Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction / Saiyuki Reload Fan Fiction ❯ Closing Time ❯ Prologue ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Andromache 
Outside the bar, under the half-moon, the foundation is set.
Anime/Manga: Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction / Saiyuki Reload Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.15.2005 | Updated On: 06.16.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.2K | Visits: 889 | Status: Work In Progress
Outside the bar, under the half-moon, the foundation is set.
Anime/Manga: Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction / Saiyuki Reload Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.15.2005 | Updated On: 06.16.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.2K | Visits: 889 | Status: Work In Progress
Gojyo idly tapped the bottom of his bottle of beer on the dust at his feet, creating small, intricate patterns of interlocking rings. Just the sort of project that would keep him numbed while he waited for the alcohol to make him tired enough to pass out in bed. He sat on the edge of the porch behind the no-name inn in yet another no-name town on the way to India and glanced up at the half-moon, saluting it with his cigarette before placing it between his lips and inhaling.
From one half-breed to another.
He grimaced when he looked back down at himself. Picking a thorn out of the cuff of his jeans, Gojyo flung it away. Another swallow of beer and another exhalation of smoke into the night air, and he couldn't quite hold back a faint sigh.
Maybe it was the way that the night seemed to mute the vibrancy of his hair and eyes, but Gojyo felt distinctly less than his usual self. The only pretty girl at the inn was already asleep. The bar was closed, and that meant no gambling or drinking. He could play solitaire, but it didn't excite him as much as smirking over a hand of cards at a fuming mark who couldn't tell when to stop playing cards with the half-breed.
Or maybe it was the introspection forced on him in recent months. He'd gone years without really contemplating his childhood, and then several times already on the road from Chang'an, he'd had to deal with memories thrust at him at the worst possible times. One of the more recent ones had been the curse laid on him by the damned gods under Homura.
If the rumors were true about the three of them having been gods in a former life, he sincerely hoped that his life as a god didn't suck as much as the one he had now.
He was only mildly startled when Hakkai sat down beside him. The other man had an uncanny sense for finding him when he was feeling particularly morose. Just like now, actually. “Hey,” Gojyo mumbled by way of a belated greeting.
“Hey, yourself,” Hakkai returned, resting his arms on his knees. “Why aren't you inside?”
Gojyo lifted the bottle of beer and let it dangle from his fingers. “Last call was twenty minutes ago.”
“Hn.” Hakkai tilted his head, looking at Gojyo intently from behind his monocle. “You wouldn't happen to be brooding, would you?”
“Hell, no,” Gojyo replied, forcing a little cheer into his voice. “What makes you think, of all people, that I'm brooding?”
“The fact that you're outside, drinking alone. You've never struck me as the type to avoid being social when you're drinking,” the demon pointed out, gently touching the cool glass of the bottle in Gojyo's hand.
“A guy doesn't always have to follow a pattern, you know.” Gojyo scowled behind the fall of his hair. He withdrew into himself, curling his long arms around his bent legs.
Hakkai agreed nonchalantly, “Of course, he doesn't. He also doesn't have to worry his traveling companions by disappearing for a few hours either.”
“Yes, Mom,” Gojyo muttered then grimaced. The word came out flat and rang in his head like a discordant note. It just felt disrespectful to use it like that, so casually, so ...in reference to someone other than her. He kept his head turned away from Hakkai only to find that the demon had moved around to the other side.
“Back in Homura's tower, that was the first time you'd even remotely acted against her, wasn't it?” Hakkai asked quietly. “You didn't strike at her to make her stop. You struck at her because you wanted the rest of us to be quiet. Isn't that what you said?”
Gojyo mumbled, uncurling himself and standing up, “I don't want to talk about it.” He stretched and tilted his head back as he finished the last of the beer in the bottle. Setting it down on the ground in front of the porch, the half-demon started to walk away, one hand deep in a pocket of his jacket. The other still held his cigarette which was slowly turning into a thin grey tube of ash. He dropped it to the ground, stamping his out with his foot, and turned around with a bitter smile. “I don't want to think about it. It's killing my buzz.”
“But you need to think about it.” Hakkai drew himself up to his feet. In contrast to Gojyo, he stayed still, cautiously observing his friend. “You were completely paralyzed. You almost let her kill you.”
“I've gotten over that.” Gojyo's mouth tightened. “I think that's over and done with.”
Before he could protest to the contrary, Hakkai paused, and in that pause, he changed tack.
“You have no idea how upset it would have made me if you'd died.” Gauging Gojyo's eyes for any response, Hakkai continued on, “You wouldn't let me die three, almost four years ago. I won't let you die now.” The demon waited, watching Gojyo, who merely turned away and shook his head.
The half-demon turned back, a rueful smile tugging at his mouth. “You won't let me die, huh?”
“I won't.” Hakkai remained solemn. His fingers tightened their grip on the hem of his shirt.
Gojyo bit back a laugh. “I guess that means we're even then.”
Cautiously, Hakkai approached Gojyo, who stood with his arms crossed over his chest. The demon touched his shoulder and murmured, “Not quite even yet. How many times have we saved each other on this little field trip so far?”
Downcast, Gojyo replied, “Fuck if I can remember.” His voice was barely above a whisper.
“Therefore, we shouldn't worry about whether we're even in regards to saving each other's lives,” Hakkai pointed out brightly, moreso than he felt. “We should get to bed and prepare for the day on the road tomorrow. You never know when there might be an attack. You should be well-rested.” He forced himself to smile broadly.
“Yeah...” Gojyo murmured noncommittally, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning towards the inn. “You never know.”
Hakkai stayed behind, observing Gojyo until the half-demon disappeared as he walked into the inn. First, the curse, and then the incident with Kami-sama. Forced cheerfulness was not normal behavior for Gojyo, nor was this brooding which was far more worrisome.
His friend was most certainly hurting. Even a child with poor eyesight like himself could see that. Hakkai started to go back inside the inn himself when he paused to pick up the empty beer bottle. Cleaning up after Gojyo even now. He smiled just a little bit. Taking care of the half-demon was a full time job in and of itself. He would watch for when the cracks would begin to show, and then he would help put Gojyo back together.
Until then, well, he'd simply take care of the man.
From one half-breed to another.
He grimaced when he looked back down at himself. Picking a thorn out of the cuff of his jeans, Gojyo flung it away. Another swallow of beer and another exhalation of smoke into the night air, and he couldn't quite hold back a faint sigh.
Maybe it was the way that the night seemed to mute the vibrancy of his hair and eyes, but Gojyo felt distinctly less than his usual self. The only pretty girl at the inn was already asleep. The bar was closed, and that meant no gambling or drinking. He could play solitaire, but it didn't excite him as much as smirking over a hand of cards at a fuming mark who couldn't tell when to stop playing cards with the half-breed.
Or maybe it was the introspection forced on him in recent months. He'd gone years without really contemplating his childhood, and then several times already on the road from Chang'an, he'd had to deal with memories thrust at him at the worst possible times. One of the more recent ones had been the curse laid on him by the damned gods under Homura.
If the rumors were true about the three of them having been gods in a former life, he sincerely hoped that his life as a god didn't suck as much as the one he had now.
He was only mildly startled when Hakkai sat down beside him. The other man had an uncanny sense for finding him when he was feeling particularly morose. Just like now, actually. “Hey,” Gojyo mumbled by way of a belated greeting.
“Hey, yourself,” Hakkai returned, resting his arms on his knees. “Why aren't you inside?”
Gojyo lifted the bottle of beer and let it dangle from his fingers. “Last call was twenty minutes ago.”
“Hn.” Hakkai tilted his head, looking at Gojyo intently from behind his monocle. “You wouldn't happen to be brooding, would you?”
“Hell, no,” Gojyo replied, forcing a little cheer into his voice. “What makes you think, of all people, that I'm brooding?”
“The fact that you're outside, drinking alone. You've never struck me as the type to avoid being social when you're drinking,” the demon pointed out, gently touching the cool glass of the bottle in Gojyo's hand.
“A guy doesn't always have to follow a pattern, you know.” Gojyo scowled behind the fall of his hair. He withdrew into himself, curling his long arms around his bent legs.
Hakkai agreed nonchalantly, “Of course, he doesn't. He also doesn't have to worry his traveling companions by disappearing for a few hours either.”
“Yes, Mom,” Gojyo muttered then grimaced. The word came out flat and rang in his head like a discordant note. It just felt disrespectful to use it like that, so casually, so ...in reference to someone other than her. He kept his head turned away from Hakkai only to find that the demon had moved around to the other side.
“Back in Homura's tower, that was the first time you'd even remotely acted against her, wasn't it?” Hakkai asked quietly. “You didn't strike at her to make her stop. You struck at her because you wanted the rest of us to be quiet. Isn't that what you said?”
Gojyo mumbled, uncurling himself and standing up, “I don't want to talk about it.” He stretched and tilted his head back as he finished the last of the beer in the bottle. Setting it down on the ground in front of the porch, the half-demon started to walk away, one hand deep in a pocket of his jacket. The other still held his cigarette which was slowly turning into a thin grey tube of ash. He dropped it to the ground, stamping his out with his foot, and turned around with a bitter smile. “I don't want to think about it. It's killing my buzz.”
“But you need to think about it.” Hakkai drew himself up to his feet. In contrast to Gojyo, he stayed still, cautiously observing his friend. “You were completely paralyzed. You almost let her kill you.”
“I've gotten over that.” Gojyo's mouth tightened. “I think that's over and done with.”
Before he could protest to the contrary, Hakkai paused, and in that pause, he changed tack.
“You have no idea how upset it would have made me if you'd died.” Gauging Gojyo's eyes for any response, Hakkai continued on, “You wouldn't let me die three, almost four years ago. I won't let you die now.” The demon waited, watching Gojyo, who merely turned away and shook his head.
The half-demon turned back, a rueful smile tugging at his mouth. “You won't let me die, huh?”
“I won't.” Hakkai remained solemn. His fingers tightened their grip on the hem of his shirt.
Gojyo bit back a laugh. “I guess that means we're even then.”
Cautiously, Hakkai approached Gojyo, who stood with his arms crossed over his chest. The demon touched his shoulder and murmured, “Not quite even yet. How many times have we saved each other on this little field trip so far?”
Downcast, Gojyo replied, “Fuck if I can remember.” His voice was barely above a whisper.
“Therefore, we shouldn't worry about whether we're even in regards to saving each other's lives,” Hakkai pointed out brightly, moreso than he felt. “We should get to bed and prepare for the day on the road tomorrow. You never know when there might be an attack. You should be well-rested.” He forced himself to smile broadly.
“Yeah...” Gojyo murmured noncommittally, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning towards the inn. “You never know.”
Hakkai stayed behind, observing Gojyo until the half-demon disappeared as he walked into the inn. First, the curse, and then the incident with Kami-sama. Forced cheerfulness was not normal behavior for Gojyo, nor was this brooding which was far more worrisome.
His friend was most certainly hurting. Even a child with poor eyesight like himself could see that. Hakkai started to go back inside the inn himself when he paused to pick up the empty beer bottle. Cleaning up after Gojyo even now. He smiled just a little bit. Taking care of the half-demon was a full time job in and of itself. He would watch for when the cracks would begin to show, and then he would help put Gojyo back together.
Until then, well, he'd simply take care of the man.