Disclaimer(s) - I don't own Saiyuki or ANY of the Saiyuki Characters nor am I affiliated and therefore I am not making any profit from this story whatsoever. Saiyuki and its characters belong solely to Kazuya Minekura and all other respective creators/owners. I am just a fan. A BIG fan. A HUGE fan. A... well, you get the idea. I don't own anything but the 4 girls' characters in the story.
***
Their night in the woods was quiet and undisturbed. Each member of the group eating quietly, and retreating to their tents, still considering the days' strange events. Sleep came slowly to everyone, which suited Gojyo nicely, as it was his turn on first watch for the night. Sanzo was even more insistent on these all night watches, now that Kougaiji was stalking about for no apparent reason. Gojyo sighed, his hands behind his head as he lay back against a tree trunk near the fire.
A rustle over by the tents caught his attention, and he stood quickly, ready to defend should someone try to attack the sleeping occupants rather than their guard. He relaxed as he saw Tryst's lithe form emerge from the tent entrance, stretch, and make its way towards him. He stood stock still, not understanding her sudden appearance or direction. She stopped in front of him, still completely silent. He grinned in the near darkness, trying to regain some of his usual cockiness to hide his unease. She turned her face up to him, her eyes changing as she looked at him, from a dark navy blue, to a clear, emerald green. He stood mesmerised by the look in those eyes. It was tender, soft –so unlike her usual tart sense of humour.
"What's up?" He asked lightly, his voice gentle in the unfamiliar atmosphere "Can't sleep? I could help you with that." His half-joke failed miserably as her eyebrows twitched in annoyance, but the look remained as she continued to stare up into his eyes. He sighed, brushing his face with one hand in frustration, "What's the matter? Why are you looking at me like that?" She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She frowned. Clearing her throat, she looked down at the ground, in an uncharacteristic display of shyness.
"Gojyo... everything that happened today. That woman, those birds.... that insanity. Aren't you ever afraid of it? Afraid of what's going to happen next? Afraid that you'll lose everything? That one day you'll lose your mind – just like she did?" She took a deep breathe, her heart pounding with her feelings over the matter. She lifted her head swiftly, and looked into his eyes, searching for an answer.
Gojyo seemed surprised, "Well, no – not really." He stated bluntly, and she looked at him blank-eyed, obviously not believing him. He rans his fingers through his hair, looking to the sky for an answer, before he said something he might regret. The girl was still looking at him, undeniably challenging his right to lie about his fears. He sighed again, and made furtive sweep of the campsite with his eyes, checking to see if anyone else was listening.
"Alright, yes. I am afraid sometimes. You satisfied?" He snapped in a harsh whisper, hoping to discourage her by being rude. Tryst merely nodded, her face not registering a hint of disappointment or pity, which was what the Kappa expected. She seemed lost on a new train of thought, her eyes not leaving his, as she whispered softly, "It all happened so fast... and it was over so quickly... she died in a span of twenty minutes...." Gojyo waited patiently for her to get to the point, entertaining himself by watching the colours in her eyes swirl and change – blue, green, aqua, silver, black, brown, grey, hazel and mixes of all at various stages.
"....If you had been hurt.... I... I..."
Suddenly, her eyes filled with tears, and Gojyo felt himself shrink inside his skin at the sight – tears, like rain, forced him to relive memories he wished he could forget. Memories that made him want to stop those tears. He had to stop them – the memories, the tears, he wasn't sure, but he had to stop them. Stop them. Stop. He leant down quickly, ignoring her gasp of surprise as he pressed his lips to hers, pushing against her until he was sure the tears had stopped. It wasn't a passionate kiss, or even very sensual, he hadn't grabbed her, or moved any part of his body other than his face, but it was enough to make Tryst's knees quiver, as she struggled to hold her stance. It lasted but a moment – a perfect moment.
Pulling back to check her face, Gojyo was surprised to see her mixed look of shock, anger and passion. Perhaps that was what had attracted him to her all along – that mixture of emotions, her dark, secretive tendencies, and her brazen, unhiding personality – that mixture of sweet and spicy that always captivated a man... and one man in particular. She was everything he wanted, and he made the choice then and there, that he would have her, no matter what the cost. She was angry and crazy and bold and teasing. She was fire and heat and passion. She was sweet, and caring – only soft when she chose to show it. And she was going to be his - just as he had staked his claim with that kiss, he would soon stake his claim with her in full. So preoccupied in his thoughts, he failed to recognise the hand swinging towards his cheek until it was too late.
SMACK.
Her hand connected solidly, forcing his face away from her Tryst gasped, both hands covering her mouth in shock, eyes wide. She took a quick step back, eyeing him with trepidation – what had just happened? She had come out here, into the cool night air only to clear her mind, and perhaps discuss the strange battle from earlier. Instead, she had become confused by her feelings for Gojyo – her emotions so mixed up, that she was unable to decipher his reason for kissing her – was it lust, as usual? Or was he actually serious? In her panic, she slapped him – her standard reaction to such surprise situations.
Gojyo turned his head to her, one hand reaching to his cheek, the look in his eyes unreadable. Tryst flinched, hating herself from the hurt that was oozing from him – the hurt that spoke the truth about his kiss. She had slapped him for something real. A slow burning anger filled his eyes, the anger of a man who feels betrayed. Tryst's breather caught in her throat at the sensation of being thrown into space – no air, ice cold and no hope. Gojyo turned and pushed past her gently, his eyes hidden and the condescending smirk on his lips practically glowing under the starlit sky. He walked off into the trees, to watch the camp from afar, apparently, and Tryst dropped her hands, her mind clearing with what she knew she had to do.
Shaking her hair back with a flick, she turned her eyes to the heavens praying for strength. She grinned ruefully as she remembered that Strength itself was actually asleep in a tent not twenty feet from her. Perhaps Bella's mere presence could her through this, she hoped – she prayed. Taking a deep breathe, she strode towards Gojyo confidently, noting his relaxed form as he lay spread beneath the branches of a large dead oak tree, and watching the fire blankly. She sat down beside him, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her legs around them.
"I thought I couldn't tell you the truth," Tryst began slowly; "I thought you would run away, just like the rest." She chuckled softly, "Then I realized I was the one who was running away from you. I always felt scared about it – knowing that people would run away, because even if he wasn't here, the influence was." Gojyo's eyes turned to her. He? Suddenly, it all made sense – the need for flirting, but the aversion to being touched. The attitude. The violent reactions. It all made sense. "Who was he?" Gojyo growled, turning to her fully, and grabbing her shoulders – she flinched. "Who was the bastard that hurt you?" God's, if he ever found out...
Tryst looked at him in surprise, her eyes accepting his anger, and changing from navy blue, into a strangely bland hazel colour as she nodded, her past coming back to spill from her lips as though she couldn't wait to release the poison from her past.
"It's been four years since I killed my stepfather," She whispered, her voice mingling with the light breeze and drifting over to Gojyo's ears. His eyes widened in shock. "'Self defence' the judge called it. My mother never forgave me. She took my little sister Marley and moved to Ohio. I haven't seen them since – but I get letters sometimes." She paused as her throat caught, remembering her sister's confusion and her mother's betrayal as they walked out the door that day. That bright, sunny Tuesday morning. Tryst had always associated unhappiness with rain, snow and bad weather – so why was it that on such a heart wrenching day, the sun was shining and the sky was clear?
She turned suddenly from looking into Gojyo's eyes, to face the night sky. That made it a lot easier. The stars didn't reflect and the sky didn't judge. "My real dad walked out on us when Marley was born, and I was nine. There was never any explanation for that, he just left, and mum never told us why. Three years later, she remarried. He seemed like a nice guy, always letting us join in with them, taking us camping, swimming – all kinds of stuff. But it was a lie. Just a big, stupid lie." She huffed a laugh at this, her eyes straining towards the sky, as though her memories had always been hidden in the stars, and only she could find them. "It took him six years to build our trust. Six long years of normalcy – a real family atmosphere. Six years of lies." She choked on the last word. Gojyo had his hands in his knees, and he clenched his eyes shut as he waited for her to continue.
"He came to my room one night. Mum had taken Marley to the doctors cos she had been worried that she'd caught the chicken pox. It was about seven o'clock. I was lying down, reading on my bed, and he sat next to me, asking me about my day. Suddenly, he put his hand on my leg. I ignored it, thinking he was just testing his 'daddy comfort boundaries' – I mean, that's what stepdad's do, right? I moved so his hand fell away, and continued reading. I had had a bad day, and didn't really feel like any company right then." Trysts eyes burned as she remembered his face change, becoming cold, and cruel.
"That's when he told me 'to stop being such a little cocktease'. I told him I didn't understand, that he was being weird, and to get out of my room. Instead, he climbed on top of me, telling me I would have to 'live up to all my promises'. I never made any fucking promises! I screamed for help, yelling for him to stop as I tried to fight him off – but he was too strong." She took two deep breathes, calming herself as she felt the uninvited hot tears run down the sides of her face. A moment later, she spat out the poisoned words:
"He raped me."
Gojyo stared at her, pain, anger and shock in his eyes. Tryst turned her gaze back to his, her eyes now a deep brown – almost black. She continued, feeling stronger as she stared into his crimson gaze, "When it was over, he got up to leave the room and told me if I said anything, he would take it out on Marley in the same way. She was only 11! I loved my sister more than anything, she didn't deserve to know this side of ANYTHING! So, as he turned to do up his pants, I grabbed a pair of scissors of my desk, and lunged off the bed to jump on his back. I stabbed him in the throat with the scissors, and he threw me off in panic – I hit the wall, dislocating my right shoulder. He fell down in front of me, his eyes never leaving mine as he bled to death on my bedroom floor. I had stabbed his carotid artery."
Gojyo had a foul taste in his mouth, and his stomach churned as he fought to keep down his meagre dinner. Tryst was still staring at him, her eyes a jet black colour as she waited for him to reject her as expected. When he didn't say anything, she sighed. "That's why I didn't want to tell you about me. Any of you. I am supposed to be some hot-shot muse, with power at my fingertips and wisdom dripping from my lips. Instead, I'm a fake. A tainted fake." She missed the scalding look her shot her as she turned her eyes back to the sky, her rueful smile telling far more than she meant to.
"I had a boyfriend, you know – back in my world. He was a decent guy, one of those Christian boys, you know?" Gojyo sucked in his breath, wondering where this guy was now, and what he meant to her. Her answer ripped away that veil for him, and turned his righteous anger into a blazing inferno. "The day after it happened, he came to the hospital to see me. He hadn't heard the whole story – only that the ambulance came to my house, and that I had killed my stepdad. He accused me of being a murderer. Of breaking commandments. I tried to explain what had happened, but he just got angrier – he asked me how I could kill someone! I asked him, how could he say that? I was the victim. I was protecting myself and my sister! 'Sure,' he said 'and how long were you waiting to tell me that I was playing second string to your stepdad?' I told him to fuck off. 'Gladly' he said." Tryst frowned at the memory. "He was such an asshole."
She glanced down to Gojyo's face – he was silent, staring at the ground, his teeth gritted. She choked suddenly, and brought up her barriers – he was going to run. She readied herself for his rejection, her mind going over everything she had just told him, forcing her to re-enact the scenes in her mind, before pushing them down, down, down.
"That bastard." Gojyo's voice was a malevolent whisper, his usual singsong croon disappearing and being replaced by a ghostly tone. His mind was in turmoil – gone were the thoughts of lust and sex, this was WAR. How DARE they hurt her that way? All those people from her world, her supposed family, her lover – they betrayed her. He connected the similarities in his mind and hunched his shoulders forward defensively. Just as he had been betrayed by his own. His anger returned at the sound of Tryst trying to silently fight her tears. He growled, wanting to rip, tear, KILL. His demon blood boiled in his veins, and he felt a burning fire deep in his belly.
"..ojyo...Gojyo!" Tryst was shaking him, her worried face inches from his own as she snapped her fingers in front of him with her free hand. He whirled on her, his eyes glazed over and his teeth bared in fury. She flinched back at his angry face, and tried to scramble away. Gojyo immediately dropped his fierce demeanour and reached out a hand towards her, a silent pleading in his gesture. Tryst looked up at him, neither seeing nor feeling anything more than the need to hold, to comfort, to protect. She reached out a shaky hand and slipped it into his waiting palm, feeling him grip her wrist and yank her forward into strong embrace.
"No one will hurt you like that again, you hear me? Not as long as I'm around." His voice was thick and Tryst choked back a sob of relief as they held each other tightly, comforting, and gaining comfort. Strengthening, and being infused with strength. They shifted into a more comfortable position, and Gojyo continued to hold Tryst in his long, warm arms until the sun breached the horizon, the both of them have fallen asleep in the early hours, to the joined beating of their hearts. Two wounded souls, having finally found the one to heal them.
***
The following morning, Hakkai awoke early, beating everyone to the punch by being dressed and stoking the banked fire, until it was hot enough to cook a descent breakfast on. Turning to look for the sentry, and expecting Sanzo, he was surprised to find the immediate area empty. Suddenly suspicious, Hakkai slowly moved into the trees, looking for signs of a fight, or struggle. Instead, he very nearly tripped over Gojyos legs, which were sticking out from his position at the base of the tree. Hakkai jerked in shock, then grinned in loving affection at the sight before him.
They had obviously fallen asleep together, tryst curled into his side like a child, with Gojyo's muscled arms wrapped loosely around her, the protective set of his face coming through even in his sleep. Hakkai realised he had never seen Gojyo sleep so soundly before, and to keep with the strange occurrence, slowly backed away, his feet soundless through the leaves. As he reached the clearing he sighed in relief – which was unfortunately picked up by Sanzo – who had escaped his tent and was now standing only an arms length away from the brunette.
"What's up?" the irate and thoroughly 'not a morning person' monk grunted. "…u…uh…" Hakkai stammered, one hand reaching to the back of his head as he tried to stall the holy man. He was saved by a loud cry, followed by an even louder yawn. "Saaaanzo!! I'm huuuuungry!" Goku popped out of the tent entrance, his call echoed by Suki as she and the other two girls emerged into the morning light. Hakkai's eyes sparkled as he watched Daja stretch her arms above her head and yawn hugely. She looked even more beautiful in the rising sun… he wondered how she would look waking up next to him, her brown hues mixing on the pillow with his own? He flushed darkly at the thought, a soft, searching look coming over his features.
Sanzo snorted in disgust at the look Hakkai was giving Daja – Gods, he thought the man had more self respect than that. He turned his head away, unconsciously looking directly at Bella. The blonde muse was stretching thoroughly, as she usually did, reaching down tot touch her toes then stretching up to reach the sky. Sanzo cocked an eyebrow as he admired her flexibility. The girl certainly was malleable. His attention sharpened as he saw her midriff peek through from the slit in her pyjama's, revealing an inch of her stomach. Sanzo's eyes widened as he noticed the strangely shaped scars running in small lines across that inch of exposed flesh. What could have caused THOSE?
Bella had realised the monk was staring, and had done nothing to halt her actions. Trying to prove herself in his eyes, she stretched farther than she ought to, and accidentally allowed her shirt to ride above her boxer pyjama bottoms. She instantly dropped her hands, pulling down her shirt with a sharp tug. She whirled her head around, to see if anyone had seen it. Sanzo's violet eyes bored back into hers, demanding answers he knew she was with holding from him. Bella's eyes split through her fringe, both of the begging him to stay silent. A long moment passed, and the girl was sure he would not let it drop – after all, that's the kind of person he was.
Finally, the blonde man nodded slightly and turned away, heading back to his tent to start packing. Bella sighed heavily in relief, still a bit surprised at his trusting action. She blushed slightly, unsure why. Turning to pack their own things, the group missed the tall couple exiting the woods and blending in with the campers.
Tryst had woken before Gojyo, the sound of Goku's voice shredding her peaceful dreams. She pushed herself up, and realised she was still outside. Looking up to her pillow, she saw the face of the man she had kissed last night. She smiled softly, and raised hr hand to run it lightly down his slumbering face. He turned into her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm as he slowly woke. "Ohaiyo" She whispered. He opened his eyes fully and stared into her now sparkling green orbs. "Good morning." He replied. Hearing the commotion from the camp, and finally realising their situation, they quickly rose, and moved stealthily towards the tents. Usually, being caught in such a compromising situation would have been half of the fun for Gojyo, not now, not with her.
Tryst headed straight to her tent, ignoring the curious, yet knowing smile that Daja was throwing her, dressing and exiting again without a word. The rest of the group ate quickly, speaking little, and finally jumped in their rides. Hitting the accelerators, the cars tore off the mark, already noting the small splotch in the distance as the next town – a bustling riverside village.
Daja announced that they would reach the town in time for lunch, much to Suki's excitement. Tryst merely grinned, her head to full of thoughts of Gojyo to be of any real input on the subject. Bella said nothing, her eyes following the two white specks travelling quickly through the clouds, heading straight for their destination. She frowned – those two would be waiting for them, she was sure.
END CHAPTER 15