trap, and then I, uh, fell down a mine shaft," Gojyo answered, smiling wryly.
"Goodness, you have been busy," Hakkai laughed. "I seem to have slept through all the action."
"Yeah, well," Gojyo answered, frowning and readjusting the pillow behind his head. "I'm not too sure about that. We still haven't figured out who's at the bottom of all this, and I figure we owe him at least a bloody nose or two after all this." He rubbed at some of the caked mud on his army fatigues and squirmed some more, trying to get comfortable.
Hakkai frowned and opened his mouth, but just then Nu ducked his head through the tent flaps. "Hey, guys," he called, glancing around at the tent's occupants, "Captain Tenjo's over dealing with the locals in the village again and probably won't be back for another hour or two, so you might as well wash up and grab a bite to eat while you're waiting." He shot a friendly smile at Gojyo. "I know I'm going to."
"Score!" Gojyo hooted, springing into a sitting position on the bed. "I call dibs on the bath!" His head felt light and dizzy after the sudden movement, but his arms were strong enough to keep him from falling backward in an undignified heap.
"Absolutely not," a sharp voice retorted from the far end of the tent. Gojyo's eyes slid over carefully, mindful of the spinning room, to rest on a very irritated Sanzo. "You got a bath yesterday, and I didn't, so you can bloody well wait your turn." The man was already on his feet and marching stiffly toward the tent flaps, persistent medic and sleepy Goku in tow.
"Hey, no fair, you bastard!" Gojyo growled, awkwardly scooting his legs toward the edge of the bed. He winced as pain lanced up his right leg. "I called it first."
"Maa, maa," Hakkai interrupted, waving his hands placatingly. "There are two baths, aren't there, Nu-san?"
"Well, yeah, but ..." Nu was scratching his stubble and frowning a bit. It was almost as if the poor guy had kind of been hoping to grab one of the baths for himself. Gojyo smiled at him pityingly and shrugged apologetically. The determined medic, on the other hand, had finally managed to pin the last of the bandages in place on Sanzo's shoulder. Given the accusatory stares the two of them were trading, Gojyo had a nasty suspicion that the pin might have pricked Sanzo in the process. He snickered a bit behind the hand that wasn't keeping him upright.
"I wanna go too!" Goku announced, tugging on Sanzo's hand insistently.
Sanzo hissed and transferred his glare to Goku. The monkey had just jarred his injured shoulder.
"I guess I could grab some grub first," Nu mused, scratching his head, his face a comic mix of disappointment and amusement. Gojyo couldn't really blame the man for not being enthusiastic about sharing a tent with an irritable Sanzo, but, at this point, Gojyo was willing to brave very nearly anything for some hot water and a bar of soap. He grinned grimly and started to gingerly drag his legs over the edge of the bed.
"Fooooooood!!!" Goku crowed, bouncing, all signs of fatigue vanishing. "I'm hungry, Sanzo! Let's get some food! D'ya guys have meat buns? Do ya? 'Cause I love meat buns! Or ramen. Ramen's good, or—" Sanzo's fist landed heavily on the monkey's head, effectively silencing him, at least temporarily.
"I am going to go take a bath," Sanzo growled, scowling fiercely at the rapidly blinking Goku. "Understand?" Goku nodded cautiously, but the promise of food still shone in his eyes. "If you're hungry, go get food your own damn self." He jabbed a finger toward the military officer still standing in the tent's entrance. "He knows where the food is. Follow him."
Goku bobbed his head again, but a stubborn crinkle persisted between his eyes. Awww, the monkey doesn't wanna lose sight of his Sanzo-sama. How cute. Gojyo shrugged, a wry smile twisting his face. Too bad for the monkey. Life's a struggle in which it's every man for himself. The chimp'd have to learn that sooner or later. He leaned forward, placing his weight on his left foot, and managed to lift himself, using both hands, into an awkward crouch. Grimacing, he contemplated hopping all the way to the bath tent.
The medic suddenly appeared with a pair of crutches and dropped them unceremoniously on the bed next to Gojyo. "Don't come back till you've cleaned up properly. I don't want you leaving mud everywhere. This is a medical facility, you know."
Gojyo rolled his eyes, face frozen in an irritated smile. "Thanks, buddy. I'll keep that in mind." Hakkai was chuckling, but he did pick the crutches up and hand them to Gojyo, who levered himself up onto them with one determined heave.
Grunting and swaying gently, Gojyo smiled down at Hakkai. "I'll be back in a bit, man. Don't let the weasel give away my bed."
Hakkai smiled in return, a genuine smile, and tipped his head toward the tent flaps. "It looks like you might want to hurry, if you really want that bath." Goku and Nu had already left, and Sanzo was hovering impatiently at the entrance, scowling over his shoulder. "And believe me," Hakkai continued, wrinkling his nose slightly, "you want that bath." Hakuryu's tongue flickered briefly, then it nodded its little white head smugly. Cheeky bastard.
Gojyo tilted his head in acknowledgment, because shrugging was kinda hard with crutches, and swung his way to the tent flaps. When he got there, panting slightly, he grinned at the irate blond. "Thanks for waiting for me, Sanzo-chan."
"Shut up and get moving. If the water's cold by the time we get there—"
"Hai, hai," Gojyo grunted, and swung right past him.
Unfortunately for them, the bath tent was more or less on the margins of the camp, set aside somewhat from the other tents. By the time they got there, Gojyo was very much winded and shaking just a bit. "Flip the sign," he panted, nodding his head in the appropriate direction. Sanzo complied wordlessly, the sign now reading "occupied." The guy had been remarkably quiet the whole way over, actually, and it was kind of bugging Gojyo. It meant that, between sweating and cursing breathlessly at his recalcitrant leg, he couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. He figured that more or less made his mind a traitor.
Inside the tent, he hobbled over to the nearer of the two baths, and sat down heavily on the stool placed next to it. Vapor was still rising off the surface of the water, which was reassuring, really. If he'd heaved himself all the way out here, he sure as hell wanted a hot bath. After he caught his breath, he looked up and noticed that Sanzo had already made his way around to the other side of the shower curtain stand. Soft grunts and vague rustling sounds suggested that the guy wasn't wasting any time.
Sighing a bit, Gojyo tugged the buttons free on his shirt, then shrugged out of it. Staring down at his trousers in dismay, he made as much headway as he could, and then glared furiously at his right trouser leg and sock. Water vapor was no longer rising from his bath, and he could hear splashes on the other side of the curtain. He was really hating long legs right about now. Finally, he managed to yank the offending items off using the toes of his left foot. Dexterity counted for something, after all.
Grinning smugly, Gojyo levered himself up and tried to swing himself into the tub. After several contortions, he finally fell into the tub in a graceless heap, spilling water everywhere and whimpering pitifully when his right leg got jostled rather violently. "Nnnn! Dammit!! Shit, shit, shit!" he grunted, clutching his throbbing leg.
The shower curtain rattled sharply as it was dragged out of the way, and two startled, concerned violet eyes stared back at him. Gojyo grinned weakly and waved at the dripping blond hanging half out of the other tub. "'M fine," he lied.
Sanzo scowled briefly, a thin trail of smoke rising from the cigarette dangling loosely from his lips. "Then stop making a mess." His eyes traveled pointedly toward the dripping shower curtain.
"Actually," Gojyo gasped, his arm outstretched, "d'ya mind handing me the soap? I don't think I can reach it from here." He could feel new bruises forming already.
Sanzo grunted and obligingly dug the soap out of its dish and handed it over.
"Thanks, man." Gojyo started soaping his battered chest and arms, feeling the grime of the last day and a half finally starting to rub off, but the smell of the Hi-lite was distracting him. He paused and turned toward Sanzo again, only to find he was being watched. Huh. "So, uhh, where'd you get that, anyway?" he asked, pointing at the cigarette.
Sanzo shrugged and rubbed the soap half-heartedly in his hands. "Goku."
Gojyo's brow furrowed. "Seriously!? Where'd the monkey get it?" Shifting uncomfortably, he thought to himself that this bathtub wasn't as comfortable as the one he'd had the day before. He eyed Sanzo's bathtub covetously.
"Who knows?" Sanzo set the soap down and started rubbing his toes, a wry smile stretching across his face. "Probably the same place he got the chocolate."
"Hmph," Gojyo snorted and set his soap down on his chest. "Any chance I could have one?" he asked casually, rinsing his hands off in the bathwater. Man, he was so craving a smoke. Why couldn't Goku raid backpacks for him?
Sanzo's head disappeared from sight briefly as he bent over to drag the packet out of his jeans. Gojyo could barely believe his luck. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen Sanzo this relaxed and obliging. When the blond's head reappeared, he was holding a second cigarette in his hands and lighting it on the end of his. Gojyo watched, mesmerized, his chin resting on the edge of the tub, bath forgotten. In fact, his mind was so focused on watching Sanzo's face and hands that he almost missed it when the new cigarette was waved in front of his face. "Hey! You want it or not?"
The irritated growl snapped him out of his daydream, and he quickly snatched the offering, taking a long drag on it. "Oh, yeah. That hits the spot," he grunted, blowing a smoke ring and closing his eyes so he could bask in the pleasure and cover for his slip earlier. He shifted again, trying to get comfortable, and stared up at the kerosene lamp hanging overhead.
"Sorry about the whole passing-out thing earlier," Gojyo murmured, eyes still fixed on the flickering flame in the lamp and hands hunting around absently for the soap. "The gills and the night vision are kinda hard on my system, yanno. And I'd never tried them both at the same time before."
"Hnn," Sanzo grunted noncommittally. Dammit! The bastard was ignoring him. Gojyo frowned and whipped his head around to glare at the blond stretched out in the other tub. The priest's eyes were closed and his bruised knees were poking up over the tub's rim. Gojyo wanted to shake him. Hard.
"Whaddaya mean 'hnn'?" Gojyo demanded, slinging both arms over the side of the tub and waving them around for emphasis. "I'm trying to apologize here, you ungrateful bastard!" He didn't know why he even cared, but, for some reason, it really bugged him that Sanzo didn't give a toss one way or another. He could feel his face growing hot, and his frown deepened.
Sanzo's eyes flicked open at that, and his head floated over so his chin rested on his folded arms, perched on the edge of the tub. His eyes gleamed oddly, but that might just have been the lighting. "I thought it was the kiss, actually, that did you in," he answered in a maddeningly calm voice, then shrugged casually. "It was a pretty crappy kiss, too," he added as an afterthought.
"Ah ha! So you admit there was one!" Gojyo shouted triumphantly, pointing his finger at the dripping blond head in the bath next to his. Then his brain and his mouth resynched. "Wa-wa-wait a minute! Whaddaya mean my kisses suck!?"
"I mean, your kiss sucked, and then you passed out," Sanzo explained patiently. "From shame, no doubt." A chunk of ash flaked off the end of the blond's cigarette and fell, unheeded, to the ground between them.
Gojyo's face flamed, incensed. "Oh, yeah?" he growled, waving his hands in a bring-it-on gesture. "Well get your lazy butt over here, you bastard, and then we'll see who sucks!" Scowling deeply, he muttered, "Shame, my ass!"
"No." Sanzo's sharp eyes had narrowed, and his head was titled slightly to the side, measuring Gojyo.
"Whaddaya mean 'no'!?" Gojyo growled, trying to shove himself across the intervening space between the two baths. The throbbing of his right leg forced him to sink back into his tub and settle for simply flipping Sanzo the bird. "You started this, dammit! You owe me a chance to defend my honor. Now get your goddamn butt over here so I can kiss your damn socks off!"
A slow smile pulled at the edges of Sanzo's face. "Fine," he announced calmly, tossing his cigarette away and yanking his towel off the shower curtain with a sharp snap before tucking it firmly in place around his hips.
"Y-yeah, fine," Gojyo grunted, feeling inexplicably wrong-footed as Sanzo suddenly appeared looming over him. "The bastard's trying to play chicken with you," he told himself. "Don't let him get the better of you." Clinging to his indignation, Gojyo scowled and concentrated on the vivid violet eyes that were suddenly level with his as Sanzo knelt, dripping wet, next to his tub.
Tense and confused, but determined not to back down from this, whatever it was, Gojyo managed to lean forward the last couple of inches separating their faces. At the last second, though, his courage gave out, and he closed his eyes, allowing instinct and muscle memory to take over, guiding him through the familiar motions when he couldn't think beyond the ridiculous observation that Sanzo tasted remarkably like a Hi-lite. The kiss was warm and wet and terribly surreal. He felt that, any second now, he was going to wake up, or Sanzo was going to slug him.
It'd been months, though, since he'd last kissed someone like this, and he found himself relaxing into it after a bit, especially when Sanzo was being so cooperative ... enthusiastic, even ... if a bit clumsy. Gojyo grunted when teeth grazed his lips. Reaching out to tilt Sanzo's head to a better angle, he suddenly felt firm hands on his shoulders pushing him away. His eyes flew open in surprise as he reached for something to steady himself. Sanzo was clutching his towel around his waist and stumbling awkwardly to his feet. "H-hey, what gives?" Gojyo panted, clenching his fists.
"My knees are sore," Sanzo grunted, his back already turned as he made his way back to his own tub, "and it's fucking cold in here." Well, the guy was shivering a bit, and the water in the tub was definitely getting cooler. The rattle of the shower curtain being dragged unceremoniously back into place left Gojyo staring, open-mouthed, at the plain, opaque plastic.
Snorting softly, Gojyo shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't quite shake the feeling that he'd been played somehow, somewhere along the line, but, in the end, it had been a pretty incredible kiss, so it hardly mattered. Fishing around in the tub, he found the bar of soap, much diminished after its long soak, and began scrubbing briskly at the easily accessible areas.
"You'd better hurry up and get your hair before the water gets cold," Sanzo called out from the other side of the curtain.
"Yeah, yeah," Gojyo grumbled, moving on to his left leg and scowling irritably at his stubbornly filthy right foot. As he looked down at the opaque bathwater, he grimaced. Showers were infinitely preferable, but beggars couldn't be choosers. His hands were moving mechanically, but his mind was racing, playing the kiss with Sanzo over and over in his head. He was definitely going to have to wrangle himself a repeat performance. But, first, he was going to wash his hair so he felt human again, and not just because his bossy boyfriend said to. Gojyo smiled crookedly and ducked his head underwater.