The Storms That Bind Us

Chapter 5


Dust swirled behind Jeep as they traveled west along the dirt road. It was quiet and only so because Gojyo and Goku were napping in the back. They had been having a loud conversation an hour before about what was better. Sex or food? Gojyo was all for sex, and Goku furiously disagreed, the exchange of words going straight downhill from there.

Hakkai expected Sanzo to burst as usual, but he only kept his eyes straight ahead and smoked, occasionally rubbing a temple, but he never snapped once. It was a little eerie to see him so relaxed during a regular yelling match. Hakkai wondered what was going on in his head. What was he thinking? What was he feeling? Was it about him? When Sanzo finally spoke, it was soft and contemplative.

"You'd think those two could come up with better things to yell about. Really, a man cannot live without food or sex. It's a simple answer with no purpose for debate."

Hakkai chuckled soft. "Sanzo, they can make an argument out of pretty much anything. If they didn't yell at each other, I'd wonder if something was wrong."

Sanzo grunted soft and Hakkai looked in the mirror as they hit a small bump in the road. Their heads were resting against each other in sleep, both looking peaceful that way. Sanzo followed his eyes and looked back at the two, snorting soft before looking back at the road ahead. Hakkai gaze moved to Sanzo's profile, taking in the soft slope of his nose and the strong curve of his chin. His blond hair moved and caressed his face as the wind blew it around his head. Hakkai's hand gripped the wheel tighter as he wondered what his hair would feel like brushing through his fingers, or tickling his inner thighs.

Hakkai jerked his eyes back to the road, pushing down his perverse curiosity. He didn't need to be thinking about that right now in the middle of the day while traveling with their friends so close in the back seat. He and Sanzo had not spoken about what happened in the bathroom since they had all got up that morning to leave the inn. There had not been an opportunity to really say anything, but Sanzo hadn't really looked the mood to speak about it anything as they packed up for the return of their road trip.

It had been so long ago since they left that fateful day that began their journey to the west. So many days, so many battles and obstacles that insisted on slowing down their progress. Between fighting random demons, madmen, and Kougaiji's group, Hakkai often wondered how they had traveled as far as they had. Without Jeep and their own iron wills it would be a complete nightmare. Hakkai knew they had been chosen for a reason, they just never discussed it. They just flowed along with no question and very little complaint. By little complaint he thought of Goku's whining for food, Sanzo's edginess when he was running out of cigarettes and Gojyo's moaning about no time for sex with the many attractive women he had met on their travels.

Sex. There was that word again. It just kept popping up as a reminder of Sanzo's promise to him. He wanted to have that time, wanted to be truly alone with his new lover. Hakkai just didn't see when that would happen. A majority of the time they spent at any inn they all shared a room, mostly for safety reasons in case of an attack.

Driving quiet, he reminisced of Sanzo's whispering words and heated touches. Warmth rose to his skin and he squirmed in his seat, hands slick with sweat on the wheel. He couldn't help it, the memory was still so fresh in his mind to let slip so easy. Hakkai had no idea Sanzo could be so passionate and hands on. Terrible pun, but it popped in his thoughts nonetheless. Hakkai had always assumed monks were celibate, but Sanzo's hands had felt very experienced. Also, for a priest, Sanzo was very unique in his own ways. Packing a gun, drinking booze, smoking and gambling were hardly what you would imagine a monk taking part in. When he put that into account, sex was probably just a natural part of the equation.

"You're thinking really hard over there, Hakkai. Something on your mind?"

"Oh, nothing much really." His laugh came out forced. He felt Sanzo's eyes boring in and not letting up the longer he tried to ignore it.

"When are you going to realize I can see right through you when you try to deny so stubbornly?"

"I know you can, but yet I still try." He looked over with admission. His eyes shifted to the back seat to see the guys were still out before he looked back to meet his eyes. "Have you had lovers before?"

"Is that all?"

"Well, no, but it's a start." He kept glancing back at the road as he drove along, more from being nervous asking than the worry of driving off into the trees. Jeep could always control what direction if need be.

"A few. Nothing really worth talking about."

"I see."

"You don't sound convinced."

"No, it's not that...I just..Men or women?"

Sanzo looked at him and Hakkai felt heat literally rise from his neck to his face with his penetrating gaze. He turned his head to look back at the road rather than burn under it. He didn't know why he was so curious about Sanzo's past lovers. It really shouldn't matter, but it just felt right to ask, if not embarrassing. The silence from his friend stretched so long that he thought he had ruined anything they might have had together.

"I'm sorry. It was stupid to ask." He still refused to look back and meet his eyes again.

"Both," he answered passively. "All consensual, except one."

"Except...one?" Oh Gods. "Sanzo, I'm sor.."

"Say sorry, and I'll kick your ass."

Hakkai swallowed, eyes soft as he looked off into the distance they were driving toward. He heard the soft swish of Sanzo's lighter as he lit a cigarette. Even the mention of the word rape sent a shiver of fear and anger through Hakkai. His sweet Kanan had been subjected to it, and even now it tormented him that he wasn't there to stop it. He just couldn't imagine the savagery someone had to possess to do that to another, to just take what is supposed to be given so willingly.

"It happened when I was looking for my master's Scripture." He blew smoke that whipped back around his head to get diminished in the light wind. "He hadn't been the first one to try, I can tell you that much."

Hakkai looked over at him, his gut twisting with what he knew Sanzo was going to tell him. He didn't want to hear, but at the same time he knew he had to. By the look on Sanzo's face, Hakkai could see it was something he wanted to just get out in the open, so he wouldn't stop him from doing so. Sanzo just kept looking straight ahead, smoking his cigarette absently, his face clear of any real emotion.

"It was no different than any other day during that time," he continued. "I was walking, I was tired and hungry. Only difference really was that I felt sick, and my reactions were slowed because of it. I didn't hear the movement in time and I felt a hand covering my mouth. I can remember the smell of sweat and dirt coming off him as I was dragged deeper into the trees. My arms were pinned so I couldn't reach my gun."

Hakkai was so focused on listening that within moments he wasn't driving Jeep anymore. His small dragon friend had taken over for him, maybe sensing his master's sadness and compassion. Hakkai kept his focus on Sanzo's eyes as he spoke about his horrible past, seeing a storm of emotion washing in their purple depths.

"He was able to get my arms pinned above my head with just one hand. He was big and strong, I was small and weak. The bastard never noticed I had a gun tucked away. I guess that was my luck for that day. I yelled for help, but we were so far in the woods that I doubt anyone was nearby. Thinking back, I think he must have seen me leaving the last town I had been through and followed far enough behind that I didn't sense him."

He spat out a tsk as if he was still annoyed with himself over the fact. Hakkai couldn't imagine being so young and having to travel alone, and on a mission as serious as the one Sanzo had been on. Even as a child, his nerves must have been like steel to weather it all.

"The sick fuck had this big grin the whole time while he took me. I'd never felt pain like that before, like being ripped apart from the inside. I could feel my own blood spreading under me, and after a while his filthy seed was there too. By the end I couldn't even scream anymore. When his hands moved to my throat to finish me off, that's when I had my chance. I pulled out my gun, put it in his face and pulled the trigger." He stopped and slowly looked back into Hakkai's eyes. "That fucker wasn't grinning anymore."

Hakkai swallowed against what felt like a block in his throat. Sanzo's eyes had turned cold and murderous with his horrid remembrance. Under that their was a shimmer of sadness at the loss of his innocence to a perverted madman.

"Gods, Sanzo," his voice whispered.

"It's alright, Hakkai. Nothing that man did to me hurt more than it did when I watched my master die and being unable to stop it."

Hakkai supposed so, but still, that was a fate no one should have to suffer through. He looked back toward the road and took over driving again with a soft, tired sigh. A comfortable silence stretched as the miles passed along. A glance in the mirror showed him that the two were still sleeping soundly, their head wobbling slightly each time they hit a bump or dip in the road.

As morbid as Sanzo's story had been, he was glad he had the thought to share it with him. To Hakkai, it meant Sanzo trusted him deeply enough to share even his tragedies. He chanced another look and saw that Sanzo was beginning to drift in the comfort of sleep as well, and Hakkai smiled soft as his half open eyes slide shut.


*~*

It was truly silent now driving along as his companions rested up. Hakkai found driving to be relaxing and never complained about it. Besides that it was always easiest as Jeep felt more relaxed with him behind the wheel. It was late afternoon by now and the next town was miles away. Camping out would be the only option unless he kept driving through, but he would have to get rest too at some point. He knew Sanzo was eager to get as much distance as they could after being held up for two weeks.

A loud snore rumbled from the back and he chuckled soft, able to recognize it as Goku without even looking. Gojyo muttered a soft complaint in his sleep about the distracting sound then fell silent again. Sanzo was quiet as usual, head softly rocking with the motion of the vehicle, breath soft. Hakkai watched him sleep, again taking note at how soft his features became when he was resting. He wanted to kiss his closed eyelids soft and brush his fingers over his cheeks. His hand was moving slow over to touch his warm skin when the spark of his senses picked up the traces of demons nearby.

"Dammit." He slammed his foot on the break and jerked Jeep's wheel to the right, skidding roughly to a halt in the middle of the road. All three sleeping men rocked forward in their seat with surprised yells and curses.

"What the fuck, Hakkai?! I swear you get your jollies doing that shit to us!" Gojyo growled, rubbing his head that hand gotten knocked around with the abrupt stop.

"What's up?" Goku shook off the last traces of sleep as he asked.

"Youkai," Sanzo said before Hakkai did, pulling his gun. A soft sound of leaves rustling got Hakkai's attention and he looked up toward the closest tree to see the youkai hunched on a high branch. The next thing he knew before he moved to jump from Jeep was the loud crack of Sanzo's banishing gun, and the Youkai's face exploding in a spray of blood, his limp dead body falling from the tree with a wet thud.

That was all it took for the other hidden youkai to run in for the attack. They rushed toward them, about fifteen of them by a quick count that got taken down to thirteen when Gojyo's Shakugetsujou cut through two more, their death screams drowned out by their fellow youkai's crazed battle cries. Out of the corner of his eye Hakkai saw Goku jump high and and swing down with his Nyoi-Bo across the skull of the nearest enemy, cracking his head open.

Twelve. Hakkai kept silent count as he built up his chi, aiming for three that were bounding his way. He let loose with the ball of bright energy, catching two of them in the blast. The thirds head disintegrated with another shot from Sanzo who was standing nearby. Hakkai got too consumed in his own battle to keep count anymore. Another rushed at him that was swinging a short handled ax. He blocked and caught the arm that was hurling the sharp blade toward his head and snapped the bone. The youkai screamed, and Hakkai cut it off with a sharp palm to his nose, ramming the bone into his brain to quickly end his suffering.

As he let the body drop he turned to see that all the other attackers were taken care of, limp bodies covering the area in pools of their own blood. He saw Sanzo aim toward the trees with a sneer and shoot. The last youkai swerved behind a tree and was lucky enough to avoid the bullet as he ran deeper into the woods.

"Can't let him go." And he was off running after the Youkai.

"Sanzo!" Goku started to follow, but Hakkai grabbed his arm.

"I'll go, stay here with Gojyo in case more are around!" He was already running by the time he was done with the sentence, watching Sanzo's back as they both hurled through the trees to catch up with the runner. He heard Gojyo curse, but no more complaint. His adrenaline was already high from the battle, and it was coursing through his veins as they ran and dodged through the trees to catch up.

Sanzo squeezed off a few more shots, but it was tricky aiming and he missed again, his bullets hitting hanging branches instead of his intended target. Hakkai heard him hiss a curse over the crackle of dead leaves and the snapping of twigs under their feet. They were both panting lightly with exertion, but they could run for hours if they had to. Though Hakkai knew they just couldn't waste time running through the woods chasing after this idiot youkai.

"Sanzo, may I suggest circling around to cut him off?"

"Do it," Sanzo grunted and kept the chase going, eyes locked on the Youkai's back.

With the okay, Hakkai cut off to the right, jumped over a fallen tree and circled, picking up the pace. It wasn't speed so much as the trees the youkai was using to keep his distance from them. With any luck he'd be able to get ahead to stop his desperate attempt at getting away. Further ahead, he saw the land began a soft slope upward and he smiles through heavy panting breath seeing an opportunity to take advantage of. His legs muscles worked harder as the uphill slope got steeper with each stride. Off to his left and below he heard the youkai cursing frantically. He knew he was close enough. Hakkai could almost smell the stench coming off the terrified assassin. With quick steps he curved again and timed his jump, landing in front of the youkai with a smirk.

"Shit!" The youkai skidded and fell back on his ass, quivering with fear as he eyed Hakkai. "I'm sorry! We just wanted the Scripture!"

"And our lives," Sanzo said as he slowed and stopped behind him, gun aimed.

Hakkai saw his eyes widen before his head turned to the sound of Sanzo's voice. He only managed the start of a scream before the blast of Sanzo's gun stopped it for him. The body slumped over in a morbid heap, half sitting up in it's death pose.

"Asshole," Sanzo muttered and hid his gun away, still panting slightly from the exertion of the chase.

Hakkai stepped around and joined him for the walk back to the others, his leg burning with the slight pain of a good workout. Sweat that had formed dried on his skin as they hiked back with not as much haste as the trip in. He watched Sanzo slip the upper part of his robe down to let it hang around his waist to cool himself. He looks so good. Hakkai nibbled his bottom lip and pushes that aside for now, it wasn't the time for it.

"Not that I'm really questioning why we went running after him, but what was the point? His comrades were all dead and one youkai getting away isn't usually a problem. I thought you were tired of these sidetracks." Hakkai smiled soft, letting his hand run over the bark of the fallen tree he had jumped before.

"I'm still pissed off about my leg from the last time," he answered simply. "Besides, I needed the exercise."

"I see," Hakkai laughed soft, trudging along through dead leaves. Too late he felt the roots hidden beneath and started to fall forward when his foot caught. He only let out a soft gasp, but Sanzo turned fast enough to grab and keep him from falling face first into the dirt. His arms had instinctively wrapped around Sanzo's body to break his fall, and they ended up pressed together in a pleasant position. His nose was against Sanzo's neck, and he could smell his newly exerted sweat, a hint of cigarette smoke and only what he could think of as the sweet scent of herbs.

"You alright?" Sanzo didn't move to help him stand upright, but remained strong in his grip.

"Yes. I'm usually more graceful than this," Hakkai joked with a blush, getting another whiff of his alluring scent. He shifted and moved his face away from his skin. He was getting too warm being pressed so close and he really didn't need to be getting aroused right now. "Sorry for my clumsiness, Sanzo. We should probably get back."

Hakkai shifted upright and unhooked his foot from the roots, still feeling his face burn with a mixture of embarrassment and the undertone of desire. He met Sanzo's eyes as he moved his arms away, expecting that Sanzo wanted to get moving again. When Sanzo didn't turn back toward their destination, Hakkai blinked then caught his expression. Needy. Hakkai didn't speak or try to stop him when Sanzo moved forward to close the gap between them. Their tongues collided, fighting and rolling for dominance. The desire Hakkai had been trying to suppress flared up hotter.

Hakkai felt himself being pushed until the back of his thighs hit the fallen tree. Sanzo's hands softly shoved and his ass ended up resting back on it, the kiss breaking with a soft pop. Panting, he looked at Sanzo questioningly. The light pink fleshy tip of Sanzo's tongue licked over his lips as his eyes washed over him. The expression wasn't needy anymore. It was predatory.

"The thought of sex in the woods used to make me feel ill," Sanzo whispered.

"Sanzo." The whisper of his name was barely audible in the pristine woods that surrounded them. Hakkai didn't need to ask why after what Sanzo had confided in him.

"I won't break my promise," Sanzo whispered and leaned over him, hand pressed against the hard bark of the tree next to Hakkai's hip, the other running up his thigh. Hakkai let out a slow breath, mesmerized by Sanzo's gazing eyes. Their lips met again, more tender than before. The connection broke too soon and Hakkai opened his eyes again expecting that to be the end of it. It would be better to get back to their friends before they started to worry.

"Gojyo and Goku must be wondering where we got to." He would have pushed off against the tree to get upright again, but Sanzo wasn't moving, just hovering over him, watching his face, hand getting closer to his groin. He was already hard, and what Sanzo was doing was only making his organ press harder against the inside of his pants.

"Don't misunderstand me, Hakkai. I said I'd keep my promise, but that doesn't mean I can't do something else." His hand slid up with nimble fingers, and Hakkai felt the soft jerk at his belt as Sanzo unfastened it.

"Wait," he gasped out.

"For what? We don't have time to wait." He was already unzipping him and Hakkai arms felt suddenly too heavy to push his hand away. He felt an urgency to get back, but he found his need to feel his hand again was too much to bear.

"That's what I mean. We don't have time for this at all," he weakly muttered, heart thudding heavy. His cock hit the air as he was pulled gently from his pants. His body still shivered with the anticipation of feeling his long fingers wrapping around the hard flesh.

"Close your eyes, Hakkai, and remember, sound can carry more out here in the open."

Hakkai blushed, but did as he was told. He felt his monocle being gently removed and his headband being lowered over his eyes. Surprised and left in the dark, Hakkai panted soft with this new surprise. He became aware that he was picking up the sounds stronger this way and he could hear the soft crackled stirring of the leaves as Sanzo moved around. His sense of touch was heightened as well as he felt the dig of the tree bark under his hands as he rested back. A slight breeze blew and it caressed his uncovered flesh. He swallowed, waiting to feel Sanzo's hand, needing it badly as his cock pulsed with life.

Wet heat suddenly teased up along his erection, swirling and coaxing a moan from him that he couldn't stop. He slapped his hand over him mouth, whimpering as Sanzo's lips covered his cock head, tongue massaging, teeth lightly teasing his sensitive foreskin. His mouth slid further down over his arousal, nearly going to the base before rising up again to torment the head with little nibbles and quick flicks of his hot tongue across the slit. The pressure of Sanzo's hands against his legs kept him from pumping his hips. It didn't matter when Sanzo's pace quickened, the slick depths of his mouth plunging up and down, teasing done for now.

Hakkai's moans were unchecked, and only his hand kept his voice from traveling through the surrounding trees. His balls tightened, and he already felt the orgasm building as the wet slurping sounds of his lover filled his ears. He bit his lip, hand moving away to reach down, fingers finding his soft blond locks. Hakkai's hand ran over his bobbing head, and it felt as wonderful as he'd imagined. Sanzo's hair slid through his fingers like the softest sensation of silk.

The pressure of his hands left his legs and moved around to cup and urge his ass to thrust, his lips clamping tighter around, tongue washing over the underside of his cock. Hakkai's hand gripped, unable to help it as his hips jerked to him in a rhythmic motion. He lost all sense of holding his voice at bay any longer and he was moaning each time his mouth bore down over his throbbing muscle. His knees buckled, his free hand helplessly gripping at bark that was crumbling under his hand. Hakkai said his lovers name as he reached the edge, the sound guttural with desire, mouth opening with a silent cry as he spent.

"Oh...Gods..." He shuddered, gasping, feeling like Sanzo was sucking him dry of seed or doing his best at trying to. When the heat of his mouth finally set him free, Hakkai was trembling, his footing slipped, but he was caught again in Sanzo's arms as a hot kiss covered his mouth. He blushed, tasting the salty, but not unpleasant taste of his own essence against his tongue. As Hakkai basked in the warmth of his arms, he had to wonder what other surprises Sanzo might have in store for him. When they finally parted, he pulled the covering from his eyes, but not soon enough to catch sight of red hair and a stiff back rushing off through the trees toward the far off road.

AN: This chapter turned out to be just a bit longer than the others so far. lol. Also, just a note. I don't have a beta, other than letting a few friends read before hand, so if any mistakes, sorry.