--Chapter 5: Quoniam tu mecum es--
Sanzo didn't particularly care for the way the redheaded priest had introduced them, making he and Hakkai sound like a couple of pedophiles. Shouldering the redhead hard to the side, he pushed past the man with the full intention of entering the room and taking matters into his own hands. That is, until he found his eyes captured by impossible golden ones that looked equally transfixed.
A cute blush painted tanned cheeks a faint pink, smaller hands wringing together out of shyness. "H-Hello there, m-my name is Goku…" the boy offered brightly, stretching out his hand in an offering of greeting. Immediately, Sanzo knew that he had heard that voice somewhere before, the familiar grating tone reverberating in his head.
When his companion offered no reply, preferring to continue studying the boy rather fastidiously, Hakkai let out a resigned sigh before taking the smaller hand in his own to shake it liberally. "It's wonderful to meet you, Goku. My name is Father Hakkai, and this is Father Sanzo. We've come-" he started to say, until the bandaged wrist was jerked away abruptly and startled him into letting go. He watched in faint amusement as the other priest began to inspect the outstretched appendage that he held less than gently in his grasp. "So much for subtlety," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else, but feeling the glare that let him know he had been overheard. Another sigh escaped his lips as he joined his companion in his careful inspections.
Goku swallowed the nervous lump in his throat, hyper-aware of the scrutiny on the wounds that he wished he could hide. Their guarded, blank expressions that were trained on his wrists made him want to squirm where he stood. Unknown hands on him always made him nervous, but he was more embarrassed than anything.
"Can you remove these bandages? We need to be able to see these wounds better," the blond asked, his tone indicating command rather than suggestion. His eyes fell on the ebony-haired nurse that stood nearby. She was the one called Aria, if Kougaiji's less than helpful description was correct. He watched her through narrowed eyes as she nodded dumbly, seeming slightly shocked at his inquiry, but even more so when the boy shook his head and began to unwrap the bandages himself. Both she and the other nameless redhead watched in bewilderment as the lightly stained cloth fell away like a second skin. The accompanying wince was painful to watch.
Neither man had expected to see what was set before them. A suprisingly clean wound went straight through the wrist, a hole about three inches in diameter occupying space where vital muscle and vein should have been. It was miraculous that the bandages were as clean as they had been. A slight perfumed odor, sweet with the faintest hint of flowers, began to waft around them. The most disturbing aspect, however, had to be the younger man's lack of reaction when they both turned questioning glances onto him. "How long have you had this?" Hakkai asked him carefully, his voice betraying his astonishment despite his every effort to stay calm and direct.
"Since I can remember. Though, these didn't show up until the other one went away," the young man answered matter-of-factly, offering a lopsided grin as he moved a hand to lift shaggy bangs out of the way. Upon closer inspection, tiny pinpricks of scars dotted the crown of his head, perfectly aligned in a strange pattern. They were faint against the tanned skin, so it came as no surprise that the boy's companions looked at him strangely, to which he only shrugged. "When the ones on my head went away, my wrists and feet started bleeding," he reiterated.
"Does…does it hurt?" the older brunet found himself asking, his voice genuinely concerned. This was completely outside his realm of thought; he had never seen anything like this, even in the books he had brought with him to read on the subject. To say that the books didn't do the actuality of it justice was putting it lightly. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was seeing now. Sanzo seemed to share in his confusion, a single slender eyebrow raised in a questioning expression.
Goku looked a bit sheepish at the question, scratching the end of his nose with the other hand and revealing that it wasn't just the one wrist with the strange affliction. "Only when it gets really cold, and when it rains really hard. The ones in my feet hurt worse, and keeping my balance can be really hard sometimes," the boy offered again, lifting one of his feet for emphasis. Despite their initial ominous appearance, he was finding that the two men weren't so bad. The blond could loosen up a bit, in his opinion, but he didn't mind the green-eyed man at all.
The redhead, who had remained silent up until this point, decided to interrupt. "So what if they do? Just who the hell are you two anyway? Showing up here and treating the kid like a cow up for sale, have you lost your goddamn minds?" he interjected through clenched teeth, his expression twisting in irriation at their scrutiny of Goku when he jerked the boy away from where they had been standing.
"They are here to figure out how to help him, Gojyo. I would think that it would be in your best interest, as well as Goku's, to leave them be," Kougaiji warned in his too-serious tone, not at all surprised when slit eyes darkened to a deep shade of garnet turned in his direction.
"I think you're the last person that Goku needs to worry about him, Father," the other man spat, keeping a firm grip on the smaller brunet's wrist. The tone was particularly strong on the last word, giving the current spectators indication that there was bad blood between the two of them for some reason or another.
"Excuse me, but might I inquire as to who you are? Perhaps that will lessen some of the tension that seems to be building unnecessarily," Hakkai queried, his tone remaining polite. Sanzo snorted to himself, noting how the former teacher sounded as though he were scolding children. Perhaps it wasn't so far from the truth. The redhead in question tossed his head arrogantly, revealing a pair of twin scars running down the length of his cheek on one side. Curiosity blossomed in the brunet when he caught sight of the strange marks, but he was much too polite to ask.
Crimson eyes flared in a clear challenge, lips drawing up in an accompanying cocky smirk that looked surprisingly at home on the too-thin face. "Sha Gojyo, at your service. Is there anything else you might wish to inquire about...Father?" he purred, again stressing the emphasis on the last word spoken, but with an entirely different connotation. A faint flush appeared on the brunet's cheeks despite himself, though he regained his composure when a familiar elbow connected with his ribs.
"We don't have time for this shit. Just answer the question next time, cockroach," Sanzo growled in irritation, deciding that he liked this redhead less than the first one he met. If there was anything this stupid assignment didn't need, it was some prick like him making the job that much more difficult. A gasp fell from the nurse's lips after he had spoken, leading him to mentally curse himself when he realized his slip of the tongue. He normally kept the swearing to a minimum, if only to avoid annoyances like being told that it wasn't proper for a priest to use such colorful language.
The one called Gojyo looked mildly surprised at that, before the smirk returned to his features, only serving to make Sanzo even more irritated. "Such foul language! You ought to be ashamed of yourself, priesty," he retorted with a cocky wink, inciting a heated argument between the blond and himself as he let go of Goku's hand. Soon, Kougaiji was in the middle of it as well, his intentions at first being to stop the two of them, but getting wrapped up in it when the other redhead made an off-color comment about his wife.
The noise began to escalate so much that Hakkai thought about stepping in, but was mildly surprised when he found that he didn't have to; Goku had decided to do it for him. "Will you three stop it? Sheesh! You came here to talk to me about my weird wounds, not argue with each other about stupid stuff," the smaller brunet stated bluntly, letting out an irritated huff. He crossed his arms across his chest, wincing slightly when his wounds rubbed against the rough cotton of his t-shirt. The green-eyed man found himself laughing despite his efforts not to, even when his companion glared hard at him at his outburst. He didn't even bother to stammer out an apology.
"Sorry, Goku. You're absolutely right," Gojyo offered, ruffling the boy's hair as he sighed. He grinned crookedly at him, until a familiar clipboard rapped him on the back of the head. With a deep frown he turned to meet rather angry deep blue eyes as Aria held the clipboard up as if preparing for another strike.
"Well, now that the little bout of excitement is over, why don't you two ask your questions and be on your way? Goku doesn't need all this agitation," the nurse ordered, casting an aggravated glance in the three priests' direction. She narrowed her eyes hard at Kougaiji, who looked properly chastised when he looked away from her. "Why don't you come with me, Father Kougaiji? There are some questions I've been meaning to ask you." Her words were insistent, and the indigo-eyed man found himself following her as they left the other four alone in the room.
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When they were well out of hearing range, panic flooded Aria's features. "Father, did I really make the right decision? Those men…I don't know about them. They're from that church, aren't they? They probably answer directly to-" she rambled with a slight tremor in her voice, until Kougaiji quieted her with a very stern look.
"It's hard to say, Aria. Perhaps they can help him, perhaps not. You know that Gojyo and I wouldn't let anything happen to Goku, no matter what," he reassured her, allowing a rare smile to cross his features. He could easily understand her concern, since she treated the young man as though her were her own child. It was endearing, in a way. He knew that the boy needed someone like her to keep his sadness at bay, and he secretly hoped that they hadn't brought more down upon him. "There's nothing we can do about them being here now. All we can do is be as helpful as we can so that they hurry along."
A sniffle was his only reply at first, as Aria dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief she kept in her dress pocket. "I know, Father. I know. I'm just doubting myself, is all. It's in God's hands now," she replied in a near whisper, a sad smile gracing her face as she dried her tears. She could only hope that she had made the right choice. 'For your sake, Goku,' she thought to herself, quieting the dull roar in her mind with idle chit-chat. 'For your sake I hope I did the right thing.'
(Translation: For thou art with me)
(A/N: A special thanks to Madhumulati and my best friend Raissa (my editor-in-chief, even if she doesn't read or watch Saiyuki, she loves this story) who have joined the beta fray. And to all of you who review, I love yous! Sorry this chapter is so short...the next one will be longer, I promise)