A Ghost Story

Chapter 9

Indeed, things did get pretty noisy. Hakkai took a place at the dinner table and watched as the food went flying past him. Gojyo and Goku had started a food fight, a small one, that consisted of peas and corn. Sanzo was ignoring them completely and reading the paper.

“ACK! You got it in my hair you stupid monkey!”

“You threw it at me first!”

“You wouldn’t stop piling up your plate! Save some for the rest of us!”

“Well you cook really bad food! I need more to make up for the bad taste!”

“You stupid monkey! That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Shut up or I’ll kill you!” Sanzo finally threatened, pulling out a gun. Gojyo and Goku stopped immediately and reverted to glaring at one another. Hakkai could not help but laugh.

/Oh my, this is certainly the most excitement I have had. You are all very interesting./

“Yup, we’re one of a kind.” Said Gojyo, going back to his food. Goku got up to put his plate in the sink and looked out the window, seeing the graveyard.

“Hey look, a graveyard! Is that where you’re buried, Hakkai?” Hakkai looked at him and shrugged his shoulders.

/I do not think I am. I really do not know where my physical body is./

“Please, I’m trying to eat!” Gojyo protested. Sanzo put down his paper and his lip went up in disgust.

“You’re not buried under the floorboards are you? Or locked in some trunk in the attic?”

“Can I eat please?!”

/I do not know. All I know is that I am here and I can not leave./ Sanzo put his paper up again, but spoke.

“You’re a ghost, aren’t you? You should know something about yourself.”

/Only a few things./ Hakkai responded

“Ghosts usually remain on Earth because of what was going on before they died. Like unfinished business, or murder, a trail, or just looking for something important. That’s why you’re still here. Something happened that is keeping you here.” Hakkai looked down.

/I did not know that. It makes sense though./ Goku left to put on his shoes and came back into the kitchen.

“I wanna go walk around, is that okay?”

“Just don’t get lost” Sanzo told him from over the paper.

“I just wanna go see the cemetery and check out that HUGE tree! I want to climb it too!” Hakkai floated to the window and looked out at the tree.

/That tree has been here since before I can remember. It is much bigger and older now, but it is still standing. There is something about that tree though…something I remember about it. It could be anything though. I might have read books under it or something./

“It’s a beautiful oak tree.” Gojyo said, putting his empty plate in the sink. “I’ll go with you, Goku.” Goku smiled

“Yeah! Lets go! Show me around the place!” Hakkai smiled gently at Sanzo who hmphed and went back to his paper.

Outside, Goku ran a few feet ahead of Gojyo and over to the tree. He felt the large, think base and looked up at it. The leaves were healthy and green, giving a large canopy shade from the sun. Gojyo lifted him up to grab a branch so he could start climbing. If there was one thing Goku loved it was being outside. He almost lost his footing on one branch but continued to climb.

“Don’t go too high, Goku!” Gojyo called out to him. Goku stuck his tongue out at him and flopped his bottom down on a branch. He swung his legs and hummed happily. Gojyo was getting tired of waiting for him so he sat down on the grass, his back against the tree. He took out a cigarette and lit it, blowing out a few donut hole clouds.

“Hey Gojyo! Can we go look at the graveyard now!?” Gojyo looked up at him.

“What the fuck do you care about a graveyard?”

“I just want to see it! I never lived by a graveyard before!” Gojyo glared.

“You’re not living here! You’re here until you can get back on your feet! I should just sell you to the zoo!”

Goku flicked him off before making his way down the branches. He caught something engraved on the bark of the trunk as he went down. Squinting his eyes, he crawled along the branch to look at it more. It was faded, but he could make out the letters “G” and “K”, but nothing else. It looked like there was more, but he was not able to make it out. He shrugged his shoulders and went back down, waiting for Gojyo to give him a hand. Gojyo caught him and brought him back to the ground when he was taken by the hand and pulled to the graveyard.


Back in the house, Hakkai was watching them with a smile. He longed to go outside and feel the breeze, smell the air, and other things pertaining to nature. He missed things like that. He looked back at Sanzo who had finished reading the paper and put it down. His eyes met Hakkai’s, who smiled at him.

“I still can’t believe I’m talking to a ghost. And looking at one.” Hakkai floated back over to the table and took a seat, really levitating over it.

/I am surprised you are not frightened of me./ Sanzo snorted

“Please, you couldn’t scare a three year old on Halloween night.” Hakkai looked at him sadly.

/You are probably right, Sanzo./ They were silent for a bit, then Hakkai spoke up. /So, you and Goku are together? You do not seem like a ‘perfect’ match./ Sanzo lit up a cigarette.

“Hey, stranger things have happened. I don’t know why, but we are. And you’re pretty laid back about this.” Hakkai smiled.

/Well, I judge people by their character, not by their preferences. What you do with your life is up to you. It is yours to live it however you wish./ He folded his hands in
front of him. Sanzo looked at him in slight surprise and raised an eyebrow.

“We think alike. That’s the same motto the three of us have. Well, four now, since you’re basically one of us and living here.” Hakkai smiled happily.

/Thank you for accepting me, Sanzo. I appreciate it./

“Whatever. I’m going to go take a bath, so don’t let those two assholes bother me. And don’t think you’re getting any free shows either. Respect my privacy.” Hakkai laughed.

/Do not worry, I would never do something like that. I would not like it if someone did that to me./

Sanzo nodded and went upstairs to get his bath. Hakkai flew over to the piano and decided to play for a bit. He looked around at all of Gojyo’s things and smiled softly, still playing. For so many years trapped in the house, he had not had anyone living there other than Gojyo’s relative and Gojyo himself. The old man never took any notice of him, but Gojyo did. He smiled as he thought about Gojyo. The man was defiantly handsome and charming, which Hakkai knew was affecting him.

He had not thought about a person like this is years. But looking at the women on the wall, he knew he did not have a chance with him. He frowned gently and went back to his playing. It did not matter anyway. They could not be together even if they wanted too. Only in Gojyo’s dreams was that possible, but if Gojyo has no interest in men, then he would not be worth anything. He could remember the feeling of being hurt and he could no longer play, now feeling depressed. He slowly faded away.


In the graveyard, Gojyo and Goku were sitting on an old stone bench under one of the trees. Goku was eating a battered sandwich he had shoved in his pocket for quick snacking and away from the eyes of Sanzo. Gojyo just smoked lazily and looked around at all the old graves. He got to thinking about when he died, and where his brother would put him. Gojyo wanted to be buried in his truck, but that was too much money for either of them. His mind started wandering off, thinking about death and Hakkai. The thought of death used to unnerve him, but now he does not worry about it at all. He figured that he could always float around with Hakkai if he were to die today. Wait, what kind of thought was that? He did not want to spend his afterlife locked up in a house! He wanted to go where everyone else goes, Heaven or Hell. Then he would ask if Hakkai could come with him. He was pulled from his thoughts by a harsh tugging on his hair.

“GOJYO! You’re spacing out on me!”

“Shit Goku! That hurt!”

“Well you weren’t answering me! What were you thinking so hard about? About Hakkai?” Gojyo looked at him and flicked his cigarette away.

“Kinda. About death in general. Looking around at all these graves and living with a ghost is changing my way of thinking.”

“Hm…I’m surprised you’re friendly with Hakkai. I mean, despite him being a ghost, his personality is that of one you never liked. The soft spoken and polite ones. You hate people like that.” Gojyo looked up at the sky, watching the clouds pass by.

“Yeah well, Hakkai is different. He accepted me right away, even before he really knew me. Even you and Sanzo passed immediate judgment on me.”

“Well, we didn’t mean too. We know better now. But I think Hakkai is really nice and friendly!” Gojyo smiled.

“Yeah, he is. Defiantly not someone I’m used to talking with. The only time I can physical touch him, like shake hands and what not, is when I’m dreaming. He apparently enters inside my head or something and we can act like you and I are right now. Weird huh?” Goku got a sudden mischievous smirk and felt like aggravating Gojyo.

“Ooo, you DREAM about him? Isn’t that IMPLYING something?” Gojyo sharply turned his head to glare at him.

“Are you fucking nuts? I didn’t ASK him to invade my thoughts!”

“But you like it. And you like him!” Goku pinched his cheeks and grinned. “You want to bang a ghost!”

“GAH! Get your paws off me!” he shoved him away. “I don’t lean that way, moron!”

“But you want to! You were just saying about how much you loved the fact that he accepts you! Hey! I bet he likes you too! He acts gay enough!”

“Will you shut that filthy monkey mouth of yours! Just because you’re gay doesn’t make ME gay!” Goku grinned.

“Ah! But I can see the signs, my dear friend! Tell me ALL about your dreams tomorrow!” he said and jumped up, laughing as he ran back to the house.

Gojyo growled and muttered under breath, crushing his tossed cigarette with his boot before heading to the house. He suddenly froze when he came to the tree, getting a strange feeling in his body. He raised a suspicious eyebrow as he looked at it, then got a sudden chill.

“Fuck this. I must be loosing my mind all over again.”