A Brand New Life

Gojyo whistled as he walked to Hakkai’s house. He finally bought the building with an apartment over it for his bar and was looking forward to finally having a place he could call his own. So what if that stinking monk bought it for him. Gojyo deserved it! Running his ass all over Shangra-La fighting youkai, sleeping in a Jeep in freezing weather and being bossed around by Sanzo. Four years of that crap!

Of course, Sanzo didn’t pay for the bar with his own money. He had a nice gold card given to him from the Sanbutsushin for expenses and maybe Sanzo did go a little overboard with buying a house for Hakkai and a bar with an apartment for him but damn it, those three floating heads owed them. They did what no one else would or could do. They stopped the minus wave.

Slowly, Gojyo could see the attitude of the townspeople come to be more forgiving of youkai. The youkai who had lived in the town prior to the start of the war started coming back. At first, the youkai had been viewed with suspicion but that was changing. Instead of moving to the other side of the street when they saw them, the villagers stayed where they were and nodded. Nothing big, but it was a start. Of course, they treated him and Goku like heroes. And since no one knew Hakkai was a youkai, they treated him nicely, right from the start.

Gojyo passed the store that Daisuke-san owned and decided to stop in. He needed to order supplies for his bar and he figured Daisuke-san would help him. After all, this was Gojyo’s first venture as a businessman and he wanted to do it right.

The little store was bustling and Gojyo had to look for several minutes before he caught sight of the little man. Daisuke was behind the register, ringing up customers so Gojyo waited until he had a free moment. Daisuke finished up with the woman he was busy with and turned to Gojyo.

“Hello Gojyo-san, correct?” Daisuke bowed to the large redhead.

“Just Gojyo, Daisuke-san”, he said, returning the older man’s bow. “I need you help today, if you can spare the time.” Gojyo looked around for Goku, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Ah, yes. Saira tells me you have purchased your bar and you probably need help stocking it.” Gojyo looked surprised at that. He didn’t think anyone but Goku knew he’d bought the bar. “Myhiko is here everyday.” Well, that explains that. “Let me find my helpers and then I can assist you with what you need.”

Daisuke moved from behind the counter and moved through the crowd to the back of the store. He motioned Gojyo to follow. Gojyo was curious where the old man was going. They went through a door and Gojyo could see they were in the back stockroom. “Shhh”, Daisuke put his fingers to his lips. “This is my favorite part of the day.” Now, Gojyo was really confused.
Gojyo could hear quiet noises coming from a corner of the room. The storage room wasn’t dark, but the corners were dim. He followed Daisuke around some shelves and stopped suddenly, almost running over the smaller man.

There, in the furthermost corner, were Goku and Myhiko. Goku had her backed into the corner and he was kissing her with everything he had. Myhiko had a death grip on Goku’s shoulders and Gojyo could hear little breathy moans coming from the black haired girl.

Daisuke looked at Gojyo, his eyes twinkling. “Hello, children!” Goku and Myhiko broke apart, looks of guilt on their faces. Daisuke smiled at the both of them. “Would you be good children and go out in the store and take over for me? I need to help Gojyo and I cannot do that out there.”

As Myhiko passed Gojyo, she looked at him and blushed. She hurried past the half-youkai as Goku followed behind her, trying to avoid Gojyo. But, Gojyo wasn’t letting the monkey off that easy. He grabbed Goku’s arm as he passed. “Did Sanzo ever tell you about sex?”

“Of course not, ass! He’s a friggin’ monk!” Goku looked at the floor in embarrassment. “I asked Hakkai one night and he told me everything I wanted to know. He even told me about birth control, so if this is the lecture you were planning on giving me, forget it!” Goku’s golden eyes met Gojyo’s blood red ones. “Now, piss off!” Goku tried to move past Gojyo but the larger man moved in front of him.

“Actually, I was gonna give you that lecture, but since Hakkai already did, I only have one thing to say.” Gojyo leaned his arm on Goku’s shoulder. “You have good taste.” Gojyo winked at Goku. Goku punched Gojyo’s arm and walked past him, but he could see the little grin on the monkey’s face.

Daisuke smiled at Gojyo and led him to his little office in the back. Daisuke taught Gojyo more about running a business in a few hours than Gojyo could ever hope to learn on his own. He left the office in the early afternoon and made his way to Hakkai’s house. He spotted the familiar figure of Sanzo walking across the street.

“Oi, Sanzo! What’s up?” Gojyo waved to catch his attention.

“I’m just saying my good-byes. I’m leaving this afternoon for the monastery.” Sanzo looked towards Hakkai’s house. “I already said good-bye to Hakkai and that woman and I was just on my way to talk to Goku.” Gojyo snorted. Sanzo still refused to say Yuuko’s name.

“You weren’t even going to say good-bye to me, oh high and mighty? I’m hurt.” Gojyo made a big gesture of putting his hand over his heart, as if it was breaking. Sanzo wasn’t buying it for a minute. You couldn’t call them friends and yet enemies was too strong of a word for what their relationship was.
The two men stood and looked at each other for a long time, each man lost in his own memories of the past. Gojyo really didn’t want the monk to leave and he had a sneaking suspicion that Sanzo felt the same. But, Sanzo’s life as a wandering monk was all the blonde man knew.

Sanzo broke the silence. “I’ll be back, passing through town from time to time. After all, why do you think I bought you the bar? I’ll need somewhere free to drink.” A half grin graced the face of the handsome man.

Gojyo smiled. That was the closest Sanzo had ever come to saying he liked him. Gojyo put out his hand for Sanzo to shake and the monk took it. They stayed that way for a bit and finally dropped hands. “See ya around, asshole.” Gojyo waved as he walked past Sanzo. He heard the click of Sanzo pulling back the hammer of his gun. He didn’t even stop or turn around.

“You’re lucky I don’t have the bullets to waste on you, you fuckin’ water sprite.” Sanzo lowered his gun and put his head down. He was gonna miss that jerk.

Gojyo almost missed Hakkai’s house, he was so lost in thought. He walked up to the front door and knocked and without waiting, went in. Yuuko met him at the door.

“Don’t you and your friends wait for people to answer the door or do you make it a habit of barging in other people’s houses?” Yuuko sounded mad, but she had a smile on her face. She was obviously doing wash, for the front of her yukata was wet and her hair was piled on top of her head. The whole bundle was threatening to come tumbling down and she was blowing strands of hair out of her eyes. She did make a charming picture and Gojyo wondered what Hakkai though about her.

Gojyo’s eyes widened as he noticed a bruise on her neck. Being the man he was, he immediately recognized it as a love bite. Way to go, Hakkai! Now, he really wanted to see Hakkai and find out how the hell that happened. “Um, can I come in or do I have to stay in the hallway all day?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Please come in. Don’t forget to take your boots off and I’ll let Hakkai know he has a visitor.” She went down the short hall and turned into the living room.

Gojyo unlaced his boots and he could hear them talking quietly. He made his way to the living room and went over to the rocking chair and dragged it closer to Hakkai’s raised futon bed. He went to sit down but Yuuko stopped him.

“Please don’t rock. That chair makes the most horrendous noise.” Gojyo chuffed at her and sat down and gave a mighty push backwards. SQUEEEEK! He jumped out of the chair. “I told you!” She giggled and looked at Hakkai. They exchanged smiles and when she turned back to look at Gojyo, he watched Hakkai’s face. The smile dropped from Hakkai’s face and a look of longing came over it.

Now, this was interesting. Gojyo had only seen that look on Hakkai’s face once before. They were walking through some town, he couldn’t remember which one, and Hakkai and he stopped on a bridge for a rest. It was right after they met the soul collector, Hazel Grosse, and he and Hakkai were talking about bring back the dead. Hakkai confessed to him that if given the chance after Kannon died, he would give it serious thought. But, now that some time had passed, he would like to find someone different, someone indestructible. The look on Hakkai’s face then, was like the look on Hakkai’s face now.

“Gojyo, I have a favor to ask you. Will you stay with Hakkai for a bit? I would like to go and say hello to my grandfather but I don’t want to leave Hakkai.”

“Yeah, sure. And when you get back, do you think we can go to your house and look for some quieter furniture?” Gojyo eyed the rocking chair. It would make some nice kindling for that fireplace.

“Of course. We have several chairs in unused bedrooms in my house.” She let her hair down, combing through it with her fingers. Gojyo barely noticed this, he was too busy watching Hakkai’s face. The demon slayers green eyes softened as he watched Yuuko. “Hakkai, do you need anything before I go?” Yuuko walked over to the bed and leaned over to straighten Hakkai’s pillows, putting her hand on his shoulder when she was finished. “When I come back, I’m going to change the bandage on your shoulder.”

Hakkai nodded at that bit of information. “If I do need something, I’m sure Gojyo can get it for me.” Hakkai gifted her with a soft smile. “You enjoy your visit with your grandfather.” He laid his hand on top of hers and squeezed. She smiled at him and turned back to Gojyo, waving at him as she left the room, Hakkai’s eyes following her all the way. They heard her leave. She was singing a little song as she made her way to the store.

Hakuryu kyuuu’d at Gojyo before leaping off of Hakkai’s futon and making his way to stand in front of him. “Hey, Hakuryu, what do you think of Yuuko?” The white dragon spread his wings and stretched his neck as far as he could towards the ceiling. “Kyuuu, kyuuu!” Gojyo could hear the happiness in the little guys chirping. He looked at Hakkai. “I take it he approves of her?”

“You could say that. He only stays with me while I’m napping, otherwise, he follows her around the house like a little duckling.” Hakkai smiled at some memory. “It’s wonderful having her here. But, before we get into a deep conversation, could you do me a huge favor.” Gojyo nodded. “Could you take me to the bathroom? I fear if I do not get there soon…well, you get the picture.” Gojyo laughed and helped his friend make his way to the downstairs bathroom.

After taking care of Hakkai’s business, Gojyo got him settled back in bed. He sat at the foot of the bed, crossed his long legs and got ready for a nice long chat. He had a lot of questions, but he started with the one that was at the top of the list. “So…how did she get the love bite?” He wagged his eyebrows at Hakkai, grinning as he watched a flush creep up his friend’s neck.

“My first night here, I had a high fever and I had a nightmare about the night I was injured.” Gojyo waited for Hakkai to continue. He never did hear what Hakkai went through that night. “That night, I was battling three youkai and one of them was a shape-shifting, mind reader.” Hakkai paused, the memory of that night was still painful. “At first, the youkai turned into Kannon and I just laughed, but then, it must have entered my mind without me knowing. It changed from Kannon to a 10 year old little girl.” Gojyo closed his eyes. Not that, he thought, anything but that.

“I don’t know if the youkai was from the tribe I killed the night Kannon took her life. Whatever it was, it knew Kannon was pregnant and it turned into what mine and Kannon’s daughter would have looked like. It would be impossible to know if Kannon was carrying a boy or girl, so the youkai took a guess which would bring me more pain.” Hakkai laid back on the pillows, tears falling silently from his eyes. “It guessed well.”

“Look, Hakkai.” Gojyo needed to tread carefully now. “The child Kannon was carrying would be half-youkai. So it would have been born like me, red hair and eyes. Did the child look like that?” Gojyo dreaded the answer.

Hakkai lay quietly for some time before answering Gojyo. “No, the child had my eyes and Kannon’s hair color. The youkai just read my mind and knew Kannon was pregnant. I can’t believe I fell for such a trick.” He wiped his eyes but otherwise, didn’t move. Hakuryu jumped on the bed and curled next to Hakkai, sensing that he needed comforting. Hakkai ran his hands over the dragon’s feathers. “Thank you, Gojyo. You will never understand the weight you have lifted off my shoulders.”

Gojyo didn’t think he did anything, but if whatever he said helped Hakkai, he was glad. “Now, back to that love bite.” Hakkai groaned and covered his eyes.

“I was in the midst of the nightmare and I mistook Yuuko for Kannon. I know you would like all the details, but let’s just leave it at that.” Gojyo smiled.. The old Hakkai was back, just when it got to the good part, he shut up.


A week went by and Yuuko grew more comfortable around Hakkai. Dr. Shirota came to visit him and pronounced that Hakkai could get out of bed and take small walks around the house and sit in the backyard. But, he wasn’t to over do it or he would end up right back in bed. Hakkai was happy to hear that. He hated waiting for Gojyo to come over so he could use the bathroom.

Gojyo and Goku delivered more chairs for the living room but neither Hakkai nor Yuuko cared. Their favorite place to sit was the futon bed. Hakkai still slept on it at night and rested there during the day. Yuuko would sit at the foot of the bed, Hakuryu curled up in her lap, begging Hakkai for more stories from his journey. Nothing made him happier than seeing her at the foot of his bed, laughing at one of his stories.

One afternoon, he was in the small backyard, sitting in a chair that a neighbor had given him, when he heard Yuuko in the kitchen. The door to the backyard opened to the dining room, which was connected to the kitchen. He got up and made his way through the empty dining room and stood bare chested, leaning against the archway going into the kitchen.

She was wearing a pink yukata today and her feet were bare. She was padding around the kitchen muttering to herself. Hakkai’s heart skipped a beat as a vision of Yuuko, large with his child, came into his mind. She would make a wonderful mother. She was kind, patient and found beauty in the most simple things. His eyes closed, as if just by wishing, he could make his vision a reality.

His eyes opened when he heard her curse. “Damn stupid dough.” Hakkai heard her pound the counter in frustration. She had said something about making meat buns for Goku, but he never thought she would actually try it. He grinned. He’d better step in to help before she either blows something up or burns his kitchen down.

He walked into the kitchen, standing a little bit behind her. “Do you need any help?”

She turned and looked at him. Oh my, he was filling out nicely. His ribs no longer stood out so much and he had lost none of his muscles while he was bedridden. He was wearing no shirt and his jeans were low slung, giving her a glimpse of his hip bones. She forced her eyes down to his feet, which were bare, like hers. God, even his toes were sexy. She brought her eyes back to meet his. He had started wearing his monocle again. Instead of making him look like a bookworm, he somehow reminded her of a pirate.

“What did you say?” Brilliant, Yuuko. One look at him and your brain doesn’t function properly anymore.

“I said, did you need any help?” She was standing at the long counter that separated the sink area from the eating area.

“Oh, this.” She turned her head and looked at the lump of dough on the counter. Her shoulders slumped. “I’m hopeless. I finally get the dough to rise but I can’t roll it out flat. It either sticks to the rolling pin or breaks apart.”

“Show me how you roll out the dough and I’ll see if I can help you.” Hakkai walked up to stand beside her.
She put a little bit of flour on the rolling pin and slapped it down and pushed the dough with all her might. The dough stuck to the pin. She grabbed it off and slapped it down on the counter again. “See?” She moaned. “I’m never going to get the hang of this. What am I doing wrong?”

“Here, scoot over and I’ll show you.” Hakkai floured the counter, put a little more flour on the top of the ball of dough, patting it down as he went and gently put the rolling pin on the dough. He pressed down slightly and pushed away from his body. He lifted the pin from the dough, brought it back to where he started and repeated his earlier actions. After several passes, the result was a nice, flat piece of dough. Hakkai looked at her and smiled.

“That’s amazing!” Yuuko smiled up at him. “Teach me.” She held out her hand for the rolling pin and when Hakkai handed it to her, she brandished it like a sword. “Watch out, dough, here I come!”

He picked up the flat dough and reshaped it into a ball. Yuuko watched his hands and fingers molding the dough. She flushed as she remembered the feel of his hands on her breasts. She could feel a heaviness in her belly. She wanted to know the feel of his hands on her body again. She shook her head. If she kept up this train of thought, she would never learn how to make meat buns.

Hakkai floured the counter before he put the ball of dough down. He put more flour on the top of the dough ball. “This will keep the dough from sticking to the counter.” She nodded, not trusting her voice. She was staring at his hands again.

“Ok, now put the pin down.” She slapped the pin down in the middle of the flour.

Hakkai sighed. “More like this.” He stepped behind her and placed his hands over her hands that were on the handles. She could feel the heat from his body against her back. He smelled good, like sunshine…whatever sunshine smelled like. Her thoughts were jumbled in her head and all she wanted to do was press back against his chest. His hands helped hers roll the dough. The dough was becoming flat and round shaped.

“H…how do I get it flatter without it breaking.” She hoped he didn’t hear the hitch in her voice, but she was having a hard time controlling her breathing. He pressed his chest against her back. With his arms surrounding her and the strength of his chest against her back, she felt like a caterpillar all warm in a cocoon. She resisted the urge to press her face against his shoulder. She needed to be next to his skin.

His voice sounded strained in her ear. “Just keep your movements gentle and use consistent pressure.” He had his face next to her hair. Her hair smelled of lilacs. He noticed the smell every time she bent over him to adjust his pillows. He shifted his hips, so they were flush with her bottom. He bent over her shoulders, molding his chest to her back. “Like that, Yuuko”, he whispered. Her hair was over her shoulders and he wanted to taste her skin. His lips brushed her neck. He felt a quiver go through her. She was as affected by him as he was affected by her.
His left hand let go of the rolling pin and brushed her hair away from her neck. He put his hand on top of hers again. “Now, angle the rolling pin so that you are pushing diagonally.” He kissed up the side of her neck until he reached her earlobe. She moaned and moved her head to give him better access to her neck.

“Then what?” The question came out in a whisper. “Do you move to the other side?” She trembled as she waited for his answer. He pulled his head back and moved the hair from the other side of her neck. She dropped her head back on his shoulder. The anticipation of his kisses were almost more than she could bear.

“Yes”, he whispered back, his hand pulling her yukata slightly off her shoulder. She shuddered at the feather light touch of his fingers. His lips locked onto the juncture of her neck and shoulder and began sucking. His teeth nipped her skin. She was lost in a mass of feelings. Her hands were limp on the counter. She didn’t notice that Hakkai’s hands were no longer on top of hers. “Yuuko.” Her name came out softly, almost like a prayer.

He spun her around. He looked deep into her eyes. They were usually so light that they appeared almost white, but now they were dark with passion. They stood that way for a few seconds before his mouth came crashing down on hers. His tongue begged for entrance and her lips parted, moaning as his tongue swept the inside of her mouth. Her hands fisted in his hair, while one of his spanned her lower back. The other one was pushing her yukata down her arms, exposing more of her chest.

Yuuko thought she would feel shame like she did the first time he kissed her, but that wasn’t the case now. He knew it was her and not a dead woman. His fevered whispers of her name told her that. She wanted to feel more of him. Her hands left his hair and moved to his shoulders, thrilling in the feel of his muscular shoulders under her hands. She ran her hands up and down his chest. He broke the kiss with a loud groan. He seemed to like kissing her skin, she wondered if she would like kissing his. With a tentative touch of her mouth, Yuuko kissed Hakkai’s collarbone. She wanted his throat but only coming up to his shoulders had her at a disadvantage. As it was, she was on her tiptoes.

Hakkai shuddered. He wanted more of her but she was so damn short! He pushed the dough off the counter and putting his hands under her bottom, lifted her up and placed her on the counter.
“Oh, Hakkai! W…what are you doing?” Her mother had told her how sex worked and how babies were made, but she never said anything about being on a kitchen counter while a gorgeous man stood between your spread legs and pushed your yukata down to your waist. Yuuko was sure she would have remembered that conversation.

Hakkai stood between Yuuko’s legs, his arousal pressed to her center, straining at his jeans. He pulled her hips flush against him and thrust. Her head went back and she couldn’t contain it anymore. She moaned so loud, Hakkai was sure the neighbors heard. But he didn’t give a damn. He wanted to bury himself in this beautiful woman and make her scream his name. With her back arched, Hakkai took one rosy nipple in his mouth and began to suckle. She screamed his name then.

She was holding onto the back of his neck and her fingers moved to his ears. She was trying to pull his head closer. He let go of one nipple and latched onto the other. He put a hand under her shoulders and Yuuko realized that he was leaning her back. She definitely knew her mother didn’t cover this in their mother/daughter talk. She ran her right hand through his sweaty hair and slid them back down to his ear.

All of a sudden, she had the sensation of falling and without thinking, grabbed Hakkai’s left ear. Her fingers felt the silver clips and in her panic, she pulled them off Hakkai’s ear.

A howl like she’d never heard before echoed in the kitchen. Hakkai let go of her and she bumped her head on the counter. Rubbing her head, she sat up. She opened her eyes and screamed.

There, instead of Hakkai standing between her thighs, was a youkai. Vines crossed his face and chest, disappearing under the waistband of his jeans. His hair was the same color of Hakkai’s but longer in the back and on the sides. His ears were the familiar shape of the youkai. One green eye peered at her from behind the monocle while the other was golden color. His hands with his almost obscenely long nails reached for her.

“No! Who are you!? What have you done with Hakkai?” She screamed at the beast in front of her, pulling her yukata up around her shoulders again, covering up her breasts. “Where is he?”

A deep growling voice answered her. “It’s me, Yuuko. I’m Hakkai.”

A welcoming blackness engulfed her and Yuuko fainted.