1: Quiet can be noisy
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You and I, we're two of a kind.
I hate to say it but you'll never relate
What makes you tick?
It makes me smile.
~Just Another/ P. Yorn~
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The day was unusually hot, a humid, dry air enveloping the terrain as far as the eye could see. It seemed it had been like this for the past four days, a blinding heat that hazed up the horizon, making purple eyes blurry with tears. The heavy material of the robes did not help either, and he had pushed them down to his waist in an attempt to free his body from constricting heat.
"When are we gonna GET there?" An exasperated grunt from the backseat.
"Yeah. I'm hu~ngry!!!! Waaah." A petty whine that accompanied it. "Ne, Gojyo, where d'you think the nearest tavern is? And do you think they'll be serving roast beef? Maybe Peking duck..." An audible growling accompanied the shrill voice that ranted.
A thunk, and more whining. "Shut up, saru. Your stomach too. I'll gut you if you make that stupid growling noise again." What sounded like rattling chains emphasized the speaker's point.
"YOU SHUT UP, ERO-KAPPA!!" A loud smack. "That hurt! And it's not my fault I'm hungry, the last time we ate was--"
"All YOU ever think about is food, stupid monkey, where'd you cram your little brai--"
"My brain is NOT little--"
"YAAAROU!!" This had to be the upteenth time he had done it in a day. Standing up despite the rolling jeep, he grabbed his paper fan and soundly smacked the two occupants of the back seat, his other hand reaching for the gun he kept under the folds of his robe by his side, and pointed the glinty snout at the two in general.
"I will fucking blow your brains out, or whatever shit you have inside your head if both of you don't shut up. Now." A headache in a bouncing Jeep on a dusty road on a hot, hot day was a total bitch. Add a whining monkey and an arrogant kappa? He was more than ready to live by his promise.
The two seemed to sense that as well, because the kappa had dropped a meaty fist in mid-strike and the monkey-boy swallowed a retort in his throat.
"Maa, maa, Sanzo, please calm down." Chuckling, the driver beside him tried to placate his flaring temper. "We'll need them both for a fight, remember?" Smiling green eyes looked at the reflection of the two on the rearview mirror. "And both of you should be a little more patient, ne? We're just three hours out of the nearest village northwest of our directio--"
Immediately a cacophony of voices assaulted him. "What do the taverns serve, Hakkai?" "Does it have a local brothel?" "What's the town's specialty dish?" "God they better have girls--"
A threatening click from the gun silenced them again. It seemed as if he would NOT calm down after all. Northwest of their direction, eh? That meant just walking toward the far-off silhouette of hills. A particularly evil thought crossed his head, and he nudged the driver to stop.
"What the hell we stopping fo'?" It was always the kappa with the big mouth. Maybe because he never just stopped and stared and stared like the monkey, but he was noisy that way. Immediately he found himself sprawled on sand, hearing a thunk on the other side of the jeep indicating that the monkey had been kicked off the vehicle as well.
"Drive." Hakkai only blinked up at him once before starting the engine. He settled back to his seat as the jeep rolled forward.
"Hey wait, you corrupted monk!" The kappa scrambled up and chased the vehicle, managing to keep up slightly. "What the fuck do you think you're doing--?!"
"You two. Walk." Purple eyes glared at wide wine-colored ones before smacking him upside the head with the blasted fan. The jeep sped away, sand flying, and it was not an option to stand and fume.
"I'll make it to the jeep faster than you, old man!" Beside him the monkey jeered, and he almost decapitated the sorry thing had he not thought of more important things. Long legs striving to outdo the speed of the younger demon, the kappa ran after the jeep, spewing curses at the back of the blonde head on the front seat.
"That was very mean," admonished Hakkai sternly, although he was rather amused to see the monk beside him actually grin at the foolish sight of the kappa waving his hands in the air and cursing, and the boy-monkey scrambling to keep up in the hot, hot sand.
============
"Hakkai's right, you know. That was a mean thing to do."
He didn't even bother to look up at the figure who entered his room. The article he was reading was much more interesting. He figured it was less a fuss if he just shut up and pretended the other was not around. The night was quiet, was cool, a contrast to the blistering heat of the day. Quiet. That was what he liked most.
The sound of a chair scraping the floor and the shadow of another falling over the table. "You know, you could have just let the monkey off the jeep. He started all the fuss asking about a tavern and food and all the silly shit he confines himself to." A rustling of clothes, shifting of positions as the other figure searched for something in his pockets.
The rustling annoyed him slightly. He guessed his visitor had a couple of drinks before deciding to bother him. Sighing, he reached into his own robes and took out a cylinder. He handed it over without missing a line from the paper he was reading. "Here. And shut up." For the love of all the gods. All he wanted was quiet.
Warm fingers grazed his own slightly as his offering was accepted. "Why Sanzo, I never knew you shared." The click of the lighter, and the comforting smell of tobacco and menthol. The voice. Teasing, a little mocking, somewhat surprised. Well he was obviously flattering himself, that was sure.
"Just get a light and shut up, will you? Better yet, go away." He was grateful though, that it had not been the monkey who had entered. Innocent almost to a fault, the little thing never stopped rambling. At least the kappa had sense. At least the kappa could shut up with a cigarette between his teeth--sort of.
They were quiet for some time. His visitor was enjoying the smoke; he was enjoying his paper. But this time it was rather strange, because he found he could not register what he was reading without the backdrop of someone's voice rambling on him. Uneasy, he began, "Where's Cho anyway?"
"With his dragon. The monkey wanted to teach it new tricks. Couldn't get it into his little one-track brain that a jeep--a fucking JEEP--doesn't need to learn stupid things like fetching sticks and rolling around." Ash flicked on the small tray between them.
He knew that. Hakkai himself told him earlier that evening. He figured the little dragon-jeep needed some time off after that days-long travel. He stayed quiet. Were they getting to him, the stupid kappa and the monkey, that he could not be comfortable without their squabble whenever they were around?
Mental note: After all this was through, he would squester himself up in the mountain retreats and shoot anything coming within ten miles from him.
"I'm waiting for the brothels to open up," the redhaired kappa continued, taking a long drag. "When the sky's completely dark. And I'll have me a nice whore with big tits and a tight fit and I'm gonna see how many times she's gonna call out my name in the dark." He chuckled to himself at the thought, as if planning his activities in advance.
While the lecherous kappa obviously found talking about his activities rather casual, he on the other hand started to feel uncomfortable. It was true he indulged in drinking, smoked uncharacteristically for a monk, wielded and used a gun, and occassionally gambled, but the kappa beat him to the list by one notch.
"The last one in that riverside town--what the hell was the name again?--yeah, that little dump. The last one I took, that girl with the pigtails in the saloon? She had a roommate. Goddamn if it wasn't the most pleasant surprise of the week."
It wasn't the first time Gojyo had regalled them with his exploits. Always he felt rather squeamish. Hakkai would only smile and nod, sometimes in understanding. Cho knew what it was like, he supposed, and could not help but wonder if the generally amicable man thought up the scenes in his head except that the girl would be gentle and brown-haired, his beloved Kana.
Goku simply did not understand such things. Talking of teeth? It would remind him of food. Talking of round, bouncy white things? The boy-monkey would call for dumplings. Talking of bittersweet-tasting fluids as a result of pent up passion--? "You should have put more pepper then," would be the 'wise' counsel. Sometimes it was just hilarious to see how such a dirty comment could be interpreted as something off a cookbook.
Well, /he/ never said anything to those 'dirty comments'. How could he? What would he say? Probably it would only make the kappa amused. 'The damn corrupt monk is a /virgin/?!??!' And the other two would have to cope up with a lot of bloodshed and piecing Gojyo back together. Was it really so bad to be a 'virgin'?
So he shut up whenever this happened, pretending to murmur a daily sutra, or concentrate on the map, or interrupt to point out an important reminder, occassionally using the poor monkey boy as an excuse--bapping the saru on the head with his fan, and while teary golden eyes and a whiny voice would ask, he would just grunt, pressumably pissed at something Goku unconsciously did. Right now, he tried so hard to concentrate on his paper.
"You know what I mean? She was still rather young, that bargirl, but her roomie... not the perfect body in this part of the world, but man--" Even without looking up from his paper Sanzo could see from the corner of his eyes Gojyo groping air, hands in a cupped position and fingers squeezing something imaginary--"like that you know? Oh man. Oh god. Yeah." The kappa closed his eyes and took a drag, didn't see the slight, slight shiver of the priest in front of him at the things he was saying.
How was it like? A curious part of his mind asked. Raised in a monestary he was taught chastity and abstinece, and had grown up with a brotherly, almost protective outlook on women and children in general. He was bothered. And Genjo Sanzo did not like it when he was bothered.
"So go," he said under his breath as he flipped a page.
"Eh? You say something, monk?" He wondered why he almost squirmed when burgundy eyes trailed his direction. Since when did he 'squirm' under anyone's gaze?
"What are you waiting for then? I don't know why you're even wasting your time." Flipped a page again, out of instinct, suddenly uncomfortable. A part of his brain was extremely annoyed at the action.
"Eh? I have a couple of hours yet. The good ones come out after sunset." Gojyo jerked a thumb over at the window, at the purple-hued sky. "I think I'll stay in here for a while." Smoke curled up to the ceiling as the redhead took another long drag. "What will /you/ be doing for the entire evening?"
He made no response. His companion continued, "It's been a long drive since our last stop. Don't tell me you'll just be sitting here all night reading--"
"Enjoying myself, considering that I haven't done it in a long time," he cut in sharply, shaking his head. "With you and the fool monkey creating racket enough to shake the seven heavens, it's a wonder how I can put up with you." He meant it too. 'Quiet' was a music he had not heard for quite some time.
"Enjoying--" the kappa shook his head incredulously, red hair flying. "Reading, cooping yourself up--/Enjoying/?!?" Another shake. "Goku's out raiding the town's pantries. Hakkai's probably going to spend some time at the gambling house swindling the villagers to their last coin. I know where I'll be at, and /you/..."
Suddenly claret eyes gleamed, and the monk had to lift his paper to hide the uncomfortable look that crossed his face.
"Hey, why don't you come with me? We could go out to the brothels together!"
Oh damn shit. That was /all/ he needed right now, thanks very much. He started as a big hand tore the paper from his grasp, and treated Gojyo with a deathly glare. The kappa meanwhile was busy thinking up an agenda. "Your monkly robes have to go though. No way you're gonna go in those 'holy' things. And I know the perfect type for you. Since obviously you won't start things, she's got to be bold, outspoken... maybe a light brunette with dark eyes will do..."
"I don't do that stuff, kappa," he managed an exasperated sigh. He viewed women in general like things to be taken care of, a brotherly kind of affection that was rather scary to equate to anything remotely near what the horny kappa had in mind.
"Not yet," Gojyo persisted, grinning widely. /Oh so not yet,/ he thought. He couldn't help but leer at the blonde before him. "But soon. You're corrupted already, so why not go all the way? You can just hang around for a while, althugh... You shouldn't have trouble finding company--" Ruby eyes assessed the glaring man.
The monk froze. The safety of the newspaper was out of his grasp now, and he felt rather like a deer on headlights. But he kept his glare in place. There was no way he would show the kappa how extremely disturbed he was feeling at the moment. Instead he raised an eyebrow coolly. "Hmn..."
Gojyo's eyes brightened, triumph, surprise and glee glittering in them. He'd never thought that Sanzo--/SANZO/, the human ice block, would be so easy to persuade--
"OW!!!" He was on his back on the floor. For the life of him he wondered how paper could hurt harder than a rock. If he got a papercut it wouldn't show, and if he was bleeding, nobody would know, he thought mournfully. "What did you fucking do that for? O~w." He was annoyed at the monk. Very annoyed.
Sanzo was standing, the mighty paper fan in his hands and a violent glare in his purple eyes. Stupid kappa! There was no way he would consider even stepping into an establishment like that. Instead he shrugged to cover the shiver in his spine and turned. "That's for being stupid and bothering other people." That came out harder than his usual annoyed tone. He picked up his newspaper and turned to the window, scowling purple eyes willing Dusk to descend in full force.
Behind him he heard the kappa stand up and collect himself, cursing. Let him be angry. He heard a few steps on the cobbled floor as they dragged toward the door. Good. The idiot was leaving. But not without a fight, he realized, as a very sarcastic voice uncharacterisitic of the kappa even in his fights with Goku surprised him.
"One day you'll realize you're all fucked-up, you corrupted monk, resisting every good thing that comes your way. That's unhealthy. We're all allowed to interact with each other, in case you haven't noticed, your *HIGHNESS*." A pause as nicotine was sucked in. "One day you'll realize it's a little lonely up there, where you are."
Sanzo sighed. The kappa obviously had more than one shot before he'd decided to come in and intrude, he decided. "Whatever, kappa, I don't need your philosoph--"
"Only gods and wild beasts can stand alone forever, Sanzo-*sama*. Which are you?"
That did it. How dare Gojyo compare him to a wild animal?!! That was rather redundant, considering--
Click.
The door had closed on him. The hedonist kappa had closed the door on him. Just as he was about to explode, just as he was about to actually parry that resounding verbal backhand with a jab of his own. Just as he opened his mouth only to have the words halted at the rude substitution of wood for the smoking half-breed.
Well, at least it was quiet again. He could settle down. His eyes scanned the paper once more, refusing to let the earlier incident bother him. The heat of the town still pervaded the night, and he was starting to sweat. Removing his robes and the sutra, he laid them neatly on the spare chair the kappa had just vacated and resumed reading. A crow alighted on the sill beside the chair, and stared at Sanzo with pitless eyes.
//Which are you?//
What a stupid thought. Capable of coming from the moron kappa, naturally. He swatted the thing away with his fan and reopened his paper to read. Or tried to at least, now that he was sufficiently bothered to no end. It seemed the voices in his head insisted on debating the rather uncomfortable matter, when all he would have wanted was to just sit, dammit, and /read/.
Quiet can be such a noise, he realized, and promptly reached for a pack. It annoyed him how they could annoy /him/ even when they weren't actually around.
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Tsuzuku
notes: The quote actually comes as "Whoever delights in solitude is either a wild beast or a god" and I came across it reading some philosophy book in the library. Sounds very Sanzo-ish, so I used it on him. ^^ Comments? I'm at [email protected]
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You and I, we're two of a kind.
I hate to say it but you'll never relate
What makes you tick?
It makes me smile.
~Just Another/ P. Yorn~
-------------------
The day was unusually hot, a humid, dry air enveloping the terrain as far as the eye could see. It seemed it had been like this for the past four days, a blinding heat that hazed up the horizon, making purple eyes blurry with tears. The heavy material of the robes did not help either, and he had pushed them down to his waist in an attempt to free his body from constricting heat.
"When are we gonna GET there?" An exasperated grunt from the backseat.
"Yeah. I'm hu~ngry!!!! Waaah." A petty whine that accompanied it. "Ne, Gojyo, where d'you think the nearest tavern is? And do you think they'll be serving roast beef? Maybe Peking duck..." An audible growling accompanied the shrill voice that ranted.
A thunk, and more whining. "Shut up, saru. Your stomach too. I'll gut you if you make that stupid growling noise again." What sounded like rattling chains emphasized the speaker's point.
"YOU SHUT UP, ERO-KAPPA!!" A loud smack. "That hurt! And it's not my fault I'm hungry, the last time we ate was--"
"All YOU ever think about is food, stupid monkey, where'd you cram your little brai--"
"My brain is NOT little--"
"YAAAROU!!" This had to be the upteenth time he had done it in a day. Standing up despite the rolling jeep, he grabbed his paper fan and soundly smacked the two occupants of the back seat, his other hand reaching for the gun he kept under the folds of his robe by his side, and pointed the glinty snout at the two in general.
"I will fucking blow your brains out, or whatever shit you have inside your head if both of you don't shut up. Now." A headache in a bouncing Jeep on a dusty road on a hot, hot day was a total bitch. Add a whining monkey and an arrogant kappa? He was more than ready to live by his promise.
The two seemed to sense that as well, because the kappa had dropped a meaty fist in mid-strike and the monkey-boy swallowed a retort in his throat.
"Maa, maa, Sanzo, please calm down." Chuckling, the driver beside him tried to placate his flaring temper. "We'll need them both for a fight, remember?" Smiling green eyes looked at the reflection of the two on the rearview mirror. "And both of you should be a little more patient, ne? We're just three hours out of the nearest village northwest of our directio--"
Immediately a cacophony of voices assaulted him. "What do the taverns serve, Hakkai?" "Does it have a local brothel?" "What's the town's specialty dish?" "God they better have girls--"
A threatening click from the gun silenced them again. It seemed as if he would NOT calm down after all. Northwest of their direction, eh? That meant just walking toward the far-off silhouette of hills. A particularly evil thought crossed his head, and he nudged the driver to stop.
"What the hell we stopping fo'?" It was always the kappa with the big mouth. Maybe because he never just stopped and stared and stared like the monkey, but he was noisy that way. Immediately he found himself sprawled on sand, hearing a thunk on the other side of the jeep indicating that the monkey had been kicked off the vehicle as well.
"Drive." Hakkai only blinked up at him once before starting the engine. He settled back to his seat as the jeep rolled forward.
"Hey wait, you corrupted monk!" The kappa scrambled up and chased the vehicle, managing to keep up slightly. "What the fuck do you think you're doing--?!"
"You two. Walk." Purple eyes glared at wide wine-colored ones before smacking him upside the head with the blasted fan. The jeep sped away, sand flying, and it was not an option to stand and fume.
"I'll make it to the jeep faster than you, old man!" Beside him the monkey jeered, and he almost decapitated the sorry thing had he not thought of more important things. Long legs striving to outdo the speed of the younger demon, the kappa ran after the jeep, spewing curses at the back of the blonde head on the front seat.
"That was very mean," admonished Hakkai sternly, although he was rather amused to see the monk beside him actually grin at the foolish sight of the kappa waving his hands in the air and cursing, and the boy-monkey scrambling to keep up in the hot, hot sand.
============
"Hakkai's right, you know. That was a mean thing to do."
He didn't even bother to look up at the figure who entered his room. The article he was reading was much more interesting. He figured it was less a fuss if he just shut up and pretended the other was not around. The night was quiet, was cool, a contrast to the blistering heat of the day. Quiet. That was what he liked most.
The sound of a chair scraping the floor and the shadow of another falling over the table. "You know, you could have just let the monkey off the jeep. He started all the fuss asking about a tavern and food and all the silly shit he confines himself to." A rustling of clothes, shifting of positions as the other figure searched for something in his pockets.
The rustling annoyed him slightly. He guessed his visitor had a couple of drinks before deciding to bother him. Sighing, he reached into his own robes and took out a cylinder. He handed it over without missing a line from the paper he was reading. "Here. And shut up." For the love of all the gods. All he wanted was quiet.
Warm fingers grazed his own slightly as his offering was accepted. "Why Sanzo, I never knew you shared." The click of the lighter, and the comforting smell of tobacco and menthol. The voice. Teasing, a little mocking, somewhat surprised. Well he was obviously flattering himself, that was sure.
"Just get a light and shut up, will you? Better yet, go away." He was grateful though, that it had not been the monkey who had entered. Innocent almost to a fault, the little thing never stopped rambling. At least the kappa had sense. At least the kappa could shut up with a cigarette between his teeth--sort of.
They were quiet for some time. His visitor was enjoying the smoke; he was enjoying his paper. But this time it was rather strange, because he found he could not register what he was reading without the backdrop of someone's voice rambling on him. Uneasy, he began, "Where's Cho anyway?"
"With his dragon. The monkey wanted to teach it new tricks. Couldn't get it into his little one-track brain that a jeep--a fucking JEEP--doesn't need to learn stupid things like fetching sticks and rolling around." Ash flicked on the small tray between them.
He knew that. Hakkai himself told him earlier that evening. He figured the little dragon-jeep needed some time off after that days-long travel. He stayed quiet. Were they getting to him, the stupid kappa and the monkey, that he could not be comfortable without their squabble whenever they were around?
Mental note: After all this was through, he would squester himself up in the mountain retreats and shoot anything coming within ten miles from him.
"I'm waiting for the brothels to open up," the redhaired kappa continued, taking a long drag. "When the sky's completely dark. And I'll have me a nice whore with big tits and a tight fit and I'm gonna see how many times she's gonna call out my name in the dark." He chuckled to himself at the thought, as if planning his activities in advance.
While the lecherous kappa obviously found talking about his activities rather casual, he on the other hand started to feel uncomfortable. It was true he indulged in drinking, smoked uncharacteristically for a monk, wielded and used a gun, and occassionally gambled, but the kappa beat him to the list by one notch.
"The last one in that riverside town--what the hell was the name again?--yeah, that little dump. The last one I took, that girl with the pigtails in the saloon? She had a roommate. Goddamn if it wasn't the most pleasant surprise of the week."
It wasn't the first time Gojyo had regalled them with his exploits. Always he felt rather squeamish. Hakkai would only smile and nod, sometimes in understanding. Cho knew what it was like, he supposed, and could not help but wonder if the generally amicable man thought up the scenes in his head except that the girl would be gentle and brown-haired, his beloved Kana.
Goku simply did not understand such things. Talking of teeth? It would remind him of food. Talking of round, bouncy white things? The boy-monkey would call for dumplings. Talking of bittersweet-tasting fluids as a result of pent up passion--? "You should have put more pepper then," would be the 'wise' counsel. Sometimes it was just hilarious to see how such a dirty comment could be interpreted as something off a cookbook.
Well, /he/ never said anything to those 'dirty comments'. How could he? What would he say? Probably it would only make the kappa amused. 'The damn corrupt monk is a /virgin/?!??!' And the other two would have to cope up with a lot of bloodshed and piecing Gojyo back together. Was it really so bad to be a 'virgin'?
So he shut up whenever this happened, pretending to murmur a daily sutra, or concentrate on the map, or interrupt to point out an important reminder, occassionally using the poor monkey boy as an excuse--bapping the saru on the head with his fan, and while teary golden eyes and a whiny voice would ask, he would just grunt, pressumably pissed at something Goku unconsciously did. Right now, he tried so hard to concentrate on his paper.
"You know what I mean? She was still rather young, that bargirl, but her roomie... not the perfect body in this part of the world, but man--" Even without looking up from his paper Sanzo could see from the corner of his eyes Gojyo groping air, hands in a cupped position and fingers squeezing something imaginary--"like that you know? Oh man. Oh god. Yeah." The kappa closed his eyes and took a drag, didn't see the slight, slight shiver of the priest in front of him at the things he was saying.
How was it like? A curious part of his mind asked. Raised in a monestary he was taught chastity and abstinece, and had grown up with a brotherly, almost protective outlook on women and children in general. He was bothered. And Genjo Sanzo did not like it when he was bothered.
"So go," he said under his breath as he flipped a page.
"Eh? You say something, monk?" He wondered why he almost squirmed when burgundy eyes trailed his direction. Since when did he 'squirm' under anyone's gaze?
"What are you waiting for then? I don't know why you're even wasting your time." Flipped a page again, out of instinct, suddenly uncomfortable. A part of his brain was extremely annoyed at the action.
"Eh? I have a couple of hours yet. The good ones come out after sunset." Gojyo jerked a thumb over at the window, at the purple-hued sky. "I think I'll stay in here for a while." Smoke curled up to the ceiling as the redhead took another long drag. "What will /you/ be doing for the entire evening?"
He made no response. His companion continued, "It's been a long drive since our last stop. Don't tell me you'll just be sitting here all night reading--"
"Enjoying myself, considering that I haven't done it in a long time," he cut in sharply, shaking his head. "With you and the fool monkey creating racket enough to shake the seven heavens, it's a wonder how I can put up with you." He meant it too. 'Quiet' was a music he had not heard for quite some time.
"Enjoying--" the kappa shook his head incredulously, red hair flying. "Reading, cooping yourself up--/Enjoying/?!?" Another shake. "Goku's out raiding the town's pantries. Hakkai's probably going to spend some time at the gambling house swindling the villagers to their last coin. I know where I'll be at, and /you/..."
Suddenly claret eyes gleamed, and the monk had to lift his paper to hide the uncomfortable look that crossed his face.
"Hey, why don't you come with me? We could go out to the brothels together!"
Oh damn shit. That was /all/ he needed right now, thanks very much. He started as a big hand tore the paper from his grasp, and treated Gojyo with a deathly glare. The kappa meanwhile was busy thinking up an agenda. "Your monkly robes have to go though. No way you're gonna go in those 'holy' things. And I know the perfect type for you. Since obviously you won't start things, she's got to be bold, outspoken... maybe a light brunette with dark eyes will do..."
"I don't do that stuff, kappa," he managed an exasperated sigh. He viewed women in general like things to be taken care of, a brotherly kind of affection that was rather scary to equate to anything remotely near what the horny kappa had in mind.
"Not yet," Gojyo persisted, grinning widely. /Oh so not yet,/ he thought. He couldn't help but leer at the blonde before him. "But soon. You're corrupted already, so why not go all the way? You can just hang around for a while, althugh... You shouldn't have trouble finding company--" Ruby eyes assessed the glaring man.
The monk froze. The safety of the newspaper was out of his grasp now, and he felt rather like a deer on headlights. But he kept his glare in place. There was no way he would show the kappa how extremely disturbed he was feeling at the moment. Instead he raised an eyebrow coolly. "Hmn..."
Gojyo's eyes brightened, triumph, surprise and glee glittering in them. He'd never thought that Sanzo--/SANZO/, the human ice block, would be so easy to persuade--
"OW!!!" He was on his back on the floor. For the life of him he wondered how paper could hurt harder than a rock. If he got a papercut it wouldn't show, and if he was bleeding, nobody would know, he thought mournfully. "What did you fucking do that for? O~w." He was annoyed at the monk. Very annoyed.
Sanzo was standing, the mighty paper fan in his hands and a violent glare in his purple eyes. Stupid kappa! There was no way he would consider even stepping into an establishment like that. Instead he shrugged to cover the shiver in his spine and turned. "That's for being stupid and bothering other people." That came out harder than his usual annoyed tone. He picked up his newspaper and turned to the window, scowling purple eyes willing Dusk to descend in full force.
Behind him he heard the kappa stand up and collect himself, cursing. Let him be angry. He heard a few steps on the cobbled floor as they dragged toward the door. Good. The idiot was leaving. But not without a fight, he realized, as a very sarcastic voice uncharacterisitic of the kappa even in his fights with Goku surprised him.
"One day you'll realize you're all fucked-up, you corrupted monk, resisting every good thing that comes your way. That's unhealthy. We're all allowed to interact with each other, in case you haven't noticed, your *HIGHNESS*." A pause as nicotine was sucked in. "One day you'll realize it's a little lonely up there, where you are."
Sanzo sighed. The kappa obviously had more than one shot before he'd decided to come in and intrude, he decided. "Whatever, kappa, I don't need your philosoph--"
"Only gods and wild beasts can stand alone forever, Sanzo-*sama*. Which are you?"
That did it. How dare Gojyo compare him to a wild animal?!! That was rather redundant, considering--
Click.
The door had closed on him. The hedonist kappa had closed the door on him. Just as he was about to explode, just as he was about to actually parry that resounding verbal backhand with a jab of his own. Just as he opened his mouth only to have the words halted at the rude substitution of wood for the smoking half-breed.
Well, at least it was quiet again. He could settle down. His eyes scanned the paper once more, refusing to let the earlier incident bother him. The heat of the town still pervaded the night, and he was starting to sweat. Removing his robes and the sutra, he laid them neatly on the spare chair the kappa had just vacated and resumed reading. A crow alighted on the sill beside the chair, and stared at Sanzo with pitless eyes.
//Which are you?//
What a stupid thought. Capable of coming from the moron kappa, naturally. He swatted the thing away with his fan and reopened his paper to read. Or tried to at least, now that he was sufficiently bothered to no end. It seemed the voices in his head insisted on debating the rather uncomfortable matter, when all he would have wanted was to just sit, dammit, and /read/.
Quiet can be such a noise, he realized, and promptly reached for a pack. It annoyed him how they could annoy /him/ even when they weren't actually around.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tsuzuku
notes: The quote actually comes as "Whoever delights in solitude is either a wild beast or a god" and I came across it reading some philosophy book in the library. Sounds very Sanzo-ish, so I used it on him. ^^ Comments? I'm at [email protected]