:: Valley of Blood ::

Gensomaden Saiyuki

Disclaimer: I don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki, which rightfully belongs to Minekura Kazuya.

Rating: PG

Pairings: eventual Sanzo/Goku

Warnings: AU, likely OOCness, language

Thanks to: Everyone who helped with my Japanese in the previous chapter. It was muchly appreciated.

Notes: It's a bit shorter than the previous chapters. Gah. But I finally got it done, and that's what's important, right? Right. ^_^;;

Quick note: no need to point out the issue with Gojyo's eyes. I have an explanation all ready for that, so don't worry about it. Okay? ^^

Feel free to correct me in my Japanese. I could always use it. Constructive criticism and feedback appreciated, as always.

Chapter Three: Games

The first thing Sanzo decided when he woke up was that he never wanted to have anything to do with children. Any thoughts he had ever briefly - if at all - entertained that concerned settling down with a woman properly was killed long ago. That morning it had just been killed a second time, confirming that the idea was dead and gone.

"Ohayo!"

Despite their arguing the night before (it had gone on for nearly an hour, even though neither had any idea what the other had been shouting) Goku seemed to be in a cheerful mood this morning. Just watching him bounce on the balls of his feet, one wouldn't be able to guess that he had nearly been killed the day before. The only reminder of that was the cut on his arm, still wrapped in the white cloth Sanzo had provided.

Scowling, Sanzo shoved the boy away from him. "Damn brat. I'll get up when I'm ready."

Goku blinked. "Nani?"

Sanzo sighed, ready to hit himself with sheer exasperation. He was tired because they had been up all the way into very early morning, fighting because Goku couldn't seem to take the hint to get away from the bed and sleep on the floor. Rather than feel satisfied that he had won in the end, Sanzo was cross. He was not in the mood to put up with this boy.

Then again, when was he?

Goku was shaking him, much to his annoyance. "Okite! Mou asa da yo!"

"Knock it off!"

By then he was too awake to go back to sleep anyway. Sanzo grudgingly got up, and when he went to take a bath he discovered it was already fairly late into the morning. That annoyed him further. There was no telling if the man he sought had slipped out of town overnight- if he had been here at all.

Bath time proved to be another messy affair. For some reason Goku seemed to think that Sanzo wanted to play with him, so he had started a water fight.

"Ne, Sanzo! Mite!"

More out of reaction than anything else, Sanzo glanced up just in time to get a face full of warm bathwater. He spluttered, shaking the water from his hair and eyes before he glared at the grinning child. "Brat," he growled, shoving Goku away from him. "Can't you even take a bath quietly?"

"Asobu!" More water was flung his way, and without thinking Sanzo swiped his hand through the water in retaliation. A string of curses fell from his mouth, but Goku just laughed- cackled was more like it, thought Sanzo furiously, brining his arms up in a futile attempt to block the water being sent his way.

Afterwards, he realized that yelling at the boy while splashing him back wasn't exactly the best way to get a child to calm down, especially when said child had no idea what he was yelling. No wonder Goku hadn't been able to take a hint.

The boy's long hair still bothered Sanzo for reasons he couldn't explain. Now that he'd had a good night's (or perhaps a good morning's) rest and a (semi) comfortable bath, he was thinking more clearly. It occurred to him that he could use the strip of cloth he used to tie his hair back to keep Goku's under control. There was more protesting and incomprehensible arguing, but in the end Goku's hair had been pulled back in a much neater ponytail.

Goku fingered the cloth, looking surprised for some reason. Then he grinned up at the man. "Sankyuu!"

It sounded eerily close to thank you, so Sanzo decided to dismiss it as that.

What little of morning left was spent catching up on the local news as Goku happily helped himself to a late breakfast. Watching the boy eat, Sanzo was admittedly amazed that he even had an appetite after last night. Had the villagers starved him or was he naturally this way? It was something he would have to muse over later, if at all.

Still, enough was enough. Scowling, Sanzo threatened Goku's hand with his fork when he reached for third helpings. "You've had enough," he growled.

The meaning must have been clear, especially since the man was wielding a sharp utensil, because Goku scowled. "Kechi!"

Simply because the word sounded insulting, Sanzo smacked the boy upside the head. Goku spent the remainder of breakfast nursing a sore skull, muttering incomprehensibly, and snatching food when Sanzo wasn't looking.

Once that tiring affair was over and done with, Sanzo paid the bill while mentally swearing he would drop the brat off soon, before he sucked all the money from his pouch. A knight only got paid so much and Sanzo knew for certain that he couldn't afford the extra baggage any more than he could afford the entire kingdom of Ashemore.

He needed to spend the rest of the day looking for the wanted man. Sanzo knew he had wasted far too much precious time as it was and that if he kept at it he would never get this done. It was a pain, but a job was a job. He was going to find this man even if it killed him in the process.

It was this reasoning that made him determined to get rid of Goku today.

"Sanzo, doko iku?"

Was he simply so bored that he insisted on talking even though he knew very well that Sanzo couldn't understand? Sanzo frowned at the boy, shaking his head without saying anything. Goku blinked and tilted his head to the side. When Sanzo moved to leave, Goku followed.

Sanzo pushed him back. "No," he snapped. "You're staying here."

Then again, what the hell was he doing, ordering a brat around? All Sanzo could hope was that Goku would at least understand from the roughness in the man's voice.

Goku blinked again, looking horribly confused. "No?" he repeated, his voice thick as he repeated the foreign word.

"That's right," Sanzo agreed. "No. Stay here."

"No?"

His head began to ache; Sanzo could literally feel the vein in his forehead throb along with his heartbeat.

Thinking that he was doing something right, Goku grasped the knight's arm and tugged. "No," he repeated excitedly. "Ne, ne, tadashii desu ka?"

Sanzo gave up. He turned to leave, but Goku was gripping his arm tightly. His strength was startling. "Sanzo, tadashii desu ka?" he repeated, looking annoyed.

What right do you have to me annoyed with me, damned monkey child...

"Sanzo!"

Without warning his hand came up, dislodging the boy's hold and crashing into his face at about the same time. Sanzo's knuckles met teeth; the impact made him wince.

To his surprise, Goku didn't cry out. He was staring at the wall, seemingly stunned by the hit. And though the hit had been unintentional, it had achieved what Sanzo had wanted in the first place. Therefore, he wasn't sorry for what had happened. He had to tell himself that a few times before he found his voice, and when he did it came out low and dark. "So now you get it. Don't bother me."

This time Goku didn't react when he moved. Golden eyes were fastened to the wall, the surprise drained from them, leaving them with a look that was almost disturbingly empty. Sanzo shrugged off the chills and left. He had a job to do and he refused to be hindered by that pest's presence.

"You may want to stay inside tonight."

If the comment struck him as odd, Hakkai didn't show it. Not once had he looked up, even when he had heard the front door slam shut. Gojyo had a bad habit of shutting doors too loudly- then again, it wasn't necessarily a bad habit. Hakkai preferred to think of it as a defining character trait; that way it wouldn't sound so bad.

He sipped at his cup of green tea, eyes lowered to a book he had pinned down with his free hand. "And why would I want to do that?"

Hakkai liked to think he had good peripheral vision. No, he knew he had good peripheral vision, which was why he could see the redhead pull out a chair and sit in it backwards, facing him with an expression that was oddly set. Something was obviously worrying Gojyo.

The redhead jerked his head once toward the front door. "That guy Yasuo told us about is going around asking questions. Seems like he's looking for you."

"That's silly," Hakkai said calmly, turning the page. "He doesn't know me."

"How can you be so sure?"

That was when the brunette finally looked up, his smile holding a glint of malice he knew Gojyo would recognize instantly. "Because if he did, he'd be looking for Cho Hakkai, not Cho Gonou."

It still felt weird, using his new name. It was a weak protection at the moment, really not much of one. But what else could he do? He couldn't change his appearance; even after a haircut and (interesting) change of clothes he was still easily recognizable as Cho Gonou, wanted mass murderer. All one had to do was remove the hood he wore in public presence. Last night hadn't been a close call - even without Gojyo's help, Hakkai would have been able to stop the woman - but it had been far too close for his comfort.

And that, he decided without raising his eyes, is strange as well. Right off the bat Gojyo had recognized who he was, but he had opted for protecting and hiding the man rather than turning him in.

"What did you expect?" he remembered the man once saying. "What fun would it be to turn you in? I need a little more excitement in my life. Hiding a wanted man sounds like just the thing."

By then Hakkai had been around Gojyo long enough to tell the difference between his jokes and his hidden meanings. That had been one of his hidden meanings; even in the guise of a joke Hakkai could recognize it. Both understood the same thing: that neither knew why they were doing this. It simply made sense to; it felt right; it just clicked into place with the rest of their lives. That's all there was to it.

Gojyo didn't seem convinced; his shrug was meant to make him seem uncaring, but his shoulders were too tense to carry off the image convincingly. "Maybe so, but there's something different about this one."

This man wasn't the first to come looking for Gonou. "What's that?"

"The hell if I know. Just... different." Gojyo looked irritated at his inability to explain. He stood and stalked into the kitchen, returning moments later with beer. Hakkai didn't bother hiding an amused smile.

"I suppose I could deal with staying inside for one night," he said, watching for Gojyo's reaction.

The redhead snorted. "It wouldn't make much of a difference for you anyway. You can't talk to anyone."

"On the contrary." Gojyo gave him a puzzled look, so Hakkai elaborated. "It would make a fairly large difference."

"Yeah?"

Hakkai bent the corner of the page he was on to mark his place, closing the book so he could give his companion his utmost attention. Green locked with black. Hakkai knew that if he kept a steady gaze on his friend, it would be that much easier to convey his thoughts. Besides, he found Gojyo's eyes intriguing. Perhaps because he could read more into him than anyone else, because the eyes were the window to the soul but Gojyo had shut them to everyone else, because for some reason or another only Hakkai was allowed to make and maintain eye contact for such a long period of time.

Gojyo paused with his drink halfway to his lips, staring back curiously at the brunette, before he set the glass down again.

Smiling faintly, Hakkai spoke. "The people here are interesting. To me," he added at Gojyo's arched eyebrow. "Very different from the people in Ashemore. I like watching them, thinking about what kind of lives each individual must lead. It's like inventing my own story. Perhaps a certain man is a baker in this town and he comes to the tavern to have a good time. Perhaps the loud, rowdy man in the corner is a mild-mannered father at home. It's just interesting to think about."

"You know, coming from anyone else I would say that's creepy beyond all reason."

Hakkai chuckled. "Is that so?"

"Yup." Gojyo lowered his eyes, picking up his drink again. "But it's you, so I guess it's not too disturbing."

"That's a bit of a skewed way to view it, Gojyo."

"Yeah, well..."

Hakkai took a sip of his tea, realizing it was getting cold. He stood to make more, but paused to glance at the redhead. "One night can't hurt." He had said it before, but then he was just testing Gojyo, wanting to see his reaction. Now he was being serious.

"Right," Gojyo agreed. "One night won't hurt us."

"Us?"

Rolling his eyes, Gojyo explained. "D'you seriously think I'm going to leave you behind? That guy might come around knocking door to door."

"I won't answer it."

"But then it may be someone important," Gojyo said firmly, his eyes burning as he glared defiantly at the brunette. "Besides, all the guys at the tavern suck at poker."

The corner of Hakkai's mouth curled up. "Isn't that why you always go after him?"

"Like you said, one night won't hurt."

In other words, Gojyo was going to stay with him and keep him company whether he liked it or not. The extension was welcome, more than welcome, and Hakkai honestly was grateful for it. Really, how could he have expected Gojyo to do otherwise? That strange connection between then was at work again, almost as though fate were drawing them together with rope woven of lead. At the same time, it almost felt as though even this wasn't complete enough, that there was a string or two missing from the pattern.

"How odd," he murmured, more to himself than Gojyo.

"Pardon?"

"Ah... no." He smiled. "It's nothing."

Gojyo knew otherwise, but didn't press. "Well then, I'll just break out a new deck of cards."

"Another one?"

Shooting him a plaintive look, Gojyo said, "We've been using the same deck of cards for nearly two weeks now. It's getting old, and you've been getting suspiciously good hands lately. Yes, another one."

"Ah, I see. Should I make tea for you as well?"

"Don't even joke. More beer's fine."

What a comfortable atmosphere, Hakkai thought as he began to heat water. It was very nice, almost too comfortable, especially considering his recent loss. Sometimes he felt a pang of guilt for not dwelling on it more often, but other times he was able to tell himself it was okay not to think about it. No one would blame him for it, especially not her. Right now was one of those times.

Besides, Gojyo had pretty much said it himself. His first priority should be to stay low, at least until the knight from Ashemore left, and then he could start worrying about other things.

What... just happened?

It probably hadn't "just happened," seeing he had been alone in the room for quite some time now. It felt like hours, but it couldn't have been more than thirty minutes. Not once during those thirty minutes; he kept staring blankly at the wall before him, no thoughts going through his head whatsoever.

Now, though, he finally moved. Slowly, he brought his head around to stare at the closed door. Part of him thought that if he opened the door the blonde man would be standing there, glaring and saying something in that odd language of his. Another, more rational part said that Sanzo was long gone; he was not waiting for him, no matter how much he wished it otherwise.

I... I don't get it.

He was honestly confused. Here he thought he had done something right; he had learned a word of that man's language. He thought he'd understood it, but the man's reaction had been all wrong. Obviously he had misunderstood.

Then he realized his legs were aching from standing so long. Gingerly, he moved over to the bed and sat down. Last night he had gotten into a fight with Sanzo. He hadn't understood a word said, but after being shoved down several times he had understood that he was supposed to sleep on the floor- an idea that didn't go over well at all. In the end, the man's voice started to sound hoarse from far too much use and the back of Goku's skull began to throb from the numerous hits. So he gave up.

But right now Sanzo wasn't here. He was outside somewhere, and he obviously didn't want Goku with him.

That must be it, the brunette realized. All this time he's just been trying to get rid of me, right?

But how was that possible? Why would he try to get rid of him after all he had done to save and help Goku? He had offered his hand to him, the only person to reach out and free him, seeming ready to believe his innocence no matter what anyone else thought. Goku knew he had felt a connection with that man then. He'd never had such an experience before, but he trusted his instincts, and instinct told him that he and Sanzo had somehow... connected. Instinct also told him that was rare and special, and selfishness demanded that he hold on to it.

In the end, he was simply a selfish child, following Sanzo everywhere he went. He hadn't even known the man a full day, but already it was clear to him where he wanted to be. He wanted to follow this Sanzo person to the gates of hell, no matter how hard or difficult or painful the road.

More than freeing him, Sanzo had also fed him, bathed him, cleaned his wounds, even found a way to keep his long hair from getting all over the place. Automatically Goku's hands went to the back of his head, his fingers toying with the white cloth that bound his hair back.

If Sanzo was willing to do so much for him, why would he want him to leave? Goku couldn't understand it. There had to be another explanation; there simply had to be. He wasn't sure what, but there was one somewhere.

Was he simply annoyed by a kid tagging along with him everywhere? If that was it, Goku wished he could speak the man's language simply to tell him not to worry about that; he wasn't a child, he was fifteen years old. By definition, he was a teenager. That was different from being a child.

Unfortunately, wishes were simply wishes. There was nothing he could do about that.

Then again, there may have been another reason.

Perhaps... he hadn't meant to hit the boy in purpose in the first place.

Goku brightened immediately at the concept. That just could be it! He had been pulling on Sanzo's arm, and perhaps he had been tugging too hard - Goku knew he could be careless with his strength at times - and that was why Sanzo had tried to swat him away. But because Goku had been too close, perhaps... perhaps that was why he had been struck! It made perfect sense, and Goku was relieved to have found a reason.

And now that he had found a reason, Goku was growing restless. He slid off the bed, pacing. Quickly pacing became boring, so he opted for exploring the tiny room. There wasn't much to see or find; Sanzo had brought precious little with him, and he must have taken anything of interest with him.

Then again, he's certainly more interesting than anything else, Goku thought happily, leaning out the window to see what was going on outside. For a few good moments he didn't even see his surroundings; all he saw was a mental image he had of the man dressed as a knight, proud and dignified and shining a bright gold that threatened to blind even the sun.

Goku paused to think that over before making a face. He wasn't one to talk, but he was sure no man of dignity would thump a boy on the head and yell words that sounded like curses no matter what language they were uttered in. He didn't know much about people in general, but he had heard a fair amount of stories from the village on the other side of Tevhesta's woods- where, incidentally, he had learned just about everything he knew. The language over there was vastly different from the primary language in Tevhesta, though a good handful of Tevhestians understood both. Perhaps if the villagers hadn't hated him so much, they would have been more than happy to translate Sanzo's odd words for him.

Why did they hate him in the first place? Goku was sure some of them had seen him occasionally before; sometimes he would wander into town in search of food, and once in a while he could stumble across someone kind enough to feed him. He could fend for himself well enough, but cooked food proved to have its own amazing tastes. When he couldn't find some small animal to kill and eat - usually birds, occasionally rodents - he would wander into town. Eating their food became something of a treat to him.

But now the villagers hated him for some reason, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. As a general rule, Goku didn't hurt people that didn't harm him first. Sure, maybe if he had caught a hunter trying to kill a wolf pup - he considered wolves to be a kin of sorts - he could get defensive and do just enough damage to drive the man away, but he was just protecting what he felt was his. They did it, too, but he never got angry at them for it. So what on earth was it?

It was confusing and frustrating to think about. Goku decided to put it aside for later ponderings.

He focused on his surroundings. Outside he could see people walking below him. Few took notice of him, but those that did either frowned and turned away or paled and hurried onward. That both puzzled and disheartened him.

I wonder if I can find Sanzo?

It had been an idle thought at first, but it quickly turned into a fun game. There were too many people and far too many buildings for him to locate the man without leaving the room. He kept a careful watch of every corner, starting at every flash of blonde hair. Most of the time he only caught sight of some young schoolgirls, probably about his age, though definitely taller than him.

Maybe that was why Sanzo treated him like a child; because he looked like one. Goku sulked. For once in his life, being small had turned into a disadvantage.

Goku paused, taking a moment to sniff the air. Something smelled awfully familiar...

If he had been a wolf, his ears would have flattened down on his head as the growl worked its way out of his throat. He was itching to go outside and track down that scent, but judging from Sanzo's actions earlier, the man would be awfully angry if he found out.

Then again, who said Goku was his pet? Grinning to himself, Goku checked to make sure Sanzo wasn't on one of the nearby streets before he clambered out the window, jumping two stories to the ground and landing rather hard on his feet. The force made him wince and nearly lose his balance. People had stopped; some woman screamed. A man cursed. Everyone else gaped.

Worried that the noise would attract Sanzo, Goku scampered out of sight, squeezing between people and disappearing into the afternoon crowd.

Let the chase begin.

Ohayo! – Good morning!

Nani? – What?

Okite! Mou asa da yo! – Wake up! It's morning!

Ne, Sanzo! Mite! – Hey, Sanzo! Look!

Asobu! – Let's play!

Sankyuu! – Thank you!

Kechi! – Cheapskate!

Sanzo, doko iku? – Sanzo, where are you going?

Ne, ne, tadashii desu ka? – Hey, hey, did I get it right?