Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Unseen Smile ❯ Breakthrough ( Chapter 8 )

Disclaimer: Saiyuki and its affiliates are rightfully owned by Kazuya Minekura. (n_n)

Warning: Blood, gore, yaoi, cursing, hmm...the usual stuff.

 

Breakthrough

 

It took them a while to calm Sanzo up and force him to think straight before he compromises the safety of the group. Hakkai took a firm hold of the blonde's shoulders and gave it a firm shake. When Sanzo looked up at him, he wasn't prepared to see the fear and dread in those purple eyes. He knew that inside the man was probably dying a thousand-fold at the sight of someone so dear to him laying so still. He has always known him as someone strong but to find him this close to breakdown, he knew that the man really cared for Goku. Anger and disgust were coursing in his veins, appalled at the back-handed attempt of the attacker on Sanzo and the boy.

 

The blades, the thin needle-like daggers were something new to him. In his long years in the business, this was probably the first time he'd seen such daggers. It was thin but flat on both sides. One tip was pointed while the other was blunt and rounded. He looked at Gojyo and all he received was a shrug. Obviously, his partner also had no idea who could have used the blades on the boy. Could this be the doing of Chin Iisou? In the back of Hakkai's mind, he believed that his hunches were correct.

 

“We need to take him in Sanzo,” he said slowly. “If we continue to stay out here longer than we have to, we'll attract more attention and that could lead to other complications.”

 

“I'll take—”

 

“I'll take him in,” Sanzo interrupted, swept the boy in his arms and sauntered in the room with lead shoulders. Hakkai could only give an apologetic smile at Gojyo which the latter seemed to understand. It was, after all, understandable that Sanzo felt over protective over the boy. He heard a dejected sigh as a form of acceptance and felt contented that the other man agreed that this was not a time for petty arguments.

 

Once the boy was laid comfortably on the couch, the three started the tedious task of picking out the daggers from the human pin-cushion. It would have taken much time for a single person to complete the task but since there were many hands feverishly working over the entire body, it was finished in less than an hour.

 

“Goku's going to be all right,” Hakkai said after he had checked the boy condition. “He'll stay unconscious until his body gets over the shock of too much pressure at the same time. Not to mention that the blades did hit some acupuncture points, though I doubt that was done on purpose. It's a good thing Goku had the chance to shield his body from the plight else he would have suffered injuries worse than what we have seen.”

 

“I'll kill him,” Sanzo quietly said, looking down at his bloody hands after a few minutes of enduring silence in the room. “I'll tear his body into pieces with my own hands. I'll make that bastard wish he never did this to Goku.”

 

“That's exactly what he wants you to do,” Hakkai said slowly, his eyes not leaving the frail body of the boy. “He wants you to go out there hunt him down with all these muddled reasoning in your head, your guard down and your emotions running on a rampage which will only make it easier for him to target you.”

 

“Hakkai has a point,” the red-haid slowly said. “If we just go out there without preparation, precaution and a plan, we'll be dead before we could even lay a finger on him. You can't—”

 

“Like hell I can't!” Sanzo barked and stalked to the kitchen, opened a drawer and brought out a fully-loaded Desert Eagle. Gojyo, without thinking much about his own safety, laid a tense hand on Sanzo's in attempt to stop him from belting the gun. Sanzo's eyes turned into narrowed slits as he looked over the red-head. Before things could get out of hand, Hakkai immediately placed restraining hands on either man, a slight frown forming on his face.

 

“Really now, killing each other would only make things worse, it would also stain my clothes from all the blood you two will be spilling,” he began with a guarded smile.

 

“Don't order me around, Hakaki,” Sanzo warned.

 

Hakkai looked at him and frowned, the smile vanishing from his lips. Gojyo shifted uneasily in his place, knowing that when Hakkai got worked up he had a few sharp things to say.

 

“If you go out there and get yourself killed, how will that help Goku? Will that make him better? Believe me Sanzo, I know what I'm doing and I know that you're too hyped up from your emotions to think straight.”

 

“Trust Hakkai on this one, he's got some practice on this department,” Gojyo muttered apparently aware that Hakkai was referring to him. The brunette could sense the sadness in his tone but decided that he could just reassure Gojyo later, he'd have to deal with the irrational blond first.

 

After a few minutes of anxious waiting, Sanzo relented and took a seat next to the boy, placing the gun on the table. Gojyo sighed loudly and plopped down on a chair opposite them which Hakkai took as an invitation to sit beside his partner.

 

“The best thing for us right now is to wait for Goku's wounds to heal and from there we could continue our plans to leave. I'll rearrange our tickets for the next day.”

 

“Why are you doing this for us?” Sanzo asked quietly, his gaze settling on the sleeping boy and slipped a hand on the boy's. “You barely know any of us.”

 

“I'm a friend Sanzo, we all are,” he answered softly. “In this business, it's seldom you find allies or friends so make the most out of the handful of people you can trust right?”

 

“We—I can handle this on my own,” came the stubborn reply.

 

“How about Goku? Who's going to look after him while you're out hunting whoever did this to him?” Gojyo countered. “For all we know, this maniac could be just using that as a reason to get to you or to Goku. With your mind all confused and focused on Goku, your defenses are weaker now. You can barely calculate other people apart from yourself, let alone go against someone who has specific plans for you.”

 

Hakkai wanted to just clamp his hand over that unstoppable mouth of Gojyo's but the words had already pierced through Sanzo's irrationality, words that the blond obviously did not want to hear. With an angry snarl, he picked up the Desert Eagle and pointed it at Gojyo but this move was already anticipated by the taller man because in one swift move, he had already intercepted the gun was now pointing it at the defiant blond. Within seconds, he had managed to turn the tables around because of quick thinking and agility. Hakkai watched quietly and felt that though Gojyo was careless in choosing the words he had used to state Sanzo's weaknesses, he actually made it quiet simple. Sanzo was acting on emotion and not reason. If this was brought out into a confrontation, it could prove to be fatal for the latter, and maybe for all of them.

 

“Shoot me if you have the balls to do it,” Sanzo challenged and stared at him straight in the eye. Had Gojyo been in an annoyed he would have just pulled the trigger and cleaned the mess himself but knowing that this half-cocked challenged was something out of despair and hate, he just shrugged it away and gave the gun to Hakkai.

 

“Nah, my gun only shoots for Hakkai,” Gojyo answered mischievously, and leaned back on the chair. For the insolent remark he received a smack on the head from the blushing brunette and a snort from the obviously amused blond. Hakkai was glad that the tension in the air was slowly lifting but hated the fact that it was made at his expense.

 

Meanwhile…

 

As he licked his lips, a habit he's developed for the past years, he could still taste the boy's blood spraying in the air as the knives pierced through the flimsy shirt he wore. The boy was beautiful as the council had described him. He made sure that the attack wouldn't seriously wound him, just enough to scare the shit out of the blond target. He had plans for the boy and he had specifically told the Council that. But then there would be some obstacles to acquiring the boy, a green-eyed beauty and a loud-mouth red head. He's just have to take care of all of them so that he'll get the boy. He couldn't wait.

 

He had very good plans indeed.

 

---

 

“You inconsiderate little monkey!” Gojyo shouted angrily after he had picked himself up from the pile of limbs that he was currently in when he fell to the floor. Goku grinned sheepishly and held up a peace sign as he tried to hide behind the pillow and his sheets.

 

“Gojyo! I didn't see that it was you, you know how people are with instincts,” he tried to explain as the red-head continued to glare at him menacingly. “I just thought I was held captive and that you were watching over me.”

 

“I was watching over you but you kicked me in the head,” he grumbled angrily. With a sigh, he plopped down on the chair that had toppled over and looked at Goku closely. “How you feeling kid?”

 

“I've had better days,” he admitted and looked himself over. There were bandages all over his body and honestly, he felt like a mummy wrapped up like this. “Is Sanzo all right?”

 

“You're hurt Goku, could you at least ask about yourself first?” Gojyo asked with a shake of his head. But when he looked at Goku, he noticed that the boy was waiting for an answer.

 

“Sanzo's fine, shaken but okay. He's with Hakkai right now, transferring our things from the apartment to yours so that when we leave tomorrow we can gauge everything as much as possible. By the way, do you remember anything Goku?”

 

Goku's face turned serious and looked down at his hands as if trying to paint the image he had scene before he felt his whole body grow numb. Gojyo waited, he knew that the boy was still probably scared and didn't want to go over the details of his attack but this is something he needed to do. It would be safer for all of them if they knew what they were facing. And besides, he had some hunches he had to prove.

 

“Everything happened so fast. When I noticed someone by the fire escape, the daggers were already piercing through my skin and all that I saw was that he was thin, lanky and uhm…tall because his arms and legs were really long even when he crouched over the window sill. And he had blue hair because even though the corridors weren't lit, the light from the lamp post on the streets gave his head a peculiar glow.”

 

“Blue huh?” Gojyo repeated and made a mental note of that. It would at least narrow down whoever attacked them. There was only a hand full of people out there who have blue hair. “What else?”

 

“That's about it,” he said slowly. “After that, all I could remember was the panicked look on Sanzo's face, like he was scared or something.”

 

“You don't know half of it,” Gojyo said with a roll of his eyes and leaned back on the chair. “He almost went crazy out there when we found him carrying you in his arms. If Hakkai and I hadn't talked him out of it, he would have marched straight out of here, gotten himself killed and would be rotting away in some vacant lot in the countryside. That blond friend of yours sure has lead ears.”

 

“Not only lead ears but a lead mouth,” Goku muttered ruefully. “You're lucky, you know, with Hakkai.”

 

“I don't believe we actually announced to the world that we were together.”

 

“With you all over each other, you don't have to make any announcement,” Goku said with a slight shrug. A vein twitched in Gojyo's forehead and he could almost feel his hands snaking up to just squeeze the air out of those cheeky lips. “Still, you're luck to have each other.”

 

“You have each other, you and Sanzo, so what's the big deal?” He said with a wave of his hand. “You've been together longer than me and Hakkai have been.”

 

“Together as what?” Goku asked with a raised eyebrow. “As friends? Partners?”

 

“Lovers?” Gojyo hinted with a slight mischievous smile playing on his lips. “Are you on that level already?”

 

“We haven't even done it,” the teenager answered even when his ears turned bright red. “Just minor scraps of affection here and there, a peck on the hand, some snuggling, that's it.”

 

“You'll get to where we are when the time comes,” he said slowly. “I know it's hard trying to convince each other about how you feel but you know and it does take time and a lot of prodding.”

 

“Sometimes, I don't think Sanzo wants to be prodded.”

 

“He just needs more…initiative I guess.”

 

“But you talked to him yesterday and he hasn't even come up to me to talk,” Goku said with a pout. “Maybe he doesn't really love me, more of like brotherly love.”

 

“I have an idea, wanna listen to it?”

 

---

 

Hakkai hated it whenever Gojyo gets one of those stupid mischievous ideas in his head and this time making it worse, he even told the boy about it.

 

“If Sanzo kills you for this Gojyo, I am not going to save your hide,” he said with a frown. But the red-head seemed oblivious to his words. He continued to drink down the beer as if savoring his victory over the defeat of the enemy. He narrowed his eyes at his partner and shrugged, somewhat weirded out at this reaction.

 

“Did Kougaiji and Jien already email the updated picture of Chin Iisou?”

 

Hakkai shook his head and pointed to the laptop. “You could check on it after fifteen minutes, maybe they're still looking for it. Or maybe the profile was purposely fabricated by the Council so that the real profile won't be accessible,” he added after some thought.

 

“You mean we were studying something the Council made up?”

 

“Something like that,” Hakkai's face grew serious. “If this Chin Iisou was the one who attacked Goku then the information we have on him is wrong. Remember that he liked to make things look as natural as they were.”

 

“If he was going to kill Goku, he would've abducted him and dumped his body somewhere else. He'd make it look like someone mugged him or something,” Gojyo finished the explanation for Hakkai. “Not something as bloody as yesterday.”

 

“It's a good thing Sanzo agreed to our suggestions of keeping this group tight,” Hakkai said with a nod. “Lessens the possibility of Chin Iisou attacking us all at once.”

 

“But it only means we have to feed more people,” Gojyo said with a frown. “Less beer, less food—”

 

“Less quality time together?” Hakkai suggested with a smile. “We'll have to make do with these even if it means having to wait until we get back to out old apartment for some…bonding.”

 

“You know we'll have to find an apartment for them once we get back,” Gojyo said and moved closer to him, lacing their fingers together as he pulled the brunette into his arms. “Or do you still want to share our apartment with them?”

 

“They can always take your apartment Gojyo and you can move in entirely with me,” he answered with a knowing smile. He waited for the answer from the red-head, somewhat still afraid of being rejected.

 

“I'll have to get a few of my things there if you want me to move in with you,” Gojyo said slowly. “But it would be better if they took my apartment, so we wouldn't have to worry about where they'll stay once we get there.”

 

“I was thinking of asking Sanzo to work for us, that way even Goku gets the need protection from any attacks that might be directed to him,” he said slowly. “But I'm not sure if he'll consider it.”

 

“I'm not sure if Sanzo's the joining type, you know,” came the skeptical reply. “But I guess there wouldn't be any problem if you asked him. Just don't expect too much from him. But you could point out the benefits of joining us by hinting things for Goku, like you know food, clothes, shelter, safety and stuff like that.”

 

“Sanzo does have a soft spot for the boy, doesn't he?” He said with an amused tone. “Do you have a soft spot for me?”

 

“Both a soft and hard spot if that's what you want to know,” Gojyo said with a laugh. Hakkai feigned a face of disappointment and hurt that made Gojyo smile awkwardly. “Well, of you course I have a soft spot for you. I've always had a soft spot for you even when you've been so damn nasty towards me. I remember something Zakuro told me when he held me captive.”

 

“Oh what's that?” He was interested to know what the psychopath told Gojyo while he was running around trying to find them.

 

“He asked me how certain I was to know that you love me or not,” Gojyo said quietly. “Honestly, I was afraid that there was some kernel of truth in those words. I was afraid that maybe you didn't love me at all.”

 

“That I would easily just let go, is that it?” he asked and looked at him, staring into the warm red puddles. “That I wouldn't come to rescue you, right?”

 

Gojyo shrugged, afraid of the answer he would receive from Hakkai if he said yes. But the brunette only leaned closer and rested his head against his chest. He swallowed hard, knowing that Hakkai was probably aware of the fast beating of his heart. He knew that it might sound selfish wanting Hakkai to always reaffirm his feelings for him, to always say those words but sometimes, it's all he needs to feel secure.

 

“Did you believe Zakuro?” He asked slowly. “Did you believe him that I didn't love you?”

 

“Should I believe him?”

 

He looked up and watched Gojyo's face and saw that it was indeed filled with confusion and doubts about their relationship. Something he had expected given the fact that he was known as a cold and heartless murderer but he had hoped that for the past months they would have already resolved these doubts between them.

 

“I can say everything there is to tell you about how much I love you, how much you mean to me and everything normal lovers say to each other but if you won't listen or believe to any of what I have to say then it's better if I didn't say anything all because it wouldn't make any difference,” he said quietly, still staring deep into those eyes. “This time, I can't do anything to make you believe Gojyo, you have to do that by yourself.”

 

He could hear him sigh and probably mull over what he had said. He was scared to lose Gojyo the way he lost all the others before him. This time he didn't want to let go without a fight. But he couldn't do anything about the problem if Gojyo himself didn't want to fight for them. After what seeed like hours, Gojyo finally pulled back and looked at him. A smile forming in his lips and a gentle hand caressed his face.

 

“I believe you, you know that,” he said slowly. “I guess I just need some reaffirmation from you every now and then, just so I won't forget that you need me.”

 

Hakkai laughed softly and snuggled even closer to him, not wanting to show him the tears that were threating to spill anytime. He didn't want him to see crying over such a `small thing' because he knew he'd tease him relentlessly. So he continued to hold until he was sure that there were no signs of tears in his eyes. But knowing Gojyo, he'd still tease him like hell just for the fun of it.

 

---

 

Goku mulled over the suggestion Gojyo had given him awhile ago. It was going to cost his hands, his arms, his neck and most probably his head if he did it but still, he thought that it was a good idea of prodding Sanzo. If Gojyo's little idea fails and Sanzo continues to run from the conversation they should be having, he'll have to admit defeat. There was no use prodding and forcing Sanzo to speak up if he obviously feels that there was no point in discussing this issue at hand.

 

“Hakkai told me not to let you out of my sight and vice-versa so that nothing happens to us,” Sanzo told him as soon as he entered the room. “Besides, if anything he happens we have each other for back up.”

 

“I could barely protect myself, let alone protect you,” Goku muttered under his breath as he continued to focus his eyes on the book he was holding. Even the slightest movement made his body ache and the effort he had exerted earlier against Gojyo had caused some of the bandages Hakkai had wrapped had come undone. He did get a terrible scolding from the blond and a teasing smirk from Gojyo but he was thankful that Sanzo had still managed to keep a small smile for him.

 

“I've talked with Hakkai about your training,” Sanzo said slowly as he took his regular seat beside Goku's bed. “He seems to agree that since you've had your preliminaries and that you're certain in helping me out, maybe it's time you took up a specialty.”

 

“So does this mean we're partners?” He asked; face brightening without much effort to hide it, much to Sanzo's disappointment. The boy was clearly enthusiastic over a decision that could be interpreted and a few more ways than one. “Does this mean we get to work side by side?”

 

“I don't know what the big deal is,” Sanzo said, faking a small shrug. “We'll just continue what we've already started. Nothing to be so excited and jumpy about.”

 

He just continued grinning because he knew that Sanzo was just as pleased as he was. Finally, it's officially stated that they were partners. But why did he still feel like something was lacking? He stopped smiling when he noticed this peculiar feeling which Sanzo noticed before he could even cover up.

 

“What's wrong?”

 

“I was just thinking that if I died back there, I wouldn't have been able to tell you so many things,” he said quietly. “I would have died without even telling you things I wanted you to know.”

 

“Like what?” Sanzo asked, finally making a gamble on things, taking a bet on his feelings. Goku looked up at him with wide, almost scared eyes. Sanzo leaned forward and brushed a hand against the boy's face and smiled. He knew that now, there wasn't any turning back. Goku was right. They almost lost each other back there and it was only then did he fully realize that some times things don't happen the way you want them to.

 

“Like how grateful I am because you saved me and you took me in. You turned my life around,” he said softly. “Before I got into that mess, I thought I was happy being able to go around without having to answer to anyone but now that I think about it, you were the one who taught me the real meaning of living. You allowed me to trust, to live and to…love.”

 

“I just thought you did it because you wanted something from me, the way Johanssen did but I was wrong. When you reached out to me and you held me in your arms, I didn't feel threatened. I didn't feel frightened because I knew you weren't there to hurt me. I somehow felt you were there to protect me. And I'm happy you've been protecting me ever since. But Sanzo, I want to do the same thing for you.”

 

“You don't have to,” Sanzo interrupted. “I'm perfectly fine the way everything is. You don't have to do anything for me but to just be safe. That's all I'm asking.”

 

Goku's face fell. He nodded, the words just didn't seem to want to come out anymore. He wanted to argue but maybe, he's just tired from all the arguing. Maybe Sanzo just didn't see him that way, the way he did. His eyes burned and even though he willed himself not to cry, he felt weak from the words Sanzo just let out.

 

“So I guess that's all we'll ever be Sanzo, partners,” he said slowly and wiped his eyes dry. He couldn't look at him, too embarrassed to let him see his face filled with hope only to be crushed down by rejection. “Well okay, I'll stay out of trouble if that's what you want.”

 

“Why are you crying Goku?” Came the soft inquiry that he had hoped would never come.

 

“I'm not crying. Something got into my eye,” he lied. When he looked up, he did his best to come up with a smile and when he saw the confused expression on Sanzo's face he knew he had succeeded. Sanzo's hand suddenly left his face and looked taken aback by the sudden change of air between them.

 

“Goku, don't take it the wrong way,” Sanzo started but he had already accepted the fact that Sanzo would never look at him more than a partner, more than a charge, hell, even more than a boy. He shook his head and returned to his reading.

 

“Well, glad that was out of the way,” he continued. “At least now I know we'll always only be partners.”

 

“Goku, that's not—”

 

“Cause you know, now that I think about it, Hakkai and Gojyo must always be having problems because of their relationship. Don't want that bothering us right? So I guess, being partners is for the best, no emotions getting in the way just pure professionalism,” he said, not looking up from his book. “So there.”

 

“Wait, you've got it all—”

 

“I think I'll retire for the moment, Sanzo,” he suddenly said and stared at him straight in the eye. “I wouldn't want to be too tired when I start my training right? I don't want to be some half-cooked trainee. Close the door when you leave, okay?”

 

Before Sanzo could even say another word, Goku had slipped underneath the covers and pretended to sleep. Sanzo could only leave with a heavy heart, angry at himself for backing off when all he needed to do was make Goku understand that he felt exactly the same.

 

“Why Sanzo? Why don't you love me?” Were the muffled cries Sanzo heard as he closed the door behind him and in the back of his mind, he knew that Goku didn't know what he was talking about. He loved him more than life itself. But maybe, that was how things should suppose to be. They'll have to live with that for now.

 

---

 

“If you quit nagging me about my apartment, the sooner we finish clearing it up,” Gojyo called out from inside his bedroom, a box underneath his arms. “And the sooner we finish clearing everything up, the faster we get Sanzo and Goku in here.”

 

“I still can't believe that Kougaiji's computer broke down from the virus attached to Chin Iisou's profile,” Hakkai called back from the living room. “This is the first time this has happened in a few years.”

 

“I'm kinda having second thoughts about Chin Iisou,” Gojyo said slowly. “You know, like maybe we aren't ready for him. Cause from what I've seen so far, the misleading profiles, the uncharacteristic attacks and now this virus that only high-profiled assassins are capable of doing, they could all just mean we have to be prepared for him.”

 

“I think we should be prepared at all times, whether it's a high profiled one or not,” Hakkai said seriously. “Zakuro may not be as complex as Chin Iisou but fighting him with you in mind was pretty hard for me. It isn't the strength alone that has to be considered. You have to keep in mind the people around you that might get affected.”

 

Gojyo appeared by the door and smiled apologetically at Hakkai. The brunette seemed to relax and returned his smile. He knew that Hakkai was probably still worried about him getting into trouble. And him pointing out the possibility of having difficulties with Chin Iisou didn't seem to help the matter.

 

“Have you noticed how quiet Sanzo and Goku were during the trip home?” Gojyo asked as he continued to pack things he needed in a moving box. “They barely talked through the whole flight.”

 

“I think it had something to do with the conversation that took place while we were out yesterday,” Hakkai replied as he stuffed a few clothes inside a plastic bag. “Noticed how we found Sanzo sleeping on the floor while Goku had the bed all to himself?”

 

“Yeah, and we had to sleep in the couch, really dampened my spirits for a round of steamy—”

 

“You pervert,” Hakkai chided accompanied with an uncomfortable laughter. Gojyo could only laugh.

 

“Hey did you notice we never seem to have big fights like that,” he mused as he opened a new box to stuff some socks and underwear in them. Hakkai looked up from the clothes he was busy folding, a thoughtful expression on his face.

 

“Yeah, it's a wonder how we don't seem to fight as often as before.”

 

“Maybe we used up all our fighting cards before since we always got into arguments and confrontation,” he said with a knowing smile. Hakkai bowed his head sheepishly, fully aware that most of those fights were instigated by him. “But still, I'm glad we had those arguments before.”

 

“What made you say that?”

 

“Because if we didn't argue as much as we did before, we wouldn't know what ticks each other off,” he said with a smile. “I know how uncomfortable you are when I openly talk about sex or anything related to that topic.”

 

Hakkai blushed almost instantly and returned his attention to the clothes when he heard Gojyo's loud laugh. He had to admit, Hakkai did look cute whenever he found him off guard. He liked the way he blushed and how he averts his eyes from his gaze. It somehow shows that even if he's popularly known as the best assassins in the world, he still has a tinge of innocence behind the mask of cold-blooded killer.

 

“Do you know I love you so much Hakkai?” He whispered as he wrapped his arms around him. Hakkai leaned back against him and kissed his cheek softly. “I don't care if they say you're cold or heartless or anything, because I know they haven't seen the real you.”

 

“And I'm grateful that you see through all of me despite what they say about me,” he said softly.

 

“I hope we can get out of this business someday,” he whispered wistfully and tightened his embrace around the smaller man. “You know, start a peaceful and maybe normal life outside of the killings and money.”

 

“Yeah, someday,” his partner echoed with the same hopeful tone. “But what will we do after all of this?”

 

“We'll think of something along the way,” Gojyo promised and placed a kiss on Hakkai's forehead. And when he heard the contented sigh from Hakkai, he knew that it was a promise he had to keep.

 

----

 

“You can't continue avoiding me like the plague, Goku,” Sanzo said as the teenaged walked past him to get a can of orange juice from the Hakkai's fridge. “We'll be living in an apartment just like before.”

 

“Like before? How can you say that when things aren't going to be like before?” The boy shot back, his words dripping heavy with sarcasm.

 

“What the hell—”

 

“Is my problem? You're my problem, Sanzo. Or maybe you're just to dense to see through that,” he cut in.

 

“Haven't you grown tired of that argument, Goku,” he said wearily. “We're partners now, so what's the problem? Isn't that what you wanted?”

 

“Oh don't give me that crap about not knowing anything,” the boy said with distaste and took a swig of his juice. “You're not only dense but insensitive as well.”

 

Sanzo was about to ask him what he wanted him to do but the doorbell had interrupted their conversation. Goku with a huff placed the orange juice on the table top and proceeded to answer the door. Sanzo coming back to his senses of the danger they're in opened his mouth to stop Goku from answering the door. But as Goku swung the door open to receive the visitor, a pair of strong hands held him in a death-grip. Before he knew what was going on, an arm was placed firmly around his neck and the cold nozzle of a gun was pressed against the side of his head. He could feel his wounds rip open from the sudden jerking movements and all he could do was wince in pain.

 

“GOKU!” Sanzo yelled, brought out his gun and pointed it at the man who was holding Goku but stopped when he noticed that the man seemed to be unfazed. What was even disturbing was the smile on the man's face.

 

“Do you really think you can run from the council?” The man said and cocked his head at him. “You impudent bastard, thinking you can go against the most powerful association in the world.”

 

“Let the boy go, it's me you want right?” Sanzo said through clenched teeth but all he received was a laugh.

 

“The boy is the payment for my services,” he said casually and pointed the gun at him. “Die Genjyo Sanzo.”

 

“SANZO!!!” Goku yelled before biting down hard on the arm that was choking him in place. Before Sanzo could fully react to the gun going off, he could only watch as Goku's frail body shielded him from the bullet, his body being thrown forward as the bullet tore through him. As he caught the boy in his arms, he reflexively aimed at the intruder and fired continuously. He could barely see if the bullets had hit him due to the tears streaming down his face. But he did hear the painful groan coming from the tall man and the sudden vanishing act he pulled before Sanzo could fire another round of bullets.

 

“Goku, stay with me,” he said hoarsely as he cradled the almost lifeless body in his arms. This wasn't happening again. It wasn't happening again! “Goku don't stop breathing, please don't stop breathing!”

 

“Sanzo, you're all right,” came the inaudible whisper. “Thank goodness, you're…”

 

“Don't talk anymore, you have to conserve your energy,” Sanzo said through tears, as his hands tried to stop the bleeding on the boy's chest. “You promised me right, you'll never leave me, right? So don't die on me Goku, please, don't die on me.”

 

“I made that promise because I love you Sanzo,” Goku said through a faint smile and brought his hand to touch his face. “I've always loved you from the beginning and that's… why…why…”

 

“Goku?! Open your eyes damn it! Goku?!” He called out but his voice fell on deaf ears. With a heart-wrenching cry, Sanzo cradle Goku's head against his chest and cried his heart out.

To Be Continued…

[1] Hope you enjoy this installment. Been doing this while I was reading some of my assignments, so some parts are a bit out of focused. Sorry, sorry. Reviews, comments, anything you want to share are appreciated. Thanks for the time and effort in reading this story. I'm a very grateful to those who keep watch of its development. Thanks! (^_^)