Chapter 37

By the next morning…

"So, is today bath day for you or something?" Toji asked as Suiryu was having breakfast.

He froze as he turned and glared at him. "What?" he demanded.

Toji snickered as he sat across the table. "You get cat bathed or something, don't you by a dragon?"

Once more, he didn't move. How did HE know about this?

Suiryu merely glared at him as he continued to eat, yet Toji was determined to get a confirmation answer out of him. "Come on, admit it. You get bathed by a dragon!" he demanded.

This was getting more awkward as people stopped, stared and started to whisper about it. "And with that, this conversation is over…" he scarfed his meal before storming out of the communal eating area. Yet once he was outside, everyone was stopping and whispering the moment they saw him.

Suiryu was getting pissed off. He had to find Yua.

#

"Feel better?" she asked gently.

At the gazebo, Yua checked on Yuuji early that morning. It was rather cute though since Junpei had spent the night. They had a little sleep over so he wouldn't feel so lonly. He slept well that night, but by the next day, he already grew some more. He wasn't happy about it, worst still he can't reach areas of his body that get itchy. Yua has been with him all day trying to see if she can help him get more comfortable.

She has been spending most of her morning checking on Yuuji, rubbing his back and reaching places that he needed scratching… within reason of course. Right now, she was massaging under his wings, right where they connected to his shoulders when she felt a rather sudden spike of curse energy. Both of them jumped as Suiryu stood there, appearing pissed.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"What's wrong?" he demanded. "What's wrong is why is Gojo not being punished! He blabbed! Now… EVERYONE KNOWS HOW WE BATHE NOW!" he shouted.

Yuuji froze as he appeared devastated to the news. He turned to Yua who appeared just as shocked. "Gojo wouldn't break the vow like that…" but then paused. "But I did find him passed out in front of his home this morning… he reeked of booze."

"Shit, he's loose lipped when drunk!" Suiryu protested, but then sneered. "Toji…" he hissed.

"Not just him, I saw Nanami and Geto with him last night too… I don't think Nanami pushed for this, but those two…" she said.

"So… how is he being punished?" Suiryu demanded. "He broke a binding vow, where is his punishment!?" he demanded.

Yua merely smiled to him. "It's coming, it takes 24 hours to activate once he breaks it. I had a feeling something like this would have happened… sorry that word got out about it. But I don't think people are going to be stupid enough to mock you and Yuuji for what you go through."

"Tch… it's embarrassing…" muttered Suiryu.

"Umph…" came out of Yuuji.

#

24 hours later…

Suiryu woke up but heard the sound of chuckling outside. "Huh? Oh yeah, everyone knows now…" he muttered. He only assumed that people were mocking him and Yuuji for what happens to them once a week.

Slowly he got out of bed and his dorm before going outside. There were people gathered and crowded, even Yuuji was among them. When his eyes came upon Suiryu, he urgently waved him over.

"What the hell…"

Making his way to the crowd, people parted as he came upon a plucky 6 year old boy with sparkling blue eyes. "Whose the kid?" he asked.

Yet with the way Yuuji was smirking, it was someone they know well… too well…

"Whoa, you're big and strong! Can I get big and strong like you one day? I'm Satoru!"

Instantly, he froze.

"Satoru…" he said slowly.

His eyes widened. "Even your voice sounds cool…" he whispered in admiration. "And you said my name… you are SO COOL!" he said.

Suiryu turned to Yuuji who snickered aloud to him, but then, his eyes set on Yuuji. "Whoa, you're big!" he said. "But you look like someone I know, he's really strong and very nice… I think he would have been my best friend if we were the same age… I did have a best friend once before…" he paused as he looked rather disheartened to it. "But then… WHY DID HE HAVE TO GET SO MEAN AND STUPID!"

Geto happened to be close by as he saw the pint size Gojo weep. "He was going to be my best friend until we were old and grey, but NO. He had to go and be stupid! Why did he have to get stupid?!" he demanded aloud.

"Hey, hey, ease there tyke." Suiryu said as gently as he could. Gojo calmed down. "Sometimes… life changes people, sometimes for the better, other times for the worst. You may not get your friend back, but do you remember the good times you had with them?"

Gojo nodded. "I didn't want them to end…" he whispered. "Maybe I shouldn't get so strong… if I wasn't stronger than him… would he have stayed as my friend?" he asked.

Suiryu found himself sitting down. "No," he said bluntly. "As much as you would want it to be true, sometimes people change for the worst because they believe their cause was justified as well, they were the ones who were true. But that's not always the case, right?"

He cleared his tears away before approaching Suiryu, fearlessly he sat in his lap and sighed. "I want to be stronger, but at the same time my family is telling me to do this, do that, work on your technique… why can't I go and play with the other kids? I know I am special, they said so, but I want to play too!"

'Ah, so this is why he acts childish…'

"But it doesn't matter any more does it? Anyway. I want to get stronger, I want to be big and strong like you. You remind me of someone who is just like that, they are so powerful that they teach others to be strong like them. He's an amazing teacher too! I should learn well from him right?"

People were snickering now.

"HAS ANYONE SEEN GOJO?!" came the call of Yua.

Peering down, Gojo suddenly stared on ahead, his face flushed with red as he suddenly shied away as Yua appeared through the crowd. "Gojo? Where… Oh…" she paused to see a little boy in Suiryu's lap. She giggled to it all as she approached with caution. Kneeling down, she peered over as Gojo peered a little, but turned his head away. "There you are Gojo, I was worried about you. Are you hurt?" she asked gently.

He shook his head. "I don't wanna train," he said. "I wanna have fun!"

She giggled once more. "Who said anything about training? Gojo we're going to have fun today"

Suddenly, he no longer hid from her, but his face still flushed with red. "You're pretty," he said meekly. "You look a lot like a girl I use to know, she had a plush fox in her arms… she was prettier than you,"

Everyone broke into snickering. Suiryu did as well. "Really? A little girl with a fox plush? Sounds like your type huh?"

"She was really pretty! And I am going to marry her! We're going to have kids, and I want my kids to be like a friend named Yuuji, he was always kind hearted to those around him. I want my kids to be like that!" he announced.

Yuuji was stunned to the decree. He wants kids… to be like him?

"I also wanna make lots of friends, there was one who was such a stick in the mud, and he never looked like he was having fun. Kento was so serious, which is why I always tried to cheer him up and tried to get him to laugh or even smile… he didn't do either one," he whispered discreetly to Suiryu.

He snickered to that one as well. "Well then, what do you want to do today?" Suiryu asked. "You wanna have fun?"

His eyes widened. "Are you… you want to play with me?" he whispered in amazement.

He paused to the question, but then smirked. "Sure, why not! But first, we got to have a decent meal, right?"

"Oh yeah, food!" Gojo snapped back to his feet. "Race you!" and took off to the communal eating area.

Everyone suddenly turned to Yua. "This is his punishment?" Suiryu asked.

She nodded. "Suiryu, there are three things in life that always tell the truth. Drunks, toddlers and yoga pants. Right now, Gojo has NO IDEA who anyone is, so, if you want to know how he truly feels about you… now is the time to ask, he won't tell you other wise now will he?"

Suddenly, everyone was looking to each other oddly before rushing to the communal dining area. Suiryu snickered as he sat up off the ground. "To think… he looks up to me… wait… does this mean…"

Yua merely smirked before walking off.

Suiryu paused as he turned to Yuuji. "Remind me, never piss off that woman."

'No shit' Yuuji replied.