Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

Counterparts	By : helliongoddess Category: Gensomaden Saiyuki > General Views: 1718 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Gensomaden Saiyuki, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
CHAPTER 3
Sanzo had to admit that the rush of cold fresh air that hit his face as he stepped outside the motel felt damned good, and he sucked in big lungful of it, only to be rewarded by a deep hacking cough. OK, Hakkai, OK, I know, he thought to himself, hearing the healer chide him for his heavier than usual smoking since Gojyo�s injury. Piss. Fuck it all anyway, he said to himself as he lit the last one from his pack and started down the street.

The town they were stranded in was a little larger than the usual villages they encountered along the road, more like a town than a village, which was fortuitous. For one thing it meant this hotel they were stuck in was more like a real hotel than the country inns they usually stayed in, and it had some amenities that were proving quite helpful. Sanzo liked that he could order room service and get a pot of real coffee without having to disturb Hakkai, who already had more than enough on his plate at the moment without having to be chief cook and bottle washer. He also appreciated the concept of having a crisp fresh newspaper being delivered to his door every morning, although he was generally unable to do much beyond making a show of reading it these days. He still liked it being there, though - it was somehow a real comfort to him. It represented the days when things were � normal.
There was also a game room in the hotel that apparently had some things in it that were helping to keep Goku occupied � Hakkai had said that Goku had even met some other kids his age. Sanzo mused that that was one area of his charge�s upbringing that he had probably failed miserably at. Although Son Goku was chronologically over five hundred years old, he was still a teenager as far as his basic maturity level was concerned, and he probably needed more socialization appropriate to his emotional age to develop normally. He had been around some acolytes at the temple that were close to his age, but they had been very different than the young boy Sanzo had released from his prison in the side of the earth, and they had a hard time understanding his rough and unsophisticated ways. The priest realized that it would definitely be a good idea for Goku to spend some time associating with some intelligent, refined kids his age, and filed it away on his long mental list of things to do someday when�

Someday when what? When Gojyo�s gone? There you said it, he grimly thought to himself. He kicked at an unsuspecting lamppost with a barely-restrained fury. It was the first time he had actually admitted to himself that Gojyo�s death was a real possibility.
NO! He quickly slammed that door shut in his head. He was still enough of a Buddhist to believe that only when you gave thoughts form did they start to become reality, and he didn�t want to give that particular thought any inroads. He trained his mind carefully away from that possibility as he walked down the street, completely mindless of what was going on around him as he walked. Think of the good things, he scolded himself. What was it you were remembering before you had to call Hakkai in to the room �. Ooh, ... Right, the card game�

At that memory the smallest hint of a smile turned up the corners of Sanzo�s mouth, He realized he was in front of a small city park and chose a secluded bench and sat down.

The card game�.yeah, that was the first time the kappa and I were ever really alone together, he remembered. And the first time you ever got plastered together, too, he chided himself. I was lucky to get out of that with my monk�s virtue intact, he smiled to himself.

The memories unfolded in his mind and he could hear Gojyo�s voice in his head teasing him, husky with innuendo, �Oi, monk! Not entirely intact, as I remember it.� Sanzo blushed slightly as it all started to come back to him.

After spending the day information-gathering for Gonou�s trial, they had finished their dinner and rice wine at the caf�, and Gojyo had given Sanzo several choices as to ways to spend the remainder of the evening. Sanzo demurred, saying he really needed to just find a room somewhere, go over his notes, and get some sleep.

Gojyo looked at Sanzo with genuine surprise. �C�mon, bouzu, it�s the shank of the evening! I know a little place we can have a few drinks, play a little pool, and the ladies there are gonna love that dress of yours�� he teased.

�No, really, I�m quite tired,� Sanzo said, pinching the bridge of his nose and feeling the beginnings of a headache behind his eyes. He realized what a long day it had been since he had said goodbye to Goku at the temple that morning. It felt like ages ago.

�Well, look,� Gojyo insisted, �Hakkai would absolutely never forgive me if I let you stay at some inn when you are here just to help him. You are absolutely gonna come stay in the cabin, and in the morning I�m gonna make you my patented Sha Gojyo pancakes for breakfast.� He was doing his best to win Sanzo over with his typical �how can you not give me what I want?� smile .

Sanzo started to protest, �no really, they gave me an expense account � some kind of card�� but it was useless.

Gojyo had already snatched up his valise and was beckoning over his shoulder for him to follow as he grabbed the check and headed for the door. He would not hear of Sanzo paying, expense account or not, and waved off repeated protests from Sanzo that he really could stay in room somewhere as they walked back to the cabin. Sanzo finally gave up as they got to the familiar front door and Gojyo unlocked it and switched on some lights.

Sanzo surveyed the cabin. It was not as neat and orderly as he remembered it being when Gonou was still living there, but he was surprised to see that it still was relatively clean. Perhaps Gonou had been a good influence even on this seemingly carefree and irresponsible kappa.

Gojyo set Sanzo�s valise down by the bed, �here�s your bunk- I�ll take the couch like I do when Gonou�s here,� and opened the bathroom door, saying inelegantly, �and here�s the shitter. Clean towels in the cabinet.�

�So,� Gojyo exclaimed happily as he flopped down on the couch with his long legs splayed wide and his arms spread out behind him on the back of the couch, �do you ever get out of that priesty getup, or do you sleep in it and everything?�

Sanzo looked at him blankly for a moment � this whole situation was a bit unfamiliar to him, having grown up in the temple. Even when he had gone on the road as a youth to look for his master�s stolen sutra, it had been a solitary venture.

Sitting on the bench alone in the park, Sanzo couldn't help but smile to himself as he thought about that first night they spent alone, back at the cabin. From that point on in their relationship the kappa had definitely kicked up his bawdy jokiness with Sanzo a notch. From then on his flirtatious manner with him, which had always put Sanzo on edge, seemed to take on a whole new dimension of audacity.

For the longest time Sanzo had acted as if that night had not happened. He had pretended he had been too drunk to remember any of it at all when Gojyo hinted around about it. He had hoped if he persisted in his pretense Gojyo would drop the subject (not that it always worked, the kappa could be a stubborn beast when he had his mind set on something.) But during the initial months after it had happened, at least when he was around Gojyo, what few clear memories he did have of that evening in the cabin had made him profoundly uncomfortable. Gojyo never directly referred to it, so at first Sanzo figured that the whole thing had been just another drunken flirtation for him, nothing special or out of the ordinary. Hell, maybe the goddamn erogappa didn't even remember. But as time wore on and he got to know the hanyou better, he thought differently. Sanzo began to suspect that, despite his reputation as a sex hound and his perpetual jokey manner, Gojyo was actually quite chivalrous and gallant, and that his silence on this particular manner proved it.

�Baka!� Sanzo muttered quietly to himself. "If he wasn't such a damn white knight like that, he wouldn't be lying back there in that fucking bed right now."

Thinking back, Sanzo remembered another one of the kappa's amazing gifts that he encountered for the first time that night. It was something that Sanzo was completely clueless about if left to his own devices, and which Gojyo had been patiently teaching him before he had been hurt. One of Gojyo�s greatest gifts was that the damn cockroach knew how to have fun. The man was a good time on legs, despite all the horrors life had thrown at him that could have left him bitter, cold, and jaded.

That night in his cabin Sanzo had been sitting stiffly at the kitchen table, not really knowing what to do with himself, when Gojyo had asked him the question about sleeping in his monk�s vestments.

The question unnerved Sanzo slightly, although he wasn't quite sure why, "uh, no, actually, I should probably get out of these," he replied.

"Make yourself to home," drawled the kappa, smiling and gesturing around the small cabin expansively.

Sanzo opened his valise up on the bed, carefully rolled up the Maten Sutra, and stowed it in the bag. He then removed his crown and the remainder of his vestments, stowed it all carefully in the valise, closed it and slid it under the bed. He stood there in his jeans, sleeveless top, and arm-warmers, eying the obviously-relaxed hanyou sprawled on the couch. Gojyo was studying Sanzo intently in his change of attire, and Sanzo could have sworn he saw a hint of a leer drift across the redhead's face.

Sanzo shifted uneasily; he was really feeling quite flummoxed by the whole situation. In all of his years of travels he had rarely stayed in anyone�s private home, and never on so casual of a basis. He was definitely feeling himself in unfamiliar territory, and he found that unsettling. He held up the pack of cigarettes he had retrieved while folding his robe.

"May I?"

"Shit yeah, man. Hakkai was pretty cool about it, as long as I didn't burn the house down, and emptied out the butts now and then."

Gojyo lit one of his own and blew three smoke rings over his head with his first drag. Sanzo caught himself staring at the kappa�s lush mouth as he performed this feat and shook his head to the clear the thought that was blooming there about what other things those talented leering lips could do.

"So what would you like to do now, man?" Gojyo asked

"Oh...ah..ahem... Well, I guess I really should be getting to bed soon. It's getting late. It's been a long day," Sanzo eyed the clock-radio by the bed nervously.

"Bullshit- it's still early! How about some cards? You play poker?"

Gojyo stood up and went to the kitchen area. Sanzo found himself noticing the well-defined muscles of Gojyo�s ass as they moved under his tight jeans when he walked across the room on his long loose-limbed legs. He saw how the man moved with the grace of a lazy well-fed lion. Sanzo realized his thoughts were betraying him again and mentally pulled himself up short, angry at his lack of self-discipline. Really, after all those years in the monastery, being the important man he was, he should be capable of resisting this moron�s paltry charms better than this�

"A little."

He had learned how to play a little poker while on the road in his teens. It had helped pass a boring evening every now and then in some of the towns he stayed in. Most nights he had kept to himself but once in a while he needed a little human companionship, and cards had seemed like a good way to do that without getting a whole bunch of nose-breathers asking him a lot of questions he would prefer not to answer. Playing cards had been a good compromise where he could be around people for a while, but not have to deal with a lot of chit-chat or make small talk.

Gojyo rummaged around in a drawer and retrieved a pack of cards and two small trays of worn wooden chips of assorted colors.

"Here," he said as he tossed the cards in front of Sanzo on the table. He padded to the kitchen area and retrieved a six-pack of chilled bottles of Tsing-Tao beer from the fridge, which he placed on the floor between the two chairs, and stood next to the chair opposite Sanzo. He opened a beer for each of them and watched as Sanzo started expertly shuffling the cards.

"You've played more than one or two hands before, ne?"

"A few," Sanzo replied cryptically, already getting into poker mode and not wanting to tip his hand. "You play now and then, right?"

"Yeah," Gojyo chuckled softly as he sat down, "now and then."

"What are the stakes?" Sanzo asked, slightly wary.

"Oh, hmm, I don't know," replied the kappa cagily, "how about penny a point plus?"

"Penny a point �plus�?" Sanzo queried, suspicious. "Plus what?"

"Plus whoever wins gets to ask the other a question, and the loser has to answer. No backsies."

Sanzo considered this, trying to figure out what in the hell the kappa might be up to. He couldn't think of any question the man could possibly ask him that he couldn't answer safely and honestly - he was a monk, for crying out loud. He took a long pull on his first Tsing-Tao and decided to take the dare.

"What the hell," he said, feeling slightly reckless.

Gojyo was enough of a card sharp to know that a good fisherman doesn't even try to land the big fish on the first tug at the bait, he gives him a little play and lets him wear himself out first before he tries to pull him onto the boat. He had always been a good card player, but all those months of playing with Gonou had sharpened his skills to a whole new level. He let Sanzo win a few hands right off the bat, and acted sheepish about losing so badly. He even made a few stupid bets, but not too many or too stupid, didn�t want to overplay it.

"Man, I don't know what's wrong with me tonight!" he exclaimed. "Stars must be against me..here have another beer," he said, as he opened one for Sanzo. "Where'd you learn to play so well?"

He looked at the man across the table from him, trying to learn his �tells.� There was a slight flush on his pale cheeks and neck above that black thing he was wearing. Was it the alcohol, or was he warm? It was comfortable in the cabin, but that thing he was wearing, well, it did look hot in more than one way, didn�t it? Gojyo wondered if the guy had any idea how good he looked on that damn rig, and thought about how much fun it would be to slowly peel those sleeves down off of those thin white muscular arms of his, sort of like the strippers loved to do in the bar.

"I was on the road for a while when I was a bit younger, and I used to play some then. Thanks," Sanzo said as he took his fourth beer, starting to feel slightly muzzy from the combined effects of the wine earlier, and now the beer, with the fatigue of a long day.

"Aah. Yeah, some of those roadhouse sharps can be killer."

Gojyo smiled. He drew Sanzo out in conversation as they played, getting him to relay tales about his journeys searching for the maten sutra after his master's death, and carefully sidestepping the memories that seemed too painful. As the game went on he shared some similar stories of his misspent youth in the years after he went out on his own at a young age, again avoiding anything too intense or personal.

He was watching the monk very carefully now, searching the face of this pretty boy with the bad attitude and the gorgeous hooded purple eyes who had ended up on his doorstep twice now.

He wondered why Sanzo had decided to intervene for Gonou when he barely knew the man. He remembered what an amazing sight Sanzo had been when he chanted that sutra for Gonou and Kanan at the burned-out castle. The golden light he had created with his prayers had brought the four men together and suffused them all that day, and something had shifted inside Gojyo then. It had inspired him to finally start looking for the �something more� in life that he so badly craved but had always settled for living without.

Since that day he had been unable to stop thinking about the damn monk and that golden light. He had been itching to have some time alone with Priest Genjyo Sanzo, to get to know him better, to find out about his beliefs, to learn more about what was going on inside the head under the crown. But when he looked at the man sitting across from him at the table tonight, in that skintight black top, his mind drifted to the less cerebral question of what he would look like without his robes, with nothing on at all, just all that pale skin and that soft feathery looking hair of his....

Gojyo hadn�t been interested in a man physically in years, but there was something about Genjo Sanzo that had made his pulse quicken and his throat tighten with excitement every time he was around the man since the first time he had met him. When he looked at him tonight something else started to tighten up, too and it wasn�t his throat. He tried to shake it off at first, but as the evening wore on Gojyo found himself having more and more of these very un-monk-like thoughts about this monk, and he knew he had made the right decision. It was time to see what the deal was with this guy.

"Are you in or out?" Sanzo said loudly. Gojyo had drifted off momentarily, and he smiled to himself at the image of where that particular train of thought had been taking him.

"Oh! Ahm.. Hmm. Yes. I'm definitely in. Here, let me get another six-pack out for us."

At this point the tide of the game subtly started to turn for some reason, and the size of Sanzo's pile of chips started to diminish as the pile of empty beer brown bottles on the floor beside them continued to grow.

"K�soooo�." Sanzo groused and grumbled as he lost yet another hand.

He watched Gojyo carefully for signs of cheating, but he couldn't see a single one - besides he was still dealing so how could that be? He scrubbed his hand over his face in an attempt to sober himself up. Confident of his own tolerance for alcohol, he knew he wasn't really drunk, but he feared he wasn't as sharp as he should be to be dealing with someone like the kappa, either.

Gojyo really got on a hot streak then, and from that point on it was over in a matter of just minutes.

"Must be a good night for Scorpios," he crowed, beaming widely, and starting to count his neatly stacked chips.

"Well, I'm going to bed," Sanzo snarled as he stood, hoping he could make a fast and unobtrusive getaway. "You want the bed or the couch?"

"Uh-uh-uh. Not so fast, monk, nice try," Gojyo chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Remember the terms of the game?"

"That was before I knew I was playing with a cardsharp."

"You saying you're wussing out on a deal?"

Sanzo sighed deeply and buried his face in his hand. "No, I suppose not," he said through clenched teeth.

He grabbed another beer, opened it, and as he sat down on the couch he used his thumb and forefinger to flick the bottle cap with deadly aim across the room. Gojyo felt the small projectile whiz by his right ear like a jet-propelled insect.

"Hmm, we�re getting testy, I see." Gojyo said as he plopped down on the couch next to Sanzo.

"No, �we�re� getting fucking tired," Sanzo was almost snarling now, largely to try to cover up the fact that he felt strangely vulnerable in this situation, especially since the harisen and the Smith and Wesson were stowed away securely under the bed in his valise with his vestments.

"So get on with it. What the fuck is this magical question you want to ask?"

"Hmmm, now just wait there, don't rush me, I worked hard for this,� Gojyo teased. "One doesn't get an opportunity like this every day -- I don't want to waste it. I need to consider this carefully." He put his forefinger to his chin and looked upward, knitting his brows, in an exaggerated mock of deep pondering.

"Oh, gods," Sanzo said, starting to get up off of the couch, "I'm going to bed."

"No, now, man," Gojyo laughed and grabbed the waist of his pants pulling him back down to sit again, "now, c�mon, we made a deal, give me just a minute."

He patted the monk lightly on his knee, "relax and drink your beer, blondie."

Sanzo had been startled by the simple physical contact. Living the life he did at the temple, physical contact with other human beings was basically non-existent. Every once in a while the monkey would fling himself at Sanzo him for reassurance or when he was upset or ecstatic about something, but the older he got the more Sanzo discouraged it, it just felt... unseemly somehow. It seemed like for Gojyo, touching him on the knee like he just had was as natural a thing as breathing, but to him it felt� what did it feel? Shit, he realized he must have been a lot drunker than he thought to even be asking himself that question.

While Gojyo continued to make a big show of thinking over what he was going to ask Sanzo with his big wonderful question, Sanzo took the opportunity to study the redhead ed man furtively. The kappa had stripped down during the game to his loose tank top and jeans, and Sanzo couldn't help but appreciate the hanyou�s handsome deep tan, especially when contrasted his white tank top, not to mention measured against Sanzo�s own fair skin.

He looked at Gojyo's long crimson mane and caught himself wanting to touch it to see if it felt as smooth and soft as it looked. His eyes were drawn to those wild springy antennae of the kappa�s and he wondered what they would feel like under his hand, and just what the hell were they, anyway? He looked at Gojyo's scarlet eyes, now lost in thought, and couldn�t help but notice how kind they were. He had a hard time imagining the cruelty he knew the man had been subjected to in his life. Sanzo already knew the cruel origins of the marks on Gojyo's cheek, and marveled how he managed to stay so upbeat and good-natured given everything he had been through, and everything he had apparently lost.

Gojyo shifted around next to Sanzo on the couch, crossing his long legs, and the priest couldn't help but notice the well-defined thigh muscles moving under the denim of the kappa�s tight jeans. Afraid to let his eyes linger there, Sanzo looked upwards and was struck by the well-defined biceps of the kappa�s long lanky arms. He also noticed that Gojyo had very large hands, very broad and strong-looking, with extremely long graceful fingers that ended in short, clean, square-cut nails. Sanzo couldn�t ever remember having ever even noticed what a man�s hands looked like since his master�s hands, and he only remembered them as being kind and gentle. But for some reason that night he was fascinated with Gojyo�s hands - he couldn�t stop looking at them. It was all he could do to fight an irrational impulse to take Gojyo�s hand and press his own against it palm to palm and measure Gojyo�s fingers against his own.

"OK," Gojyo said, smiling mysteriously, "I'm ready. �

******************************

Dear Miss Yaone,

Thank you so much for sending the generous sample of your herbal healing mixture along with the information on how to formulate it. It came in the post today. I have not had a chance to administer it to Gojyo yet, but your timing is most appreciated, as his condition is quite grave.

I fear that his head injury is much more substantial than I first appreciated. I am concerned that his brain is swelling and that there is considerable intra-cranial pressure. If this pressure should become pressure on his brain stem, I truly fear for our friend�s life at that point, as I am sure you can understand. I was wondering if you were you aware of any methods or formulations for dealing with this type of brain injury? I would be very grateful for any such information you could share with with me.

I was not surprised to hear of Dokugakuji�s reaction to his brother�s illness. Although they have fought each other when necessary, and often feigned enmity, I believe their love for each other still runs quite deep. Gojyo has told me many stories over the years of his brother Jien and how he protected him from their mother, and he feels he owes his life to his brother in many ways. I have always suspected that the primary reason for Gojyo�s behavior regarding Dokugakuji in the present day is that he sees in him a reminder of unpaid debts from their past.

By all means, please encourage Dokugakuji to come visit Gojyo soon if he wishes to see him. Not wishing to sound melodramatic, but I am afraid hesitation may deprive him of the chance to see his brother altogether.

You or he may contact me at the hotel to arrange a time to visit, or simply show up at your convenience. Please know that in addition to Dokugakuji, you, Lord Kougaiji, and of course Lady Lirin are all most welcome. In a strange way we have all become a sort of extended family, especially where Gojyo is concerned.

Thank you again for your generous sharing of your apothecary expertise and your kind words.

I remain,

Yours sincerely,

Hakkai

TBC
- 2
- 3
- 4
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Counterparts