I do not own Saiyuki but I do have a Sanzo plushie hanging from my hatstand. He likes it there. Please don't sue.
This snippet is the first in a trilogy.
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The atmosphere in Jeep was always rather heavy whenever Sanzo fell into one of his brooding, angsty move-an-inch-and-I-swear-I'll-blast-you-into-the-next-millennium moods. This time the edginess of Sanzo's depression was so sharp it could literally cut through steel. Goku and Gojyo who were sitting in the back seat and bored out of their miniscule brains knew better than to make a noise and notify the High-but-not-quite-so-Holy monk of their miserable existence. Even Hakkai thought better of his ironic trademark smile.
Hours passed without a sound being uttered. Jeep, aware that it was the only one safe from Sanzo's anger and retribution, flaunted this fact by toddling cheerily up and down each sand dune. Hakkai kept his hands on the wheel and vainly tried to tone down the extreme movements of Jeep. Other than that, the four men remained as rigid as statues.
The sun, high up in the sky and nowhere near shooting range of the Shoureijuu, was doing its utmost to substantiate the fact that nothing and no one can outshine itself, gold-crowned moody priests least of all.
And then, enough was enough.
Gojyo decided that he was dying of thirst and instead of doing the intelligent thing (get his own beer); he turned to Goku and said, purely out of habit,
"Oi, Bakazaru, get me a beer from the esky."
"Get it yourself, erogappa," replied Goku, also out of habit.
What ensued was a trading of creative expletives, which then lead to a fistfight, which meant a lot of noise, action and movement.
'Oh dear,' thought Hakkai. Sometimes he just could not believe in the idiocy of his two companions. Given Sanzo's present Ultra Bad Mood, one or both of them might really get shot this time. He sighed with resignation and wondered whether there were any bandages left in their medical supplies and where on earth did he put the antiseptic as he waited for the gunshot to ring out.
It never did.
There wasn't even an 'Urusai!!!'
Hakkai snuck a wary glance at the man next to him and couldn't believe his eyes. After knowing Sanzo for three years and travelling incognito with him for the last few months, Hakkai was pretty sure that he had seen all that there was to see of Genjo Sanzo.
He had seen Sanzo at his best as the latter stood on the rooftop and chanted the mantra that activated the Maten Kyomon to exterminate the demon who was controlling the Imposter Sanzo-ikkou.
He had seen him at his worst as the monk lay on the doorstep of Death after being poisoned by the Scorpion woman who thought she couldn't die (boy was she wrong).
Heck, he had even seen Sanzo at his drunkest and silliest when they entered the wine drinking competition and Sanzo almost set the sutra on their opponents.
But never, not in a thousand lifetimes, did Hakkai thought he would see Sanzo as he is now, quiet, moody, angsty, oblivious to the commotion in the back, hanging his head in shame? Humiliation? Sadness? Hakkai couldn't decide which but this much he knew. The Great and Almighty Genjo Sanzo was actually SULKING!!!
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A few hours earlier…
It was a typical morning for the gang. They got up, had breakfast while Goku and Gojyo bickered over the ownership of the last pancake. Sanzo whacked them a few times and then Hakkai ushered all of them into Jeep so they could get on with the quest.
The journey started normal enough. Goku and Gojyo played cards and then had an argument over which game they were playing (Goku thought they were playing Go Fish while Gojyo insisted it was supposed to be Old Maid). Sanzo got out his newspapers and proceeded to read quietly over the next few hours. Hakkai noticed that Sanzo was flicking his hair out of his eyes more than usual and thought it was the gentle breeze playing merry hell with the priest's golden forelocks.
The turning point was when a group of youkai showed up and attempted to beat the living daylights out of the Sanzo-ikkou. Of course, it was the youkai who had the living daylights beaten out of them. Hakkai sent his ki balls left, right and center. Goku had fun stabbing and whacking while Gojyo practiced a new twirling of the wrist that sent the chains of his shakujou into perfect figure eights. 'Quite impressive,' thought Hakkai. Suddenly, he noticed something strange. Amid the battle cries and clanging of weapons, one sound was missing. The shots of the shoureijuu.
Hakkai turned around to see what Sanzo was doing. The blond had his gun aimed at a random youkai. He cursed softly under his breath as he flicked his bangs out of the way. By this time, the youkai had moved and Sanzo had to adjust his arm to take aim again. Sanzo flicked his hair once more and fired the shoureijuu.
And missed.
The youkai landed a punch at Sanzo's pale cheek. Sanzo swore and counter attacked by side-stepping pass the youkai, then hitting the back of his head with the handle of the shoureijuu. Hard. The youkai lost balance but quickly regained it and was about to claw through the monk's chest when he suddenly found a large hole in the middle of his own chest, courtesy of a ki ball from Hakkai. The youkai stared at Hakkai in disbelief before disintegrating in to tiny particles.
By now, Goku and Gojyo had dealt with the other youkai so the four studs climbed back into Jeep to continue their journey.
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Hakkai thought back on this earlier event and what he witnessed. He wondered whether it had anything to do with the fact that Sanzo was sulking. After much ponder, Hakkai came to the conclusion that it did and was thinking of the most tactful way of approaching the subject with Sanzo when Goku called out "Hah, there's the town!"
Sure enough, a small town can be seen in the horizon. Hakkai thought it best to get straight to the point.
"Ne, Sanzo," he said, "your bangs are getting awfully long; I think you should go to the barber once we get to town."
Sanzo slumped dejectedly in his seat.
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