Promises, Promises
by Granate, 2004 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gojyo smushed the used bandages into a wad and threw them away before sitting back down at the table with a fresh roll. He checked the wound on his right forearm before expertly wrapping the new bandage around it. "What happened to your arm?" Sanzo asked from across the table. It had looked to Gojyo like he had been reading the paper, but he was looking up over his glasses as he held his cigarette out and tapped ash over the ashtray. "Your damned monkey just about ate my arm off. You were half dead at the time, so don't feel bad if you don't remember," the redhead answered as he wound the clean cloth around his arm. "Hakkai said his power limiter came off?" "Busted completely more like," Gojyo snorted as he used his teeth to fasten the bandage. Why did it have to be his right arm? "He doesn't remember anything?" Sanzo asked before he took a long drag on the cigarette. "Nope." Sanzo nodded, exhaled, and went back to his paper. It was peaceful again for a moment while Gojyo flexed his arm and tested the wrapping. Satisfied, he sat back and lit up a cigarette. "That guy, the Rikudo guy, who was he?" he asked after a moment Sanzo didn't look up from the paper. "A monk at the monastery where I grew up. An instructor," he said, cigarette bouncing between his lips and dropping a little unnoticed ash on his robes. "He a friend?" Sanzo nodded. "You sure left an impression," Gojyo drawled and then blew smoke towards the ceiling. "Anything more complicated?" Sanzo considered whether or not to answer that. What did he care if Gojyo knew? Shuei was dead. The half-Youkai seemed disturbingly good at figuring these things out anyway. He'd figured out the story behind Shuei's beads. He stubbed out his cigarette and then turned a page in his paper as he spoke. "I didn't understand it back then, but I guess he… he had some sort of attachment to me. Some of the things he said escaped me as a kid but now I look back…" Sanzo trailed off again. This was harder to say than he had imagined it would be. "It was almost like he was in love with me or something." He couldn't see Gojyo's eyes widen. "Shit," he exclaimed. "He, uh, do anything to you?" The priest loudly folded the paper down and threw his companion a disparaging look. "Don't be an idiot, of course not," he said flatly. It was just like that lecher to jump to those kinds of conclusions. They had lived at a Buddhist monastery for god's sake. "He was a friend. Treated me nice when it seemed like the whole place was against me," Sanzo said as he removed his glasses and placed them on the table. It seemed like memories of Shuei just wouldn't leave him alone, even after he'd killed the man. Not Rikudo, but the Shuei he'd given those beads to. Shuei who seemed to understand and never questioned his bond with Master Sanzo. Shuei who always had his back, who couldn't quite seem to follow the rules, who listened to all the anti-Buddhism things he said and never judged. Shuei who didn't see him as the demon everyone else did, who wasn't afraid of him. His eyes fell on Gojyo, who was leaning back in his chair, idly blowing smoke and staring at nothing, just waiting in case he had more to say. He wondered why Gojyo had asked. Maybe he just wanted the whole story. He'd figured enough out already and he hadn't stopped Sanzo from going after Rikudo. He wondered if it was Gojyo who understood him best. Hakkai would have stopped him; Goku would have demanded to come with. Digging in his robes, he found the few beads he'd managed to salvage. He had left most of them with Shuei's body, where they belonged, but there were a few that hadn't been broken by the spell. The string of them was now more suited to being a bracelet than a necklace. He rolled them in his hand. Their cool weight was familiar, yet not… it had been so long since he'd held them. "I gave these to him. I was wearing them when I was found," he said as he held them out to Gojyo. "Here. Take them." Gojyo choked on smoke. "Sh-shit, I don't want 'em!" he coughed, eyeing the beads suspiciously. Sanzo could count the number of gifts he'd given in his life on one hand; none had ever been refused before. "Wh-" "Because you make people crazy, monk!" Gojyo snorted with a cock-eyed grin. A soft laugh escaped the priest. "Can't argue with that," he shook his head and held the beads up to the light. What did the world look like behind those drooping violet eyes, Gojyo wondered as he observed Sanzo's far-away look. "Oh, all right, I'll take them," he sighed as if Sanzo had been twisting his arm. He snatched up the beads and held them in his palm to get a good look. "I, uh, don't have nothin' to give you," he said as he fastened them to a belt-loop on his pants. One golden eye brow quirked at him. "You've already given me something, stupid," Sanzo said. "I did?" Gojyo asked, tying to remember. "You forgot," Sanzo snorted, "that is so like you." He got up and came over to where Gojyo sat. It was his turn to savor the slightly confused look on the other man's face before leaning over and placing a kiss on his lips to remind him. The kappa wasn't about to let him get away this time, and slipped a hand into that blond hair to hold him in place until he'd had a thorough taste of that mouth. Fingers dug into his shoulder and he finally released Sanzo so they could breath, but only enough so that crimson eyes met indigo. "Hey, Sanzo." "Hm," the monk intoned, licking his lips. "If I ever become a raving lunatic, can I count on you to come kill me?" Gojyo asked, lips curling into a grin. "Absolutely," Sanzo grunted.
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