A Ghost Story

Chapter 20


Gojyo was sitting at the table, eating his TV dinner silently while watching Sanzo stare out the front window. Goku had yet to come home and the sun was just starting to set. He had opened the indoor shutters and was already photographed a hundred times. Hakkai was floating in the kitchen, uncomfortable by the silence. Sanzo finally broke the silence in the room by swearing.

“Damn it! Where the hell is he?! He probably got lost on the way back!”

/Maybe you should go out and look for him./ Offered Hakkai.

“He wants to be independent, then he can damn well find his own way home!”

/But you just said-/

“Can it, ghost!” Hakkai looked hurt and floated down next to Gojyo, who glared at Sanzo.

“Ignore him, Hakkai. He just doesn’t want to admit that he cares about his little monkey.” One of the decorative shot glasses of Gojyo’s collection was thrown at him, hitting him hard in the temple. “MOTHER FUCKER!!!! THAT HURT!!” Before he could say more to Sanzo, he had already thrown the front door open and stormed out. Hakkai looked at the spot where he was hit.

/It’s a little bump. You will be fine./

“Stupid pansy-ass- “ he growled “Now I have a splitting headache!”

Hakkai followed him up the stairs as Gojyo went into his room to get some medicine for his now pounding head. He went into his end table drawer and pulled out a small bottle, going into the bathroom for some water. He took the pill and drank down some water, looking at the now red bump on his temple. He raised an eyebrow as he saw something like a black shadow pass by the bathroom from in the mirror.

“Hakkai, you-“ he paused when he saw that Hakkai was still standing right next to him.

/Yes, Gojyo?/

“Who was-“ He threw the cup away and stepped out of the bathroom, looking down the hallway, but saw nothing.

/Gojyo, what is it?/

Gojyo did not answer him but looked in all the rooms. He found nothing but once again, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the black shadow again. He wondered if Hakkai was not the only ghost in the house anymore. Now that Sanzo said he found something in the cellar and Gojyo himself had flashbacks, he worried that they had stirred something else awake. Gojyo smirked and shook his head.

“I’ve seen too many bad horror movies.” Hakkai cocked his head to the side.

/Horror movies?/

“Nevermind. But I need to ask you something…are you SURE you’re the, you know, only ghost here?” Hakkai was surprised by his question.

/Well, yes. I have been the only one here…why do you ask?/

“It’s just…I saw something…like a black shadow, and-“ he saw it again retreat down the stairs “SHIT!” Gojyo took off after it. “SANZO?! GOKU!? IF IT’S YOU GUYS YOU BETTER KNOCK IT OFF!” But no answer came from downstairs. “Damn…” His hissed. “What the hell is going on?!” he felt a chill run up his spine.

/Gojyo…/ He turned to Hakkai who was looking down the hall towards Sanzo and Goku’s room. Gojyo noticed the look of fear on Hakkai’s face.

“Hakkai? What is it?” He followed his line of vision but saw nothing.

/Gojyo…someone is here…/ Gojyo felt his hair stand on end. /I…I have never…felt this before! Someone is in here! Someone is here with us right now!/

“What do we do?! Or what do you do?! What is it?! A ghost? A demon? What?!”

/I…I do not know what it is!/ He wrapped his arms around himself.

“Stay close to me!” Hakkai floated next to Gojyo as close as he could. “Are you sure you don’t know what it is?”

/It is something…different….I can not tell if they are bad or good…I sense nothing….I can not see it….but I can feel it…/ Gojyo thought for a second and got an idea.

“Hakkai, come with me!” Hakkai followed Gojyo back up the stairs and into the other far room next to Sanzo’s and Goku’s. There were still a few boxes there and he started looking through them frantically. Hakkai continued to look around, still feeling the presence of another being nearby. What was Gojyo looking for and what was taking him so long?

/Gojyo….hurry! What the devil are you looking for?!/

“AH HA! THIS!!!” He held up an old rustic crucifix.

/A crucifix? I thought you did not believe in all that?/

“I don’t…but, well, it was my mother’s and- nevermind. It’s just, I’ll believe anything and even TRY anything at this point. Come on, lets go back downstairs.” Hakkai followed him back to the living room where he sat on the couch with the crucifix.

/Gojyo, I think it actually worked. I no longer feel that presence…at least, not as much…/ The front door suddenly flew open and a large amount of flashes lit up the room as Sanzo and Goku squeezed in through the door. /Welcome home./ Hakkai gave a polite smile.

“Great news! I got the job!” Goku said happily, giving a double thumbs up and grinning from ear to ear. Sanzo looked unhappy and crossed his arms, saying nothing.

“That’s great, monkey! Lets do some practicing!” Gojyo smirked and snapped his fingers. “Waiter! Get me a cup of coffee and a slice of toast please!”

“Up yours, cockroach! Get it yourself! I’m off duty!” he stuck his tongue out playfully and Sanzo still said nothing as he headed for the kitchen. He stopped when he noticed Gojyo holding the crucifix.

“We crucifying someone tonight?” he asked sarcastically. Gojyo just gave him a snobbish look.

“For your information, ever since we found that thing in the basement, we have another unwanted guest, and we don’t know who or what it is.” Sanzo raised a brow.

“What makes you say that?”

/Gojyo saw it…and I can feel it. After he grabbed the crucifix the presence stopped a bit…but I can still feel it around the premises./

“Another ghost or something?” Goku asked and he suddenly turned his head to the right. “What was that?!” Gojyo jumped up and Sanzo followed his line of vision. “I think I saw something! A black shadow! It was almost like…like, the person’s shadow was cast on the far wall as if the light shining was over on the other side! Like they were walking right past us!”

“I just saw something black on the ceiling!” Sanzo said, looking up. “Either we are all seeing the same thing or there’s more than one.” Hakkai floated closer to Gojyo.

/I only feel one presence…/ the phone suddenly rang, making them all jump.

“Shit! I forgot I plugged the phone back in!” Gojyo hissed, embarrassed that he had gotten scared. Sanzo went over and picked it up.

“Hello?….Oh, yes. Finally one got back to us…yes, that’s correct. But now we’re having more trouble….yeah, uh, like a ghost, or a demonic entity, or something……yeah…alright, tomorrow morning is great…the person paying doesn’t care about the price…right, see you tomorrow.” He hung up. “9:00 tomorrow morning.”

“But that’s too long! What if Hakkai is in danger?!” Gojyo pointed out, running his hands through his hair nervously. Hakkai looked equally as nervous next to him.

“Hey, hey, relax. Settle down, Gojyo. You won’t be much help acting like an idiot! We’re lucky the medium can make it here at all! He will be here tomorrow morning, and that’s not too far away. You’re paying extra for the speedy service, you know.”

“I don’t care!”

“But what do we do until then?” Goku asked, giving a little yawn. “It’s too early for bed yet…” Gojyo went into the kitchen cabinet above the sink and pulled out a bottle of sleeping pills, taking two.

“I know I’ll need these tonight.” He said, putting them back. “Come on, Hakkai, you come up to bed with me. We have a long and early morning tomorrow.”

“And WE have work.” Sanzo said flatly, emphasizing the ‘we’ on purpose. “There is not much we can do now as it stands. Whatever is around here, we can’t really see or hear. Lets just hope we can make it through the night peacefully.” Gojyo nodded and headed upstairs with Hakkai, the other two following up right after.

In Sanzo and Goku’s room, the two got undressed in silence with their back to one another. Sanzo had changed more quickly and was already in the sleeping bag, rolling over on his side. Goku was still looking around the room, trying to catch another glimpse of the ghost. Even though he was scared, he was curious. Once he was finished changing, he joined Sanzo, laying flat on his back. He picked at his nails a bit and looked around the room. He felt his body start to shake slightly as he thought back to the ghost image he saw.

“Are you cold or something?” Sanzo suddenly asked flatly, which made Goku jerk slightly.

“N-no…” He heard Sanzo sigh.

“What’s wrong?” He still had his back turned and Goku looked over at him then back to the ceiling.

“What do you care?”

“I don’t. I just want you to stop shivering so I can get some sleep.” Goku was about to get up and go sleep on the couch again but the fear of being all alone downstairs with ghosts flying around stopped him dead in his tracks.

“It’s nothing! Just go to sleep.”

“I know you’re scared. I can tell by the tone of your voice.” Goku sighed.

“Can you really tell that I’m scared?”

“Hmph.”

“Hey Sanzo?”

“Now what?”

“I’m too scared to fall asleep.” He rolled over onto his side so he was facing Sanzo’s back. “what if those ghosts or ghost come back? They seem all over the place.”

“Goku,” Sanzo started, still facing away from him. “Let me tell you something that your monkey brain is too small to figure out for yourself. This is coming from my experiences before this house and the present. Don’t be afraid of the dead, be afraid of the living. The dead can’t hurt you.” Goku smiled softly at that as he took in Sanzo’s words.

“Thanks Sanzo…that makes me feel a lot better!”

“Hmph.” Sanzo did not want to tell him that he was not one hundred percent sure at the moment that the dead could not hurt them. He felt Goku snuggle up against his back and pull the sleeping bag over his head. “I thought you said you weren’t scared now.”

“I still don’t want to see anything!” Sanzo rolled his eyes and closed them, snuggling his head deeper into the pillow.

“You know, now that you have a job and can start taking care of yourself you don’t need me around to protect you anymore. You don’t need to crawl up under my apron to hide from ghosts.” Goku opened his eyes and looked at the nape of Sanzo’s neck. He brought his hand up to trace little patterns on Sanzo’s shoulder blade.

“Is that why you didn’t want me getting a job? You think I wouldn’t need you anymore?”

“I’m not saying that!”

“I think you are!” he came out from under the covers and leaned his head over Sanzo’s. “I still need you, Sanzo…job or not…I just need you.” He kissed Sanzo’s temple gently. “And I’m the only one who can put up with your bullshit.” Sanzo scoffed.

“Whatever. Look, I’m tired and we have to get up early for that medium tomorrow. Not to mention we have work in the evening! So I suggest you get some sleep, monkey.” Goku smiled down at him, now knowing the truth behind Sanzo’s firmness and knew that Sanzo was pleased to hear that Goku still needed him. Although, he knew Sanzo would never admit it out loud but Goku just knew, and that was just enough to keep him content.

“Goodnight Sanzo.”

“Hmph.”