Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki, Minekura Kazuya does. If I did, I wouldn't make these fanfics because I could make the characters do what I want.

LAKE TEARS

He didn't know how long it had been since he last saw dry land.

How many years has it been since he last saw another human?

Thoughts, random thoughts, spun through his mind in a whirlwind. It was confusing. Coherent things were seldom; like pieces of driftwood in a river caught in a random tree root only to be freed in a few moments.

Why was he here anyway? Where exactly was here? Here was underwater; chained to a rock in the lakebed. The chains were long enough to let him get halfway to the surface but they mocked him; letting him catch glimpses of light filtered through blue waters.

Why was he here? Long ago, maybe hundreds of years ago. Time was actually irrelevant to him. He remembered bright places; green places with trees and flowers and beautiful hallways with rooms branching off everywhere. He...did something to make them place him in this lake. But what did he do?

Again, he tried to break free. Pulling against the shackled on his wrists and ankles only to tire himself out. Why didn't he drown? He knew he was no water-dweller; he had no gills to breathe underwater. But his lungs pulled in oxygen easily. He could feel the water entering and leaving his body.

He looked up at the hazy circle that was the sun. The yellow ball turned green through the layers of water and the itan shook his head, watching strands of brown hair float around his face.

After a few minutes, maybe hours, of looking at the sun, the itan sighed and let himself fall towards the bottom of the lake, dragged down by the weight of the chains and shackles. He lay quietly on the underwater boulder and looked up at the small dot in the waters above him.

xxx

The itan opened his eyes after who knows how long. The waters around him were dark and the patchwork quilt above him became black with silver and white specks.

It was night, but was it from the same day? He could have been asleep for weeks, years even. Nothing to help him mark the passage of time. He could only tell if it were night or day.

He knew it was useless; his struggles would never break the bondage of his chains and shackles. But a small part of him still hoped that the chains were breakable; that if he struggled long enough, he could break the chains and swim to the surface.

He looked lifelessly at his right wrist and at the metal that encased it. With a sudden fury, he began to shout and yank at his bonds.

"Damn! Damn! Damn!"

Water flowed into his belly and lungs. He never choked or coughed. Years in this prison had somehow adapted him to the environment.

The itan looked sadly up at the sky again. The moon winked at him through layers of water as he bowed his head and knelt on the rock.

xxx

It was day again.

The sun shone and he started to swim towards it with his old hope that today would be the day he would be set free.

Once again, he only reached halfway. But...was it halfway?

The sun seemed bigger and brighter, the green more yellow than before. A shadow crossed over the itan's face as he continued swimming; ignoring the weight on his extremities.

The shadow shimmered then solidified into a pair of hands reaching out to him.

Help. Please...help me...

The itan reached out with one hand. So close...It was almost there. He cried out when the chains were finally stretched out to their limit.

You extended just now! You let me go past the halfway mark! Why do you stop me now?

He almost gave up. He let his body drift downwards again when the hand suddenly lunged forward to firmly grip his wrist and pull him up.

xxx

Free!

The thought whirled through his mind as his head broke through the surface. The sky seemed a more beautiful blue than the lake, the sun shone brightly, the trees and the grass were greener than the underwater plants he always saw.

Then, arms were going around him; holding him close. His cheek rested against a hard chest and a hand stroked his head. Water dripped from his clothes and body as he breathed in air. He clutched at the fabric of the stranger's clothes.

The itan chanced a glance at his savior. Blonde hair framed a face set off by purple eyes. The stranger wore robed and a sutra was draped over his shoulders. It was only then that the itan saw he had no more chains on his wrists and ankles.

Arms went tighter around his body and the blonde pulled him onto his lap so that the itan was enveloped fully in the robes of the blonde.

How long did they stay like that? He couldn't really care as long as his savior held him close and kept him warm. Eventually, his hair and clothes dried out and he buried his face in the blonde's chest.

The blonde began singing. It wasn't a lullaby but the itan felt himself grow tired and sleepy. The song weaved into his soul and finally he felt what it must feel like to love.

Orenji iro tsuki yoru ga kuruto
kimi no koto o omoi dasu
Kakko tsukete ore no serifu wa
Hoka no dare kano serifu de

Fui ni miageru shiruetto
Kimi no yokogao o terashita
Awai hikari wa
Ima demo

Nani o matteru
Kimi wa inai heya
Tokei dake ga ashi oto no youni
Nemurenai mune ni hibiku
Ima mo matteru
Hitori tomatteru
Futari mita anohi no tsuki o
Ima dokode kimi wa miteru

He fell asleep in the arms of the blonde.

xxx

He woke up underwater again. The shackles were around his wrists and ankles. The moonlight broke through the surface of the lake and painted everything around him in silver.

Was it a dream? It felt so real.

The itan thought he was crying, but he couldn't be sure underwater.

When an orange-colored moonlit night comes, I think of you,
as though the chic affections in my words were someone else's words

Even now, I can remember the pale light that illuminated your silhouette
as you suddenly glanced up at that night's sky

What is it I'm waiting for, in this room without you—
it's just the clock's ticking, but it resonates in my sleepless heart like the sound of footsteps
Even now I'm waiting; I stop here alone.
From where do you now see the moon we saw together on that day?