Index
Chapter 1: Prologue: Pretium peccati mors est
Chapter 2: Socium miserum tenere cosolatio in miseria est
Chapter 3: Dolor Veniam Fert
Chapter 4: Adveniat regnum tuum
Chapter 5: Sed libera nos a malo
Chapter 6: Quoniam tu mecum es
Chapter 7: Animam meam convertit
Chapter 8: Fiat voluntas tua
Chapter 9: Sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris
Chapter 10: Maledicat Dominus
Chapter 11: Et dimitte nobis debita nostra
Chapter 12: Non tiembo mala
Chapter 13: Et nihil mihi deerit
--Prologue: Pretium peccati mors est--
The world is awash in blood and disease. It is a foul existence, a perpetual muck that is staining the formerly pristine surface of a perfect universe. The world was not created to become dirty and disused, like the disgusting little creatures that inhabit this cesspool of a planet.
Humans are a failed experiment, on the whole. They gave up their right to live on this planet when they fell from grace and turned this Paradise into a Hell. Once beautiful and complete beings, now they only live to slaughter and conquer one another. How can a single race claim to be superior to members of the very same race? Funny they claim to be better than the animals they hunt and destroy, when in truth they have become something far, far worse.
Demons wearing human skins walk amongst the population, sowing seeds of dissention and fueling the darkness looming in the very souls of Man. They must be punished, and this world must be cleansed of its collected filth. There will be One who will lead this cleansing, to usher forth a new era of purity and redemption. He will wipe this world clean with His hands and His blood.
He will save us all.
(Translation: The price of sin is death)
--Chapter 1:Socium miserum tenere cosolatio in miseria est --
At first, all he can see is red. Thick, cloying, and so very red. And then, the smell, oh God the smell of it. It is the smell of copper mixed with the sour scent of death, with just enough hint of rot starting to set in. He shakes his head, unable to fathom that the grisly vision before him is real. He is not seeing the strongest person he knows lying in a sea of his own blood, looking like a broken doll that a child had discarded. There is no twisted expression of pain on an otherwise serene face, marring once wise and perfect features.
His hands move of their own accord, brushing lightly over blood-dampened robes gently, as though a mere touch will cause the body to crumble into ash. The sudden feel of foreign blood against his hands makes him sick, biting back bile that is rising in his throat. His eyes blur with tears, the footfalls against stone floors echoing through his ears as they approach. He knows what they will think, what they will say when this is all over with. But, at the moment, all he can do is sit in stunned silence. When they do reach him, at their questioning looks sprinkled with the right amount of accusation and disbelief, only a single sentence falls from his lips.
“I couldn’t save him.”
-----
“Sanzo? Sanzo?” a quiet voice echoed, sounding far away even as it jolted the other from his thoughts. Caught daydreaming with his guard down, formerly dazed blue-violet eyes narrowed into a glare, haloed by a crown of golden hair and accentuating skin the color of fresh milk. “I hate to disturb you, but the Cardinal wishes to see you.”
The blond sighed in agitation, stirring up a cloud of dust as he slammed the ancient book shut. “What does he want now?” he asked dismissively as he slid the volume back in between the others before turning to the other man.
Enigmatic emerald eyes smiled back at him from behind narrow-rimmed glasses, never giving away that the left one wasn’t even real. The eyes danced with humor and amusement, even as the equally pale face remained set in a serious line. “Who knows? I don’t question anymore,” the man answered tiredly, a graceful hand sweeping brunet bangs out of his line of vision. “He only feels it necessary to talk to me when he’s looking for you.”
Even Sanzo snorted at such a seemingly bland statement. “Well, you are my most trusted assistant, Hakkai. Where would I be without you?” His tone was humorless, though the faintest quirk of a smile played on the edge of his mouth.
“Where indeed?” Hakkai replied, mirroring the expression perfectly on his own face. They fell silent after that, each man seemingly lost in their own thoughts as they made their way through the courtyard. Their footfalls brought them to the ancient building looming in front of them, the sound of voices raised in song reverberating from the stone walls of the massive church. Spindly vines of ivy crawled up the sides of the structure, clipped and shaped into a manageable chaos around the brightly colored stained glass windows depicting various stories from the Bible.
As they passed through the oaken archway, Sanzo quelled the slight feeling of guilt that clenched at his gut that he always got when walking into the church. The sight of the looming cross in the worship hall drove that home, the sad face of Jesus a reminder of the sins he had committed, even in the name of the Church itself. He was hardly a devout practitioner of the Catholic faith, since the only reason he had become a priest was to honor the memory of the only person that had meant anything to him. Other than that, the blond found that he had no use for God and his so-called saving grace, the One who had betrayed him when he needed Him the most.
Of course, Hakkai wasn’t much of a holy man either; with a past as torrid and bloody as his, the man was easily marked as the very sort of sinner they condemned to Hell and damnation. The green-eyed man simply used religion as a façade to hide his stained soul behind crisp robes and pristine ideals. How either of them managed to get ordained was a complete mystery.
They were greeted less than warmly by the gaggle of nuns that frequented the main hall, the two of them equally ignoring the women as they made their way past the pews and the nuns cleaning them. The noonday mass was about to be taking place, and both of them were eager to not be anywhere in the vicinity for that. Both Hakkai and Sanzo were used to this sort of behavior from the underlings that scurried about the church, since they were only the doers of the Church’s dirty work anyway.
“They never change. No amount of schooling or religious teachings can change the fact that they are still spoiled little aristocratic girls with nothing but fluff between their ears,” the brunet commented lightly, earning himself a smirk from his companion. While Sanzo was very forward with his dislike for the general populace, Hakkai was much more subtle and polite about it. “But I guess that’s to be expected. They don’t have respect for such soiled goods as we, do they?”
The blond didn’t say anything to that, knowing there was no way he could even begin to refute it. The two of them were simply the Vatican’s errand boys, most often that not handling the Church’s dirty work that no one every spoke of. “Whatever. Let’s go see what he wants now.”
-----
They were led into the Cardinal’s office by a quiet young nun, who simply bowed her head and left them to stand in the middle of the room. The office itself was lavishly decorated with rare art pieces and statues lining the wood-paneled wall. Expensive tapestries were draped this way and that, adding some semblance of color to an otherwise dreary room. An expansive desk made of antique cherry wood sat in the middle-right area, glowing almost ethereally in the fading sunlight streaming in through the nearby window. It made Sanzo sick just looking at it.
“So the two of you are here? How unlike you to be so prompt,” a painfully polite voice called from behind them, drawing their attentions to the doorway they had come through moments earlier. The owner of the voice stood poised there, looking elegant and grand, even if the man himself was anything but. Dressed in fine crimson robes threaded with gold befitting his status, the smug expression and smile seemed out of place. Even his multi-colored eyes were filled with a glint of superiority as he walked gracefully to his desk.
“Cardinal Homura Taisho,” the two lower priests chorused, sounding almost forced and practiced. It was the same dance that the three always found themselves engaged in, never deviating from the routine. Sanzo had to squelch the instantaneous reaction to punch the man squarely right in his unchanging face, even as he dared not meet those unsettling eyes. Sanzo’s mentor had told him an accident had rendered his superior with the two-toned eyes, one the color of polished topaz and the other a drowning azure. Despite that, it was what he saw in those depths that unnerved him, even if he didn’t make an outward show of it.
The man called Homura seated himself behind the desk, making a show of settling down in the lush chair. “I suppose you’re wondering why I summoned you here so soon after your last mission,” he started in his usual tone, still polite with just the faintest hint of scorn to sour his words.
Again, neither man took the bait and simply nodded, keeping their heads bowed in mock reverence. “You know we are always humbly at your service, Your Eminence,” Hakkai intoned courteously, speaking for himself and his companion since he didn’t trust what the other might say. Just like with the peons, the blond had no qualms about being outward with his dislike of their superior, much to the brunet’s chagrin.
Homura smiled widely, if it were possible without distorting the expression on his face. “Good, good. There’s something that I need you to do that is very important, and you must not tell anyone of what I am about to tell you. Do you understand?” he asked, face turning grave in a matter of seconds. At their nods, he asked bluntly, “Tell me, have either of you ever heard of something called the Stigmata?”
The two men reacted to the word so solemnly spoken with Hakkai’s breath catching in his chest and Sanzo narrowing his eyes skeptically. “Yeah, it’s when someone, normally devoutly religious, begins to suffer from the wounds of Christ,” Sanzo answered in a bored tone, sounding less and less convinced as the words trailed from his lips. He had heard of the strange occurrence before, but his lack of faith prevented him from seeing any real truth behind it.
A solemn nod was their reply, elaborated on with, “Yes, exactly. There has been a reporting of someone who is suspected of having the Stigmata. I need to two of you to go and investigate it.” There was an undercurrent of finality in his voice, and the look in his eyes transformed into something dark. With a single look, both men silently agreed that there was more to this than the man was letting on.
“But isn’t the Stigmata rare? Isn’t it something the Church usually dismisses as heresy?” Hakkai questioned, starting when his superior’s eyes were trained on him with a fair amount of annoyance.
“That’s why I want you to investigate it. We cannot make a formal decision until the matter has been thoroughly investigated by a member of the Church,” Homura explained, letting out an irritated huff, as though he were speaking to unruly children instead of two grown men. “If it turns out to be a hoax, then you will return with nothing more than a report. However, if it is a real case of the Stigmata, you will bring them back here for further interview.”
Something about this whole conversation set Sanzo’s teeth on edge and a quick glance to his partner told him that Hakkai was feeling much the same way. The blond had noticed that Homura hadn’t elaborated on the need for secrecy. “Why us? Shouldn’t you contact the Vatican and send someone from the real investigative department with more knowledge about it?” he queried snappishly, even as he tried to make it sound more like an offhand comment.
Homura’s expression broke into another curving grin, eyes glinting wolfishly. “And shouldn’t you know better than to question the orders of your superior?” the ebony-haired man replied simply, the contempt echoing through such seemingly bland words. “What would the late Cardinal Koumyou say if he knew you were being so obstinate?”
Sanzo’s eyes widened for a split second, before narrowing into dangerous slits once again. Clenching his fist and biting his tongue, he looked away from the man in silent deference. How dare he bring Koumyou into this? He knew the man was just pressing his nerves, practically begging him to lose control. Homura made it no secret that he thought the two of them were expendable, no matter how skilled and useful they were. A hindrance was a hindrance, after all. “My apologies, Your Eminence,” the blonde grit out after a moment, feeling the sting of his nails digging into the flesh of his palm.
“Good. You leave first thing in the morning. Accommodations have already been prepared for you upon arrival. Remember, this is very, very important. You are dismissed.”
(Translation: It is a consolation in misery to have a fellow sufferer)
--Chapter 2: Dolor Veniam Fert--
“Who does that fucking prick think he is, anyway? Did you hear him? Fuck, I just want to slam my fist into his smug ass face!” Sanzo growled vocally, shoving articles of clothing and other necessities into his suitcase. Compared to Hakkai’s carefully packed one, Sanzo’s resembled a disheveled mess, and the mere sight of it made the brunet wince.
“Not while we’re in the church, Sanzo. If you feel it necessary to continue yelling curses like that, please keep it to a normal decibel level,” Hakkai admonished, letting out a heavy sigh as the blond continued swearing a blue streak. “And that ‘prick’ as you call him happens to be your superior, whether you like it or not. We have to go where he sends us. Try to think of this as a quasi-vacation!”
His sunny tone only earned him a dark look from Sanzo, who looked less than pleased with the green-eyed man’s choice of words. If it were possible, the blond frowned harder as he fought to close his overstuffed suitcase. “Whatever. Let’s go get this fucking mission over with.”
-----
“Goku, it’s time for your medication,” a sweet-voiced woman called, smiling sadly at the prostrate figure perched in the window sill. Encompassing eyes the color of well-polished amber turned in her direction, partially covered by messy russet bangs that hung carelessly against a tawny forehead. They regarded the owner of the voice with a silent nod of assent, the thin body springing from its resting place and the boyish face offering a bit of a smile as she turned to lead him out the door.
It always hurt Aria’s heart to see the normally spirited boy in such a mood, but she knew that there wasn’t anything she or any of the other nurses could do about it. She brushed a ebony lock of hair behind her ear, accompanying deep sloe eyes filled with sympathy for the boy trailing behind her. She knew his wrists were probably aching with the change in the weather, the rain a continual downpour that dampened the spirits of all who resided at the Home. “It’s probably time to change those bandages, isn’t it?”
Another silent nod of assent and Aria found herself missing the usual boisterous voice that always poured out of the small boy. Goku was by no means young, being nineteen, but because of his ‘condition’ his growth had been stunted to a near standstill. It was as if he was caught eternally in gangly adolescence. “My feet are hurting too…but I think it’s just the rain and the cold,” she heard him say somberly.
“Well, let’s just go and change those bandages, shall we?” she answered, leading him into what appeared to be an examination room. The walls were a stark, sterile white that glinted harshly in the bright lighting from the bulbs overhead. She noticed her companion tense a bit, and she couldn’t fault him one bit for it. Motioning for him to hop up onto the metal table, she quickly examined the stained bandages that were wrapped tightly around his wrists and feet. The bandages had become a constant, so much that Goku didn’t even flinch anymore when she unwrapped them, careful as she was. She was the only one that the brunet allowed to touch his wounds, eyes filled with trust and appreciation for her reaction.
Aria always tried not to flinch at the sight of the wounds, a direct puncture through each wrist and through the flesh of his feet. It defied all thought and medical science, how they continued to bleed constantly and always reopened despite the sutures performed to keep them closed. Because they couldn’t define it, Goku was branded a hemophiliac and a danger to himself, since the doctors chalked it up to self-mutilation. She doubted that it was either of these things, but kept her mouth closed. “Has the bleeding slowed any?” she asked seriously, cleaning the flesh as best she could. The strangest thing was that the flesh never smelled rotten or decaying, but rather fragrant, like roses or something equally perfumed.
Goku shrugged, fighting a wince as the alcohol touched the open wounds. “I guess. I’ve gotten so used to it now, I don’t even think about it. At least until dumb ass Gojyo steps on my foot like he did this morning,” he grumbled good-naturedly, earning himself a soft smile as a reward. He knew his melancholy always affected those closest to him, which made his mood dip even lower. Aria was one of the few people who didn’t cower away or look at him in disgust, so he always did what he could to make her happy.
“Almost finished. Should I go give Gojyo another shot in return?” she teased, delighting in the flashing grin that responded to her words. Of course, she wouldn’t actually go and give the redheaded pain in the rear a shot for his teasing, but it always amused Goku to think she would.
“Right in his ass. Give him a taste of his own medicine,” he supplied, noticing she was finished wrapping the wounds and moving about as if to test them. Satisfied, he hopped down off the table and held out his hand in expectation. He knew what was coming next; the god awful pill that made his head feel heavy and fuzzy. He wasn’t crazy, and they both knew it.
As if on cue, she handed him the pill and turned around, smiling a little when she heard the small sound of the pill hitting plastic. She could have said something, but didn’t. What the doctors didn’t know didn’t hurt them. “I think Gojyo’s waiting in the playroom for you. Let me know when you need those bandages changed again, okay?” she offered, planting a delicate kiss on his forehead as she shooed him off in the opposite direction. When he was out of earshot, she sighed audibly, flopping down in the chair and holding her head in hands. For all the strength she showed in front of Goku, she couldn’t help but break down in tears when she was alone. Her heart bled for him, knowing that there wasn’t anything she could do to help him. Instead, she put her faith in God and hoped that she made the right decision.
-----
Gojyo leaned farther out the open window, blowing a steady stream of smoke from his latest drag out into the wet air. He watched it curl and dissipate, disinterestedly throwing the half-finished cancer stick outside and turning around with a sigh. The visit hadn’t gone well; his stepmother was her usual bitchy self and his brother had just sat there silently, allowing her to take potshots at him. The man’s eyes had told numerous apologies, but Gojyo would have none of it.
“You’re nothing more than a filthy, half-breed abomination to God! Your immoral bitch of a mother tempting your father like that! Disgusting! You’re taking after her, I know it!” Gojyo remembered, barely listening as his eyes remained trained on some indefinable spot behind her head. The subject of his birth and mixed heritage was always touchy, so naturally the crazed woman felt it necessary to bring it up every time she saw him.
“Gojyo…hey, Gojyo, are you-ACK!” was the only warning he got as a body pummeled into him, nearly knocking him out of the window. Scarlet eyes the color of fresh blood widened comically, equally vermillion locks growing damp with their sudden exposure to the elements. He felt spindly arms wrap tightly around his waist, preventing him from falling and keeping the other body upright in the process. He turned, fully prepared to tongue lash the person he knew was behind him, until sorrowful eyes met his own. “I-I’m sorry. I tripped,” Goku mumbled, looking away and wringing his hands together. The boy had lost his balance again, a side effect of the wounds on his feet. It was hard to keep one’s balance with a wound clear through the arch of one’s foot.
“It’s okay. Don’t get all upset about it,” the redhead offered, twining tanned fingers into brunet locks as a brotherly show of affection. A sniffle was his reply, sighing once before pulling the boy into a tight headlock. “C’mon, only pansies cry like that. Are you a pansy?”
The boy struggled whole-heartedly against the hold, muttering responses into Gojyo’s side. The redhead triumphed, keeping the smaller body steady against him as he mocked, “Stupid monkey, you should know-YEOWCH!” His words were interrupted when sharp teeth dug into his side, instantly releasing the other man. “What the hell?!”
Goku smiled innocently, offering a shrug of his shoulders as he took a seat at the table in the center of the room. “Don’t know what you’re talking about, Gojyo. I didn’t see a thing.”
Gojyo growled under his breath, setting about a fit of coughing that he covered with his hand. Cool, rough hands and that strange perfumed smell that always followed the brunet assaulted his senses, calming him despite the cloying thickness of it. His hand came back red, knowing the boy saw it before he had a chance to wipe it off. “Gojyo! You’ve been smoking again, haven’t you? Didn’t the doctor tell you can’t smoke?” Goku scolded gently, helping his still wheezing friend to a chair. A glass of water appeared, followed by a familiar smiling face.
“Goku’s right. Am I going to have to do another room search, Gojyo?” Aria asked sweetly, though there was enough of a scolding tone of her own underneath the innocent sounding words. “I know your brother feels it necessary to bring those things to you, but it’ll only aggravate your condition.”
The redhead grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, but rightfully handed her the still full pack of cigarettes without complaint. His lungs burned from the smoke he had inhaled, now regretting smoking one in the first place. He knew good and well he wasn’t supposed to be smoking, but at the same time, he didn’t really care. Pulmonary edema is what they called it, but all it meant that his body was trying to drown him in his own fluids. “Sorry I let you down again,” he muttered, earning himself a smack in the back of the head.
“Stupid. You didn’t let me down again…just stop doing it in the first place!” Goku continued to scold, but he knew the words had would have the proper effect on his companion. He felt a certain envy that Gojyo had visitors at all, albeit not the best of visitors, but visitors nonetheless. Goku was parentless, found wandering around hungry and amnesiac, unable to remember where he had come from or anything else. Gojyo and Aria were all he had, a semblance of the older brother and mother that he never had.
Gojyo smiled weakly at his words, taking the opportunity to ruffle the boy’s hair just a bit. He tried to forget about the unpleasant visit, forcing it out of his mind as he and Goku began to tussle playfully, under Aria’s watchful eyes. Even trapped in this hell of a hospital, he felt more at home than he ever did under his stepmother’s roof.
(Translation: Pain brings absolution)
--Chapter 3: Adveniat regnum tuum--
The sky was clouded over, a mix of the weather and the smog that was blanketing the equally dingy station. Luckily, it wasn’t raining, merely an overcast day and for that Sanzo was thankful. That was the last thing he needed on this already troublesome assignment. “So, where exactly is this village we’re supposed to be going to?” he asked his companion, peeking open an eye to see the man poring over what appeared to be a tour book. He sighed audibly, rolling his eyes as he propped his chin against his cupped palm.
“It’s off the coast…it appears to be some sort of small fishing village. Very small, according to this book,” Hakkai informed him, thoroughly absorbed in the text. It wasn’t an unusual sight to see the green-eyed man with a book in his hand, but this was pushing it a bit too far, in the blond’s opinion. But then again, Hakkai did often act as the church’s resident librarian, when he wasn’t preoccupied with missions and such.
“Might I ask where you got that book? How in the fuck did you manage to get a book on sightseeing so quickly?” the blond asked, masking his curiosity with irritation. He lit a cigarette, relishing in the instant calming effect that the nicotine had on his nerves as he let it out in a steady stream. Private berths were a godsend, he decided.
At first, the green-eyed man didn’t answer him, eyes still lost somewhere on a random page as his lips moved to form the unspoken words. A less than gentle nudge in his ribs roused his attention, offering his equally irritable companion a deep frown. “I had it from when I first came to the Church. You honestly think that I would move somewhere and not have any information about it and the surrounding area? I thought you knew me better than that,” he replied, his voice tapering off into amusement towards the end of his reply. That earned him a snort, bringing a smile to his face as he went back to his book.
The blond turned back to the window, using his sleeve to wipe off some of the grime so he could see the countryside rolling by. Something about the sight made him sad, though he wouldn’t dare admit that aloud. He was used to heading off to unfamiliar places, but there was still that nagging voice in the back of his head about this whole mission. The lack of details and instructions, as well as only being given the name of the local church in the village, The Church of Infinite Mercy. Apparently he was supposed to meet with the priest there, who would then give him the necessary details. It still wasn’t making any sense in his mind. “So…what do you think about this?” he asked, feeling the sudden need for conversation. The idea of watching the sprawling landscape suddenly bored him.
“Think about what, Sanzo?” the other man asked confusedly, blinking above the book as though phasing back into this reality. Another bad habit that Hakkai often had, getting involved in something so thoroughly that nothing short of a solid shove could bring his attention back. After a moment, when the blond didn’t elaborate, he seemed to digest the still unanswered question. “Well, it is strange. Homura never sends us on missions without a full briefing, knowing how much trouble all of us could get into with the Vatican,” he offered with an elegant shrug of his shoulders.
“That’s the part I don’t like. He’s never vague like this. It pisses me off,” Sanzo answered, taking another long drag on his cigarette that he had forgotten about.
“And has you worried,” Hakkai finished, smiling a bit despite the very poisonous glare that he received for his addition. “Don’t worry about it. I’m worried too. I especially don’t approve of the vagueness of what will happen to this individual if they do indeed have the Stigmata. I sense there is an ulterior motive.”
Sanzo couldn’t dispute that, giving a nod as his reply. He let the subject drop then, allowing the green-eyed man to return to his book as he returned to staring out the window. This was going to be an interesting few weeks, he could tell already.
-----
A loud train whistle caused the blond to start violently, making him aware that he had been sleeping. “Shut up already!” he called out rather audibly, swatting at some invisible pest near his ear. At the brunet‘s questioning look, the blond cleared his throat and shot him a look that very clearly stated to simply let the subject drop. “Where are we?” the blond asked, feeling stupid for having to do so as he wiped the remnants of sleep from his eyes. He should have been more alert and more aware, but the rest was needed and well-deserved. Of course, it would have been more restful if he hadn’t heard the sound of that damned voice calling him in his dreams. It was soft and mournful…and probably just his imagination.
Hakkai dipped lower to look out the window, noticing the bustling station and catching the sight of a young nun waiting on the platform. “It would appear that we have reached our destination,” he replied simply, getting to his feet and allowing himself a stretch. Sanzo followed his lead, and soon the both of them were grabbing their luggage to exit the train.
Once outside, Sanzo immediately noticed the change in the air; instead of thick and smoggy, the air here was brisk and clear. A calm breeze swirled around them, punctuated by the fading sunlight as it dipped below the horizon in a myriad of oranges and crimsons. The blond listened as his companion drew in a deep lungful of clean air, equally glad that he could no longer taste the soot and ash of the city in his mouth.
“You must be Father Hakkai and Father Sanzo! Hello! Over here!” an energetic voice called, accompanied by an equally enthusiastic hand waving for their attention. The same young nun that Hakkai had noticed standing on the platform wove through the crowd, smiling brightly. Bright sunset hair peeked out from under the nun habit, shimmering, childishly wide verdant eyes that were filled with awe and respect accenting the brilliant smile on her face. “It’s nice to meet you both.” She held out a slender tanned hand in a greeting.
Hakkai took the offered hand first and replied politely, “Indeed we are. It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Miss-?”
“You can call me Sister Lirin. My older brother is the priest at the church, where I’m supposed to take you. Unfortunately, we’ll have to walk because there aren’t very many cars or taxis around here,” she said hurriedly, grabbing for Sanzo’s hand when the green-eyed man let go. The blond flinched and tried to move away from the touch less than subtly.
“Don’t touch me. I don’t know you,” he griped, wiping his hand on his robes. He hated being touched, especially by strangers. This little girl was no different. “Just bring us to the Church. We have other business here besides making friends.”
Lirin looked hurt for a moment, the expression flashing momentarily through her eyes before she masked it with a smile. “O-Of course. Forgive me, Father. It’s just this way,” she offered, looking away from the blond as she led the way through the crowd.
The village itself was bustling with activity, much like the train station had been. For such a small place, the vast amount of people who were moving about the on the street was mind-boggling. Everywhere there were people buying and selling things, people talking in hurried voices spiced with a dialect that neither man was familiar with. “What strange speech…I don’t know if I have heard it before,” Hakkai commented, thoroughly fascinated. He was also from a small village where such a phenomenon was prominent, though living the Capital had watered down his own accent.
“It’s rougher than most. Must be due to the fishing industry,” Sanzo answered disinterestedly, again rolling his eyes at the typical Hakkai behavior. As long as he had known the man, it never ceased to amaze him how he so often reverted back to his old, bookish tendencies.
Lirin only shrugged, occasionally nodding to and greeting people that they encountered. Despite seeming in a hurry, the people were generally rather friendly and polite. ‘Must be the small town influence,’ Sanzo thought to himself, looking up to see the moon beginning to blossom in the sky, dots of stars beginning to shine through the still vividly-hued sky.
Hakkai smiled warmly, his eyes distant. This village, with all its bustle and liveliness, reminded him easily of his own village in the mountains where he had grown up. ‘What you would think of a village like this, my love? Would you be pleased?’ he thought to himself, a ghost pain rippling through the scar that cut clear across his abdomen. He had to stave off the flood of memories that threatened to drown him. Only the quick hand and a stoic expression managed to snap him from it before the young girl noticed. “So…I’m sure you know why we’re here,” he queried, his voice slightly shaky as he regained his composure.
A shadow passed through those green eyes, coloring them a dark jade as the smile fell away from her face. “Of course. I was there when the phone call was made,” was all she said in reply to the question, turning back around. They were well out of the village now, heading up what appeared to the coastline. In the distance, the outline of a building began to take shape as they neared it, tiny pinpricks that had to be candlelight flickering in the windows. “There’s the church. If you have any questions, you can ask my older brother, Father Kougaiji.”
The two men met glances, a silent conversation and understanding passed between the two of them at her words. Neither one said anything for the rest of the walk, choosing instead to ponder their own thoughts alone in silence.
-----
The Church of Infinite Mercy itself was nothing spectacular, unlike the Sanctity of Innocent Heart where Sanzo and Hakkai served as priests. In comparison, this building was plain and simple-looking, exactly how one would expect a small-town church to look. There were a multitude of children playing in the yard, giggling and squealing as they chased one another. The sight made Hakkai’s heart ache, reminiscing about the students that he taught all those years ago.
“Sister Lirin? Is that you?” a woman called from the steps, clutching a squirming child in her arms before letting the small boy down to play with the others. Her violet eyes widened in surprise at the appearance of guests, long lavender tresses falling against a pale face that smiled warmly at them. Slender hands rested on a swollen belly, clad in a simple white shift with a gray overdress and a starched apron adorning her front.
“Yes, Yaone. It’s me. Kou told me to go fetch Father Sanzo and Father Hakkai from their train,” she replied, bowing respectfully to the woman. When she was close enough, she rested her hand on the woman’s belly and smiled. “How are you doing? No baby today, huh?”
Yaone smiled hopefully, patting her own stomach fondly. “No, not today. The Lord decided it wasn’t time yet,” she spoke softly, lifting her head to regard the two men. “You must be tired. It’s an honor to meet both of you. I am Yaone, Father Kougaiji’s wife,” she posed pleasantly, bowing as much as her condition would allow.
“Likewise, Mrs. Yaone. I am Father Hakkai, and this is Father Sanzo. Thank you for allowing us to stay with you for the time being,” the green-eyed man offered in turn, bowing as well. When he noticed that the blond was still standing, he elbowed him hard in the side as a clear warning.
Of course, the blond glared hard at him, keeping his arms folded across his chest in blatant disregard for his companion’s ‘request’. “Likewise. Now, we need to speak with your husband,” he said after a moment, nearly choking on the word. It was a well-known fact that Catholic priests were forbidden to marry, wondering quietly to himself how they managed to get around a rule that the Church was so strict about. He posed the question to his companion in a whisper, curious to see what the other man would say.
“It is a strange thing. There have been men who received special permission from the Vatican to marry, and perhaps he is one of them,” Hakkai responded, his tone sounding unsure. “Of course, it could also be that, being a leader of such a small church, it never really caught any attention.”
“Are you two going to stand out there all night? C’mon!” Lirin called teasingly, following the pregnant woman inside the building, as well as the rush of children that followed behind them. Again, Hakkai was reminded strongly of times in the past, a glimpse of someone else flashing through his mind as he watched Yaone. “The Church acts as an orphanage as well,” Lirin informed them, a masked apology for the children that were darting around them like miniature hurricanes.
Suddenly, two more voices could be heard in the room they were walking into, clearly involved in a heated argument. “Doku, I told you before, you can’t bring her there when he’s still weak! She only manages to upset his condition even more. I know you mean well, but you have to understand. If you want to see him, you need to leave her at home,” one said, words accompanied by a sigh. He turned when he saw them enter, his face serious and determined.
The other man turned as well, chocolate eyes saddened as a large hand combed through equally dark locks of hair that stood perpetually on end. “You’re right, Kou. I know you are. I thought…I don’t know what I thought. Thanks again,” the man said mournfully, offering a hint of a smile as he turned to leave the way that they had just entered. “Let me know when that baby finally gets here.”
“Of course,” the other man intoned, smiling a bit as his wife and sister made their way into what appeared to be a large dining area before turning to his two guests. His indigo eyes were intense and questioning, his terse appearance more evident by the long garnet hair that was tied into a severe ponytail down his back. “You must be the two priests that the Vatican sent in regards to Aria Shizuka’s request,” he regarded, his tone holding a clear undercurrent of disdain.
Just what Sanzo needed, a priest who was afraid that his territory was being threatened. “Yes, that would be us. I am Father Genjyo Sanzo, and this is my assistant Father Cho Hakkai,” the blond replied just as disdainfully, making clear his lack of enthusiasm. “And you must be the head priest, Father Kougaiji, that His Eminence Cardinal Homura Taisho told us about.”
At the mention of their superior’s name, an obvious twitch formed near Kougaiji’s left eye. “Yes. Of course. Well, it is much to late for me to introduce you to the patient in question, so I would suggest you retire for the night and I will escort you to the hospital in the morning,” Kougaiji stated flatly, more command than a suggestion. His already slanted eyes narrowed further, giving the distinct impression that he was not happy with their staying in his church. “I will have Lirin bring food up for you later…the children can get quite noisy and rambunctious.”
Both men nodded in reply, listening as the other man summoned another nun to take them to their rooms. They weren’t at all hard to find, and neither man spoke on the way there. “Each room has its own bathroom to maintain privacy,” the nun informed them sweetly, using her hand as a guide when they finally reached the offered rooms. They were across the hall from one another, mostly out of convenience. The nun bowed respectfully, leaving them to their own devices.
It was then that they spoke, with Hakkai breaking the silence first. “This is certainly an interesting place…and what do you think of that Kougaiji character? Everyone else seems to be nice enough,” he asked interestedly, removing his glasses and tucking them into their case from the luggage that had been brought up already.
“I don’t know, and I don’t care. Right now, I just want to get some sleep. I’ll deal with this shit in the morning,” Sanzo growled tiredly, scrubbing his eye with the heel of his palm. He suppressed a yawn, not even giving the other a chance to answer before entering his room and slamming the door.
Hakkai sighed audibly, closing his own door. “Of course, Sanzo. Good night.”
(Translation: Thy kingdom come)
--Chapter 4: Sed libera nos a malo--
“Kanan! I’m home!” his voice calls out jovially, laying his briefcase and keys on the table. It isn’t even a second later that an acrid smell assaults his senses; the stench of blood and semen is so thick it makes his head spin. Bile burns in the back of his throat as he tears through the house, horrified to find it in an upheaval…and no Kanan.
Everywhere there is blood and upturned furniture, indicating a struggle of some kind. Brilliant red footprints lead him straight to their bedroom, tapering off into a bloody mess that used to be the bed they shared. There, wrapped in the cotton sheets were they had made love countless times, is the broken body of his lover.
“Kanan! Baby, please…speak to me!” he calls out, his breath choking him as it mixes with the tears that are streaming down his face. To his relief, she lifts her head to the best of her ability, offering a semblance of a smile.
“Gonou…please…just go…get out before…” she replies brokenly, her eyes serious despite the blood dotting the corner of her bruised mouth. Then, her expression turns to one of utter horror as a whimper escapes from deep within her chest.
He turns just in time to feel something smash against his face, and everything goes frighteningly black.
-----
Hakkai shot up in his bed, sweat dripping down his clammy face as he struggled to catch his breath. Pain rippled through his stomach, accompanying the stab of the memories that were threatening to consume him. He hadn’t dreamed about that in years, so why was he suddenly dreaming about it now?
Getting up from his bed, knowing that he wouldn’t be going back to sleep anytime soon, he decided to take a walk around the churchyard to calm his racing heart. The night was peaceably warm, a clear sky with a near full moon riding high amongst the inky backdrop. Just breathing in the night air was beginning to calm his nerves.
“Couldn’t sleep either, eh?” a voice called from the dark, startling the green-eyed man into stumbling as he made his way down the steps into the small garden. He focused his attention, noticing the blond seated on a wooden bench beneath what appeared to be one of many willow trees. His companion was smirking in clear amusement at his reaction, smoke curling around him in the moonlight.
“J-Just nightmares, is all. I think this place reminds me of…things I would much rather leave in the past,” Hakkai answered honestly, taking a seat beside the other man, despite the look he received for his trouble. He pointedly ignored it, choosing instead to lean back and rub the heel of each hand into an eye. “What in the world are you doing out of bed this late? I thought that you were tired.” The subtle jab was masked with his usual smile, earning him a derisive snort.
Sanzo looked off into the night at first, as though he forgot completely that he wasn’t alone, taking another drag of his cigarette to further his pondering. “I…there was a voice. I kept hearing someone fucking calling me, asking me for…something. It’s the second time I’ve heard it since we got here, and I’m starting to think I’m losing my mind,” he grumbled after a moment, releasing the stream of smoke that he had been holding in his lungs as he spoke. “Can’t very well sleep when someone is making all that goddamn racket.”
The brunet laughed despite himself, running a hand through his hair. “No, I don’t suppose you could. I remember you remarking that Master Koumyou said something similar a long time ago, didn’t he?” he inquired very, very carefully, knowing that it was still a sore subject with the blond, even after all these years. Sanzo spoke so highly of the man that he admired, when he did speak of him at all, that Hakkai often felt it was a shame that he never got to meet him.
“Yeah…that’s why I’m worried. Crazy old coot and his senseless ramblings,” the blond replied affectionately, tensing when he realized that he let his guard slip so carelessly. He stubbed out his cigarette on the armrest of the bench almost viciously, eyes turbulent as he turned to his assistant. “Forget I said anything. It doesn’t matter. Whatever that noise is, I’ll find the source and shut it up once and for all. Problem solved,” he snapped dismissively. He started to get up, but a still too-clammy hand brushed his arm and gave him pause.
“You know, I don’t think any less of you for it,” was all the usually eloquent man said in reply, getting to his feet as well and folding his arms behind his back as he walked back the way he came. “Good night, Sanzo.”
This time, it was the blond’s to be left standing there with nothing to say.
-----
Sanzo was going to shoot something before this little trip was up, he was sure of it. The morning had been chaotic to say the least, unpleasantly awakened from already uneasy slumber by a very loud and exuberant child insisting that he come down for breakfast. Once he had successfully managed to chase the brat away, another quickly took her place and began to ask all sorts of annoying questions about why he was wearing that, and why his eyes were such a funny color, and if he dyed his hair or not. Unfortunately, this little boy was not as easily deterred, following him down the hall as he met up with his companion.
Naturally, the brunet was vastly amused by the sight of a reluctant Sanzo’s little shadow, and the glare he received for his muffled snickers merely made it worse. “Well, this should be a very interesting couple of weeks, wouldn’t you say?” he teased the other man, shaking his head when the blond’s glare grew even more poisonous.
“Whatever,” he deadpanned, adjusting his cassock once before heading into the dining room, his eyes nearly falling out of his head in shock and thinly veiled disgust. It was an utter madhouse, to say the very least. Children were talking over the top of one another, all trying to catch the attention of a very frazzled Yaone, who smiled sweetly despite it. And when a younger nun walked in with the food, grabby little hands began attacking it almost immediately. For Sanzo, who was so unused to the uproar of excited little ones, the sight turned his stomach and made him lose his appetite.
Hakkai, on the other hand, took a seat amongst them as though he belonged in the small chairs. He listened as they chattered to him, a true smile blossoming on his face as he helped serve their plates. For a moment, it was almost as if the quiet, still-healing man he had brought back with him was a completely different person.
Yaone looked mildly surprised, smiling all over again as she took a seat and began to eat breakfast as well. “Thank you…mealtimes can be quite hectic sometimes,” she said pleasantly, regarding the man with the utmost politeness and sincerity in her soft way.
“It’s no problem. I used to be a kindergarten teacher before I became a priest,” he replied, his eyes darkening a bit at the slight memory. Instinctively, she knew that it wasn’t a subject that she should pursue further. Instead she smiled, resting her hand atop his for a second out of comfort.
Three more figures entered the room as well, with Lirin immediately jumping into the fray and giving the children a good run for their money when it came to packing the food away. Kougaiji entered behind her, regarding the two other priests with only the barest nod of his head as he kissed his wife warmly on the cheek. He patted a couple of the small heads that swarmed around him, his face sober even as his eyes softened.
The last to enter was the man from the night before, whom neither Sanzo nor Hakkai had been introduced. He turned when he noticed both of them studying him so carefully, raising an eyebrow. “Yes?” he asked irritably, not sure he liked the way they were scrutinizing him.
“Oh, forgive me. Where are my manners this morning? I don’t believe we were introduced,” Hakkai offered courteously, pleased when the other man took it and shook it heartily. “I am Father Hakkai, and this is Father Sanzo. We’re the emissaries from the Sanctity of Innocent Heart.” He knew his blond companion wasn’t going to make a proper introduction, so he took the liberty of doing it for him.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Sha Jien, but every one calls me Dokugakuji…or Doku for short. Don’t ask, please,” he replied with a chuckle, offering a smile to the rather sullen blond in the corner. When he got no reply, he simply shrugged and nodded once to Kougaiji. “Better get going…Mom will be wondering where I’ve gone off to. Give Aria my best, and…” his voice trailed off, as though it caught in his throat on the way out. The redhead nodded as though he understood, and that was all that was needed.
"Are you ready? Let’s get going,” Kougaiji asked briskly, kissing his wife once more and ruffling his sibling’s habit, setting it a bit off-kilter. He stood to his full height, his face set in a terse expression.
Both priests shared a look, each nodding once before joining him on the way out the door.
-----
“Goku, dear, would you please stop fidgeting? What has gotten into you this morning?” Aria asked as she set down the basket of freshly laundered clothing and sheets, inwardly relieved to see that the boy’s melancholy had dissipated. Instead, he was his usual energetic self, except that he was pacing and looking out the window as though he was expecting someone.
“I don’t know…but I get the feeling that something’s going to happen today. My wrists aren’t hurting today, so I think it’s a good sign,” he replied happily, eyes wide and sparkling with more life than she had seen in them in a while. It seemed that even his wounds were manageable, his bandages not nearly as stained as they usually were. “Is breakfast ready? I’m hungry!”
Aria smiled widely, running her hands affectionately through the unruly brunet locks in an useless effort to tame them a bit. “Yes, and I believe Gojyo’s waiting for you in the playroom. I took the liberty of serving you there,” she answered, feeling as though she were absorbing the boy’s mass amount of energy. She followed him to the best of her abilities, watching as Goku tackled the redhead from behind with a squeal of joy.
Said redhead retaliated with a triumphant yell when he pinned the other to the table and proceeded to tickle him senseless. The other nurses looked exasperated at their childish behavior, shaking their heads in pity even as Aria laughed right along with them. This was more of what she was used to, the tenseness in her heart easing a bit as the sound filled her to the brim. “All right, you two…that’s enough. It’s time to eat your breakfast so Gojyo can take his medicine. How are you feeling?” she asked the older man, stifling giggles at the renewed fighting spirit as the two battled over the same stack of pancakes.
“Peachy. The rains have cleared and it’s not as cold,” he responded between bites of pancakes and insults, even taking a deep, albeit shaky, breath in affirmation. He smiled comically as syrup dripped down his chin, using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe it away. Though he was supposed to be nearly twenty-three, sometimes his childishness got the better of him. Aria often thought that it was a result from his rather strange upbringing.
Goku continued to squirm and fret in his seat even as he ate, an activity that usually deserved his undivided attention. However, it seemed that his restlessness couldn’t be quelled. “Hey, brat…you got a worm up your ass or something? You’re squirming like it,” Gojyo commented eloquently, earning himself a swat on the head with the clipboard the ebony-haired nurse was writing on. He rubbed his head absently, choosing to ignore it.
Luminous amber eyes widened at the question, even as his nose wrinkled at the analogy. “No, you big dummy. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, so I’m going to keep it a secret!” Goku declared emphatically, nodding his head sharply as if to affirm his words more effectively. Suddenly, to his dismay, surprisingly strong arms wrapped around his body and pulled him into one of Gojyo’s infamous holds. He struggled, but his efforts were useless; the redhead had him pinned for the second time that day.
“What was that? I don’t think I heard you correctly. I thought you said, ‘Yes, Gojyo. I’ll tell you why I can’t sit still to save my life this morning, and why I’m grinning like I just got laid,’” the redhead jibed, earning him another thump on the head for his trouble. Grinning despite it, he kept the wriggling boy in his place and waited for a reply.
However, none came because a sudden knock startled their attention the nearby door, Gojyo immediately releasing his smaller friend and Goku effectively backing away. Aria rose from her seat to open it, revealing a familiar face. “Father Kougaiji!” the boy said happily, bouncing from his seat to give the priest one of his familiar hugs. The priest nodded in greeting, awkwardly petting the boy’s head as his arms encircled the oriest’s waist. The barest hint of a smile flashed for a second, before his face fell into his usual stern expression.
“It’s good to see you feeling so lively, Goku. Just stopped by to visit,” he said, his words accompanied by a small cough to hide any traces of emotion, nodding once to the redhead who looked less than pleased with his arrival. It was no secret that Gojyo didn’t like him, knowing that it was he who kept insisting his brother come and see him. And of course, both of them knew what that meant as well.
Aria smiled warmly, bowing her head in regards to the priest. “It’s pleasant to see you again, as always,” she offered politely, as always. “To what honor do we owe such a visit? It’s been quite a while since you’ve made a trip here. Usually it’s only Sister Lirin and Sister Yaone that come.”
The look on his face made Goku fidget even more, as though he knew he wasn’t going to like what Kougaiji was going to tell him. The nervous feeling that he had been struggling with all morning escalated, sending adrenaline rushing through his veins. He unconsciously shifted towards Gojyo, feeling uncharacteristically bashful as the scarlet-haired priest spoke again.
“It would seem there are some people who are very anxious to meet you, Goku.”
(Translation: But deliver us from evil)
--Chapter 5: Quoniam tu mecum es--
Sanzo didn’t particularly care for the way the redheaded priest had introduced them, making he and Hakkai sound like a couple of pedophiles. Shouldering the redhead hard to the side, he pushed past the man with the full intention of entering the room and taking matters into his own hands. That is, until he found his eyes captured by impossible golden ones that looked equally transfixed.
A cute blush painted tanned cheeks a faint pink, smaller hands wringing together out of shyness. “H-Hello there, m-my name is Goku…” the boy offered brightly, stretching out his hand in an offering of greeting. Immediately, Sanzo knew that he had heard that voice somewhere before, the familiar grating tone reverberating in his head.
When his companion offered no reply, preferring to continue studying the boy rather fastidiously, Hakkai let out a resigned sigh before taking the smaller hand in his own to shake it liberally. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Goku. My name is Father Hakkai, and this is Father Sanzo. We’ve come-” he started to say, until the bandaged wrist was jerked away abruptly and startled him into letting go. He watched in faint amusement as the other priest began to inspect the outstretched appendage that he held less than gently in his grasp. “So much for subtlety,” he murmured, more to himself than anyone else, but feeling the glare that let him know he had been overheard. Another sigh escaped his lips, as he joined his companion in his careful inspections.
Goku swallowed the nervous lump in his throat, hyper-aware of the scrutiny on the wounds that he wished he could hide. Their guarded, blank expressions that were trained on his wrists made him want to squirm where he stood. Unknown hands on him always made him nervous, but he was more embarrassed than anything.
“Can you remove these bandages? We need to be able to see these wounds better,” the blond asked, his tone indicating command rather than suggestion. His eyes fell on the ebony-haired nurse that stood nearby. She was the one called Aria, if Kougaiji’s less than helpful description was correct. He watched her through narrowed eyes as she nodded dumbly, seeming slightly shocked at his inquiry, but even more so when the boy shook his head and began to unwrap the bandages himself. Both she and the other nameless redhead watched in bewilderment as the lightly stained cloth fell away like a second skin. The accompanying wince was painful to watch.
Neither man had expected to see what was set before them. A suprisingly clean wound went straight through the wrist, a hole about three inches in diameter occupying space where vital muscle and vein should have been. It was miraculous that the bandages were as clean as they had been. A slight perfumed odor, sweet with the faintest hint of flowers, began to waft around them. The most disturbing aspect, however, had to be the younger man’s lack of reaction when they both turned questioning glances onto him. “How long have you had this?” Hakkai asked him carefully, his voice betraying his astonishment despite his every effort to stay calm and direct.
“Since I can remember. Though, these didn’t show up until the other one went away,” the young man answered matter-of-factly, offering a lopsided grin as he moved a hand to lift shaggy bangs out of the way. Upon closer inspection, tiny pinpricks of scars dotted the crown of his head, perfectly aligned in a strange pattern. They were faint against the tanned skin, so it came as no surprise that the boy’s companions looked at him strangely, to which he only shrugged. “When the ones on my head went away, my wrists and feet started bleeding,” he reiterated.
“Does…does it hurt?” the older brunet found himself asking, his voice genuinely concerned. This was completely outside his realm of thought; he had never seen anything like this, even in the books he had brought with him to read on the subject. To say that the books didn’t do the actuality of it justice was putting it lightly. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was seeing now. Sanzo seemed to share in his confusion, a single slender eyebrow raised in a questioning expression.
Goku looked a bit sheepish at the question, scratching the end of his nose with the other hand and revealing that it wasn’t just the one wrist with the strange affliction. “Only when it gets really cold, and when it rains really hard. The ones in my feet hurt worse, and keeping my balance can be really hard sometimes,” the boy offered again, lifting one of his feet for emphasis. Despite their initial ominous appearance, he was finding that the two men weren’t so bad. The blond could loosen up a bit, in his opinion, but he didn’t mind the green-eyed man at all.
The redhead, who had remained silent up until this point, decided to interrupt. “So what if they do? Just who the hell are you two anyway? Showing up here and treating the kid like a cow up for sale, have you lost your goddamn minds?” he interjected through clenched teeth, his expression twisting in irriation at their scrutiny of Goku when he jerked the boy away from where they had been standing.
“They are here to figure out how to help him, Gojyo. I would think that it would be in your best interest, as well as Goku’s, to leave them be,” Kougaiji warned in his too-serious tone, not at all surprised when slit eyes darkened to a deep shade of garnet turned in his direction.
“I think you’re the last person that Goku needs to worry about him, Father,” the other man spat, keeping a firm grip on the smaller brunet’s wrist. The tone was particularly strong on the last word, giving the current spectators indication that there was bad blood between the two of them for some reason or another.
“Excuse me, but might I inquire as to who you are? Perhaps that will lessen some of the tension that seems to be building unnecessarily,” Hakkai queried, his tone remaining polite. Sanzo snorted to himself, noting how the former teacher sounded as though he were scolding children. Perhaps it wasn’t so far from the truth. The redhead in question tossed his head arrogantly, revealing a pair of twin scars running down the length of his cheek on one side. Curiosity blossomed in the brunet when he caught sight of the strange marks, but he was much too polite to ask.
Crimson eyes flared in a clear challenge, lips drawing up in an accompanying cocky smirk that looked surprisingly at home on the too-thin face. “Sha Gojyo, at your service. Is there anything else you might wish to inquire about...Father?” he purred, again stressing the emphasis on the last word spoken, but with an entirely different connotation. A faint flush appeared on the brunet’s cheeks despite himself, though he regained his composure when a familiar elbow connected with his ribs.
“We don’t have time for this shit. Just answer the question next time, cockroach,” Sanzo growled in irritation, deciding that he liked this redhead less than the first one he met. If there was anything this stupid assignment didn’t need, it was some prick like him making the job that much more difficult. A gasp fell from the nurse's lips after he had spoken, leading him to mentally curse himself when he realized his slip of the tongue. He normally kept the swearing to a minimum, if only to avoid annoyances like being told that it wasn't proper for a priest to use such colorful language.
The one called Gojyo looked mildly surprised at that, before the smirk returned to his features, only serving to make Sanzo even more irritated. “Such foul language! You ought to be ashamed of yourself, priesty,” he retorted with a cocky wink, inciting a heated argument between the blond and himself as he let go of Goku’s hand. Soon, Kougaiji was in the middle of it as well, his intentions at first being to stop the two of them, but getting wrapped up in it when the other redhead made an off-color comment about his wife.
The noise began to escalate so much that Hakkai thought about stepping in, but was mildly surprised when he found that he didn’t have to; Goku had decided to do it for him. “Will you three stop it? Sheesh! You came here to talk to me about my weird wounds, not argue with each other about stupid stuff,” the smaller brunet stated bluntly, letting out an irritated huff. He crossed his arms across his chest, wincing slightly when his wounds rubbed against the rough cotton of his t-shirt. The green-eyed man found himself laughing despite his efforts not to, even when his companion glared hard at him at his outburst. He didn’t even bother to stammer out an apology.
“Sorry, Goku. You’re absolutely right,” Gojyo offered, ruffling the boy’s hair as he sighed. He grinned crookedly at him, until a familiar clipboard rapped him on the back of the head. With a deep frown he turned to meet rather angry deep blue eyes as Aria held the clipboard up as if preparing for another strike.
“Well, now that the little bout of excitement is over, why don’t you two ask your questions and be on your way? Goku doesn’t need all this agitation,” the nurse ordered, casting an aggravated glance in the three priests’ direction. She narrowed her eyes hard at Kougaiji, who looked properly chastised when he looked away from her. “Why don’t you come with me, Father Kougaiji? There are some questions I’ve been meaning to ask you.” Her words were insistent, and the indigo-eyed man found himself following her as they left the other four alone in the room.
-----
When they were well out of hearing range, panic flooded Aria‘s features. “Father, did I really make the right decision? Those men…I don’t know about them. They’re from that church, aren’t they? They probably answer directly to-” she rambled with a slight tremor in her voice, until Kougaiji quieted her with a very stern look.
“It’s hard to say, Aria. Perhaps they can help him, perhaps not. You know that Gojyo and I wouldn’t let anything happen to Goku, no matter what,” he reassured her, allowing a rare smile to cross his features. He could easily understand her concern, since she treated the young man as though her were her own child. It was endearing, in a way. He knew that the boy needed someone like her to keep his sadness at bay, and he secretly hoped that they hadn’t brought more down upon him. “There’s nothing we can do about them being here now. All we can do is be as helpful as we can so that they hurry along.”
A sniffle was only his reply at first, as Aria dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief she kept in her dress pocket. “I know, Father. I know. I’m just doubting myself, is all. It’s in God’s hands now,” she replied in a near whisper, a sad smile gracing her face as she dried her tears. She could only hope that she had made the right choice. 'For your sake, Goku,' she thought to herself, quieting the dull roar in her mind with idle chit-chat. 'For your sake I hope I did the right thing.'
(Translation: For thou art with me)
--Chapter 6: Animam meam convertit--
Meanwhile, Goku had taken a seat at one of the tables, with Gojyo on his left and the two priests across from him. Again, he was aware of their eyes studying him carefully, but he was less embarrassed this time. He couldn’t explain why, but he felt as though he could trust the two of them. Never mind that he couldn’t keep his eyes off the gorgeous blond, deciding to keep that particular fact to himself and hoping that no one else noticed. “So…what do you need to know?” he asked bluntly, sipping from his cup of juice left over from breakfast. His wounds had been rewrapped when they had started to bleed again, but he was pleased that they were still painless.
“Let’s start with how you got them. Do you remember how it happened?” Hakkai asked evenly, producing a pen and a notepad from a briefcase that neither patient had noticed before now. He stood poised, waiting to take notes. The sight struck the redhead as rather funny, so much that Gojyo didn’t bother to stifle his chuckles as he was promptly ignored by the two priests.
The blond’s eyebrows furrowed hard in irritation, keeping his eyes trained on the younger brunet in front of him to prevent himself from reaching over and giving the redhead a firm whack on the head. Of course, this allowed him to note that Goku kept glancing nervously at him, causing him to quirk a single golden eyebrow in question.
“Well…I don’t remember much before I was about six or seven. I know I was found wandering around the village by myself. People kept asking me all sorts of questions about where my mom and dad were, but I didn’t know. It’s all kind of fuzzy,” the boy answered plainly, golden eyes hazy in thought. “I remember this nice lady and her husband taking me in, but when the holes in my forehead appeared, they didn’t want me anymore. They said it was an evil sign or something like that.” He continued with a bit of melancholy in his voice, immediately masking it with a tense smile on his face.
The older brunet felt a stab of sympathy at that, watching as the redhead ruffled the young man’s hair affectionately again, chucking him slightly in the chin and telling him not to be such a baby. Goku merely smiled, punching his companion lightly in his shoulder in reply. “And then what happened?” Hakkai asked softly, jotting down a few notes on his pad. He found himself vaguely curious, and a slight glance to his partner told him that the blond was as well, even though the man’s face remained impassive
“Well, then I was put in another home, where the lady I lived with didn’t care so much. Then, they just went away one day, leaving the scars. But, it wasn’t even a month later that my wrists and feet started bleeding too. The lady brought me here, and I’ve been here ever since. They think that I’ve got hemophilia or something. The doctors also say that I’m making the holes myself, for attention. I think that’s stupid, since I’m not,” Goku insisted around bites of an apple he had grabbed from another table, shaking his head slightly.
“Impressive, considering those holes in your wrists are perfectly three inches in circumference. You must be pretty amazing to get them so perfectly symmetrical,” Sanzo commented sarcastically, surprising the boy with his sudden attention to the point that he dropped his apple on the table. When the young brunet realized that the comment was not directed at him, but to him, he smiled and offered a laugh. The tiniest hint of a smile appeared on the blond’s face at that, hidden in the shade of his hand.
Hakkai hid his laugh behind a cough. “Indeed. So, they just appear?” he replied, both in question and in agreement to the blonde’s prior statement. This was the part he was most interested in, hoping to receive answers to the question that had been nagging at him since he first laid eyes on the strange afflictions.
Goku shook his head liberally at that, taking another bite of his apple and chewing thoughtfully before answering again. “Nope. They’ve just been there since then. They bleed all the time, and they stay open even when the doctors patch them up,” he answered, bewildered at their change in expression. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
“Bullshit. If they bled all the time, you’d be dead. Stop lying and just tell us what we need to know,” Sanzo retorted, not wanting to acknowledge that he was beginning to wonder about things he would have rather left latent in the back of his mind. His tone was contradictory to the one he had used earlier, realizing he had sounded as though he believed this nonsense. He had to admit that there was no way that the boy could have made them himself, but he also didn’t want to acknowledge that what he said was possible.
“How the fuck would you know, blondie? You just got here, so you can’t say ‘yea’ or ‘nay’, now can you? Aria changes those damn bandages at least three or four times a day, and if memory serves correctly, that must mean that those damn wounds are constantly bleeding, right?” Gojyo interrupted sardonically, a displeased frown crossing his face at their implications.
Of course, Hakkai had to agree with that. “He’s right, Sanzo. This…just isn’t adding up. It defies all logical thought,” he replied with a slight nod, feeling stumped, a rare emotion for him. He ran a pale hand through his hair, as though attempting to comb through his thoughts so they would make better sense. “So…you’re saying that they…just keep bleeding?” he asked, redirecting the attention to the golden-eyed boy.
Goku swallowed the last bit of his apple that felt like lead in his throat, feeling foolish for having said it in the first place. “Yeah. When I get upset or stressed out, they bleed worse. I have nightmares sometimes, about things I don’t understand, and that’s when they get really bad. When they appeared…” he started to say, his voice trailing off as he swallowed the growing lump in his throat. He was debating over telling them what was going on in his head, something that he hadn’t told anyone before. A nervous glance to each of the three men surrounding him made him more uncomfortable, their eyes expectant.
“Go on,” Hakkai prompted gently, resting his hand atop one of Goku’s. He was sure that this was hard for the boy, especially with the possibility of being doubted. He remembered very easily what it was like to be scrutinized with the fear of being called a liar, and from what little Sanzo had told him about his own past, he could decipher that the blonde did as well.
“You’ll think I’m lying,” the boy murmured miserably as though he had read his mind, allowing the slight touch as he spoke to all three of them. He found that he liked the emerald-eyed priest well enough, and the blond made him want to blush and hide his face for reasons he couldn’t understand. Gojyo had taken most of what he had told him and what he had seen in stride, but what he was thinking could shatter that in an instant.
An loud sigh sounded to his left, and Goku suddenly found himself in one of Gojyo’s infamous headlocks yet again, and no amount of struggling was going to ensure his freedom. “Have I doubted you yet, squirt? Have some faith, will you? If I can just brush off the fact that you’ve got holes in your wrists like you were fucking crucified, then what makes you think I’ll doubt you now?” he asked hotly, hiding the slight twinge of hurt at being dismissed so easily. He brushed it off, however, when he felt a fine tremor quaking through the body he held against his own. “Goku?”
Hakkai and Sanzo noticed it as well, as both had sat a bit straighter in their seats at the redhead’s choice of words. “Goku, do you realize what these wounds could very well mean?” the older brunet asked cautiously, watching as Gojyo released the boy. At the shake of the other’s head, the man continued. “Do you know what Stigmata are?”
Again, no reply other than a rapid shake of his head, but Gojyo’s eyes widened visibly at that. He seemed to realize his slight faux pas and that the boy he had been in such close quarters with had no idea what was going on with his own body. “You mean…” His question was ignored in favor of answering Goku’s own silently poised one that hung heavy in the air.
“The Stigmata are when a person begins to suffer from the wounds of Christ. You do know the story of Christ, don’t you?” Hakkai inquired in the calmest voice he could manage, noting that while the boy nodded in reply, he refused to look any of them in the face. He was still trembling, worsening as their conversation turned toward the topic at hand. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was surprised into silence when a hand stayed him.
“I think that’s enough for today. I need to go back and make a phone call,” Sanzo stated flatly, though his eyes betrayed a flurry of emotions that even his companion couldn’t decipher. He locked eyes with the boy again, resembling the first moment they had met, as though a silent conversation was passing between the two of them. Their gazes stayed locked for nearly a whole minute, with Sanzo breaking it first. “We’ll be back, brat. You’d better be prepared for more questions next time.” With that, the blond got to his feet, but not before twining his hands in unruly brunette locks once before pulling away. Hakkai looked slightly shocked at the other priest’s out of character behavior even as he offered a hurried good-bye to the two left alone in the playroom.
-----
As the hospital disappeared beneath the horizon at their backs, the three men walked in contemplative silence. Finally, when he could take it no longer, Hakkai turned to the redheaded priest and asked him something that he had been thinking about since they left. “Tell me something, Kougaiji. Sha Gojyo…would he happen to be related to the Sha Jien that you introduced us to earlier?” he inquired, tone achingly polite.
The priest in question flinched visibly, whether from the tone of his voice or the question that he posed was anyone’s guess. “Yes. They’re half-brothers. Why do you ask?” he responded in turn, his own voice mirroring Hakkai’s easily. His eyes were challenging as he turned to the brunet, not looking at all happy about the sudden interrogation and suddenly Hakkai was reminded of the tension that had escalated between the two redheads earlier.
“I was just curious. Gojyo seems like a very interesting individual, if I do say so myself,” the green-eyed man answered back vaguely, folding his arms behind his back as he walked. “His behavior fascinated me is all.”
A slender garnet eyebrow quirked at that, turning to the blond for some sort of elaboration and receiving a stern glare for his trouble. “Gojyo isn’t on very good terms with his brother,” Kougaiji answered stoically. A quick glance to the man let him know that he was thinking of another question, unsure of whether to continue asking as he was. His eyes had widened a bit, looking genuinely interested in the topic at hand. “Jien tries, but their mother makes it very hard for the efforts to be anything but in vain. The woman makes it no secret that she doesn’t like Gojyo at all, and she doesn’t care for Jien showing interest in his younger brother.”
“I see. So, Gojyo is the child of another marriage?” he queried, deciding to go ahead an venture a guess. The crimson-eyed man had sparked something in him, especially how well he handled the boy. It gave the brunet hope, strange as it was and for what he couldn’t place.
Kougaiji’s eyes darkened considerably at that, turning towards both of them with a no-nonsense look that spoke volumes. “No.” The finality of that single word was enough to discourage the brunet from any more questions. He knew that it wasn’t fair to either Doku or Gojyo if he told these strangers about their situation. He began to walk ahead then, leaving the two other priests to their own devices.
“That was certainly strange,” Hakkai commented after a moment, keeping his voice low in case the other man was still within hearing distance. A small snort was his reply, causing him to regard the blond with a sour look. “What was that for?”
“If you’re so interested, why don’t you ask him yourself next time? I just find it funny that you’ve taken interest as you have. Redheads are a long shot from books, you know,” Sanzo stated bluntly, pausing only to light a cigarette and take a deep drag. He could almost physically feel the nicotine entering his bloodstream, sighing in discreet pleasure as it worked its magic on his nerves.
Hakkai’s cheeks pinked hotly at the implication, though the unfalteringly polite smile never wavered as he retorted, “Perhaps you’re right. However, it would seem that I wasn’t the only one taking an outside interest.” His mouth turned down in a prominent frown. It was clear he didn’t like what Sanzo was insinuating, and even if he was a poor excuse for a priest, there were some things that they simply did not do.
Sanzo said nothing to that, surprising the brunet. Instead, he thought on the encounter, inwardly frowning. That voice had shaken him and something about those encompassing eyes had drawn him in, holding him even now. It was as though they had been silently asking him for something, asking questions that even the blond didn’t have the answers for. On the whole, it was terribly annoying. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He glared weakly at the other man, weariness beginning to set in. He wanted the subject dropped until he could think better on it; the of possibly being attracted to another male, let alone someone as young as Goku, didn‘t sit too well with him. Besides, he needed his wits about him for when he placed that phone call he had mentioned earlier. It hadn’t been just an excuse, after all.
“Of course not,” Hakkai said in turn, allowing both of them to fall back into their contemplative silence as the small church came into view. It hadn’t seemed like that long of a walk, but the sight of the sun as it dipped low against the mountains betrayed that it was much later than it seemed.
As they neared, however, they noticed that Lirin was running to meet them at near full speed. The girl’s eyes were shining brightly even as her chest heaved in an attempt to catch her breath. Three questioning glances didn’t deter her, as she wrapped her arms tightly around her older brother and she squealed in delight, “Come on! You got back just in time! Yaone’s having the baby!”
(Translation: He hath converted my soul)
--Chapter 7:Fiat voluntas tua --
While the rest of the household was in an uproar, Sanzo took advantage of the confusion to place the phone call, grumbling under his breath as he picked up the phone that had been sitting on his bedside table. Reporting to his superior was always his least favorite part of the missions, especially since the man on the other end was always quick to point out flaws and mistakes. All it did was make the blond angry and more irritable than usual.
He had hoped that Hakkai would be nearby, but the green-eyed man was assisting in the labor as best he could. Thus, this left Sanzo to his own devices. Normally the blond would have been annoyed, but his mind was elsewhere. In fact, his thoughts continued to drift to the strangeness of the afternoon and the encounter that had occurred. The boy had struck something in him, whether he wished to acknowledge it or not. He let out a breath as he dialed the familiar number, hoping as the phone rang repeatedly that the Cardinal wouldn’t pick up.
However, luck was not on his side. “This is the Cardinal Homura Taisho…how can I help you?” that infuriatingly smug voice chimed into the phone, grating almost immediately on the blond’s nerves. He grit his teeth to restrain himself from retorting immediately , hoping to keep the phone call as quick as possible.
“It’s Priest Sanzo, Your Eminence. I’m calling to report my findings so far,” the blond stated flatly, keeping his voice as neutral as possible. He heard the sound of a chair scraping on the other end, as well as a crinkling sound resembling that of rustling paper. A slender eyebrow quirked in question, even as he awaited a reply from his superior.
“Well? What are you waiting for?” The question was left hanging in the air, an edge of impatience sharpening the familiar tone to a knifepoint as it penetrated Sanzo’s ear. He wasn’t sure if it was from his dawdling or if it was just the anticipation that he could hear in the other man’s voice at this particular phone call.
Trepidation filled the blond, confusing him. A single utterance of a few simple words could have this mission over and done with, most likely with he and Hakkai on a train first thing in the morning with the boy in tow. “We made it to the town late last night….” the blond started to say, his words breaking off in the middle of his blandly spoken sentence. The sudden vision of trusting gold eyes flashed in his mind, producing a stab of guilt that the blond made quick to ignore.
“And? If that’s all you have to tell me, then you are wasting my time,” the voice broke in, breaking Sanzo from his tumultuous thoughts. The Cardinal sounded more irritated, and the blond could almost imagine the man frowning hard at no one in particular. A smirk crossed his face at the thought of his superior in such a state.
“My apologies, Your Eminence,” he answered sarcastically, the words hollow to his own ears. Again, he stumbled over his thoughts, as though thinking carefully speaking again. “What I meant to say is that we arrived too late to visit. The boy that the local priest informed us of lives about a day’s trek away and the weather did not permit us to travel.” His explanation was rather wooden, mildly surprising him when the lie rolled so easily off his tongue. It wasn’t that he minded lying to Homura; he’d gotten quite adept at that, but the idea that he had lied for someone he barely knew startled him. What was it about that brat?
The other line was silent for a long moment, until a faint chuckle echoed through the receiver. The Cardinal seemed amused by something that the lower priest had said, though Sanzo was sure he hadn‘t said anything particularly funny. “Boy, huh? Well. So, tell me, how is Father Kougaiji doing?” he inquired whimsically, the curving of his smirk audible in the timbre of his voice. The sound of it brought back the image of the red-haired priest’s reaction to the mention of the Cardinal the day before, leaving Sanzo to wonder slightly. However, he didn’t put too much thought into it for too long. It didn’t concern him anyway.
“With as little as he’s said since we arrived, I suppose he’s fine.” A slight roll of his eyes accompanied the flippant remark. Underneath it, however, he was slightly perplexed when he found himself hesitating again for the sake of someone else. He’d nearly mentioned that Yaone was in labor, but something stopped him short. It wasn’t the Cardinal’s business anyway, he decided.
“That certainly sounds about right. Always a man of few words, that Kougaiji. Since that is all you have for me, I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t contact me again until you have something more substantial to report to me. Oh, and give the good Father my regards, as well as his lovely wife,” Homura purred, the line going dead before the blond had the chance to voice the acerbic comment he had readied.
Slowly, he set the receiver back into the cradle, grabbing his cigarette pack that had been resting beside the phone before heading out to the balcony that was attached to his room. Sighing in discreet pleasure as he inhaled the nicotine into his lungs, he rested his bare elbows on the cool metal of the iron-wrought grating. Pale fingers traced lazily along the swirls and patterns that some careful sculptor had worked into the iron. He smoked in silence as he tried to work out his thoughts.
The last moments had been extremely bizarre, in his opinion. A brisk wind had picked up since he had stepped outside, his thin undershirt doing little to conceal his skin from the elements as a slight shudder rippled through his body. Now all he needed was for it to start raining.
A sudden noise caught his attention then, a faint nonsensical whispering that closely resembled the incessant buzz of an insect in his ear. Then slowly, as though it were gaining the courage to reach out to him, the blond swore that he could begin to hear the stirrings of words amongst the ramblings. As the sounds drew together, he began to recognize it as the voice he had been hearing, try as he might to dismiss it. Before, it had only come to him in sleep where he couldn’t block it from his mind. Feeling a curiosity blossoming that he would never admit to aloud, he closed his eyes and attuned his mind to the sound of it.
“…rush…almost…close…” the nearly silent voice seemed to say, thought it took Sanzo straining to understand that much. The string of words was a jumbled mess, as though the very wind that was cradling it as unsure that it was meant to be heard at all.
The sound died away after that, the abrupt change making the silence that permeated the air vaguely unsettling. He was left wondering again, frowning intently when the emotion pooled in his mind. Contact with Goku had strengthened the annoying voice, which pissed him off immeasurably.
“This trip is just one goddamn nightmare after another,” he muttered with a sour frown, grinding out his cigarette against the nearest piece of balcony. Reaching for another and clamping it between his lips, he settled back into a nearby uncomfortable wicker chair that had been so graciously provided for him. Making no move to light the fresh cigarette, blue-violet eyes slid shut in aggravated contemplation. The sudden sounds of a baby wailing piercing the formerly quiet night, coupled with his train of thoughts, indicated to the reluctant priest that it was going to be a very, very long night.
-----
Gojyo searched the hospital, looking for his smaller friend who had disappeared when the priests had left. He wasn’t at all surprised to find the boy sitting in the bay window when he did find him, with his back resting against the sill as he stared out into the night. “Hey monkey…what’re you looking at?”
At first, Goku didn’t respond, body heaving in a silent sigh as his back stayed turned. Gojyo didn’t take too well to being ignored, wrapping his arm around a set of slender shoulders and pulling him into a less-than-gentle embrace. “Gojyo! What the hell’s your problem?” the boy demanded, roughly shaking off his companion’s arm with some difficulty. Even as his face twisted in a glare, his eyes remained hazy and distant, evidence that his mind was still elsewhere.
“Who pissed in your cornflakes, punky? I only wanted to know what the hell was so interesting outside that damn window,” the red-haired man scoffed, slight concern threaded through the words despite the tone they were spoken in. The brunet’s harsh expression softened at that, smiling slightly when a single crimson eye peeked at him.
“I…wasn’t really staring at anything. I was just thinking,” the younger of the two replied in a too soft timbre, eyes trailing once more towards the window. Gojyo eyed the boy carefully at that, his face breaking into a wide, wolfish grin that consumed nearly all of his face. With eyes glinting mischievously, he poked the other in the shoulder to get his attention before leaning him in closely as if to tell him some great secret. He whispered low, his voice overly dramatic.
“I bet you’re thinking about that hottie blonde priest, aren’t you?” The reaction he got in return couldn’t have been more obvious; a fine crimson blush flooded Goku’s entire face, spreading from his hairline to his collarbone in a matter of a second. The golden-eyed boy tried desperately to deny it, his words reduced to a mere sputter. Gojyo cackled like a madman, not missing a beat when his flustered companion shoved him unceremoniously off of the bench beneath the window. “I guess I pegged you right, then, didn’t I?”
Goku didn’t look amused in the slightest. “So what if I was?” he defended, folding his arms obstinately across his chest and his renewed glare fixed on the redhead.
“You are so transparent. What’s so great about him, anyway? Seemed like a complete asshole to me,” the older of the two said as he crawled back to his post in the window. The night air felt good against his bare arms, so much that he didn’t notice the widening smirk cast in his direction.
“And you sound jealous. Is there something you need to tell me?” the golden-eyed boy retaliated in a sly tone, breaking into a fit of his own giggles as it was his companion’s turn to sputter helplessly in surprise. When he regained his composure, he wiped an errant tear from his eye and regarded his companion with a sunny smile. “I’m just kidding. Besides, you looked more interested in that green-eyed priest anyway. He was nothing to scoff at either.”
Gojyo pointedly ignored the statement as he tried his best to look unaffected by the boy’s astute observation. Instead, he changed the subject. “Anyway, pretty or not, I don’t know about those two. Aria told me they’re from the Vatican, and that’s just weird that two bigwig priests from the most powerful organization on the planet would be so interested in your wounds,” he warned, his expression sobering to banish any lingering traces of amusement. Thinking further on the encounter, he decided that he didn’t like the strangers poking around as they had. What if they had come to take Goku away? He wasn’t entirely sure it was that severe, but he could tell that something was lurking beneath the surface of their intentions. Something about their questions hadn’t sat right with him.
Gojyo‘s eyes glossed over in thought, the already prominent frown on his face deepening considerably. If the countenance the older man wore was any indication, the thoughts apparently weren’t very pleasant. “Gojyo? Did you hear what I said?” The words were mildly irritated, but not as biting as they could have been. When the redhead’s head snapped towards him, the boy sighed before continuing. “I said, are you sure you aren’t just saying that because of your weird thing with Kougaiji?”
Vermillion eyes slit in warning, letting the boy know that he was treading in dangerous waters. “Goku…” he said softly, his voice flat and distant, emphasized when he spoke only that single word. When the younger of the two flinched away at such an unexpected retaliation to an innocently asked question, his eyes softened. “Look…let’s just not talk about it, all right? Aria said we could watch a movie, so let’s go do that. Cool?”
“Okay, will there be snacks?” the boy asked brightly, offering his companion another brilliant smile a semblance of comfort. He banished the light tug in his heart at the slight, but deciding to honor his best friend’s unspoken request. Though he despised secrets, something in Gojyo’s eyes told him that it was best to let it alone this time.
The redhead let out an internal sigh of relief, throwing his arm affectionately around the smaller’s shoulders as he tugged him in the direction of the playroom. “Of course, you stupid monkey with a stomach for a brain. As many as you want,” he taunted playfully, his words serving as a makeshift apology.
The two fell into their usual ambiance filled with petty arguments and childish play-fighting to cover up the lingering silence that hung between one another.
-----
Exhausted from helping with the labor and aiding Sister Lirin with the dishes despite her innumerable protests, Hakkai trudged up the stairs in hopes of finding a restful reprieve in sleep. A wayward glance toward Sanzo’s room brought his attention to the fact that the door was still slightly ajar, a very atypical occurrence for the priest that maintained his privacy with an iron fist. Curiosity got the better of him and he rapped his knuckles lightly on the wood, pushing it open when no acerbic reply came to deny him entrance. Emerald eyes crinkled in amusement when his gaze fell on his companion.
Sanzo sat slumped back in the chair, head lolled comfortably to the side in sleep as his ankles were crossed and propped up against the iron railing of the balcony. He looked peaceful, a rare vulnerability allowed to grace normally stoic features. The former teacher moved to take a seat in the opposite chair, the scuff of the legs against the floor enough to send the blond jolting awake.
“What the fuck do you want?” he demanded on instinct, sounding threatening even when half-asleep. As always, the green-eyed man took the scathing words in stride, smiling jovially at his disgruntled companion.
“Why, the pleasure of your company of course.” A single golden eyebrow quirked slightly at the thinly veiled sarcasm, waiting for the other to elaborate and tell him the real reason he was here in the first place. After all, a man like Hakkai wore so many faces that it was hard to read him sometimes.
“And…to enjoy the night air. I had hoped that it would clear my head a little,” the man answered ambiguously, staring out into the vast night sky. He laced his fingers together to settle them into his lap, relaxing his shoulders as his eyes lost their focus in memory. If he was the sort to cry, he was sure his eyes would be red and swollen as he kept his glance fixed on somewhere distant. While he had been happy for the new parents, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of bitterness conjured from somewhere deep within him. He had always wanted children.
Sanzo grunted once as he lit up a cigarette, choosing to watch the wisps of smoke meld into the night air when he released them. The other didn’t need to clarify, and the blond didn’t need to say anything in turn. Words wouldn’t have done either of them much good anyway. Instead, Sanzo could only offer his silence.
But, perhaps that was enough.
(Translation: Thy will be done)
--Chapter 8:Sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris--
The weather was pleasantly warm as they walked down the path with the sun shining bright and high in the sky as it beat down on the travelers. Of course, this soured the blond’s mood considerably more than it already was, tugging at his robes. “Fucking weather,” he muttered under his breath in irritation, earning a chuckle from both his companion and his guide. Kougaiji was looking in much higher spirits since his daughter had arrived safely the night before, as though much of the silent tension he had been feeling had been lifted.
“At least the sun’s out. It could be raining,” the brunet pointed out pleasantly, smile widening when the derisive snort sounded behind him. They were alike in their dislike of the rain, but it amused Hakkai to nudge Sanzo in such a way occasionally. Surely no one could fault him for his slight indulgence at his reluctant friend’s expense. “Remember to always count your blessings.”
“Sound advice, coming from you.” The words were clipped and curt, even as the blond’s expression remained impassive. The conversation tapered off after that, giving Sanzo’s mind the chance to wander once more. He found himself unable to keep his mind in one place for any length of time, trailing constantly back to the brat and his unusual circumstances. He still couldn’t understand why he hadn’t told Homura about the boy when he had the chance. When he had brought the subject up to Hakkai, the man had only smiled knowingly and said something ridiculous about how it was a strange occurrence indeed. Damn smug bastard.
The walk to the hospital seemed much shorter this time and the building seemed to give off a much cheerier air than they had encountered on their previous visit. The sunlight emphasized the near-blinding whiteness of the structure and giving it an almost ethereal appearance, in contrast to the dreariness that had been radiating from it during the rains. Despite the atmosphere surrounding the hospital, what they found inside was far from pleasant.
-----
Gojyo sat stoically in his chair, staring hard at the figure of his stepmother seated in the chair before him. She was on one of her crying jags, dabbing delicately at her face with a soggy handkerchief even as cruel words fell from her lips. It still amazed him how this waif-like woman managed to have such a overwhelming presence that never failed to shake him to his very core. Aria had unwittingly stepped out to gather his medication bottles, as per the woman’s request, leaving the two of them alone and giving her the perfect opportunity to say what was on her mind.
“I think you’re doing this to me on purpose, you ungrateful brat. You absolutely refuse to get better so that I have continue to take care of you. You’re nothing but a worthless cur compared to your brother. Why can’t you be more like Jien?” The thin lacy piece of cloth did nothing to hide the sneer on her pale face; nor did it manage to mask the glint of contempt in her own dark, drowning eyes. Her sandy brown hair was loose around the soft curves of her face, carrying the nastiest of expressions somewhere deep within that petal-like skin.
The redhead couldn’t answer at first, struggling to find his voice and the words to say to her. Hearing her speak of him in such a way was nothing he hadn’t heard before, but he wasn’t able to defend himself. What sort of man disrespected his mother like that? “I…don’t mean to, Mother. Honestly, I-” he started to say, sending the woman into malicious rage as she dug her nails into the pliant flesh of his arm.
“How dare you call me that?! Why would I want to be the mother of something like you!?” she fumed at him, raking his flesh so hard that deep it left gouges and brought blood pooling to the surface. He groaned deep in his throat, keeping his hand still as she yanked his hair and struck him in the face with her open palm. Blood dribbled slightly out of the corner of his mouth, his lip cut where it caught against one of his teeth in the blow. “You’re an abomination to God! A worthless half-breed brat! Your existence is the reason for my unhappiness! I hate you!”
Blows continued to fall, but Gojyo didn’t dare raise his hand against his mother. He clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn’t have to see familiar tears rolling down her cheeks in pain and ire. She didn’t have to tell him that he was all of those things; he knew them so instinctively that all he could do was apologize. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry I keep hurting you….”
Hearing the commotion coming from the other room, Goku immediately ran in and tried to stop the woman. “Stop hurting Gojyo! You leave him alone!” the boy growled as he tried to push her away, desperate to protect his friend. Times like this made him almost glad he was an orphan and made him forget that he often envied the fact that Gojyo had someone visit him at all. He was sure that she was the only person in the world that he truly hated, because she made his best friend so incredibly miserable. “Stop it now!”
The woman growled low at being tugged at, reaching out to slap the offending appendage away. Her swipe caught Goku the wrong way and sent the boy sprawling to the floor to crack his head against the nearby table. She still had a handful of crimson hair wound tightly between her fingers, reaching around again to strike out at the still cowering redhead. However, she let out a noise of surprise when delicate pale fingers were wrapped painfully around her wrist, causing her to turn to face a pair of very, very cold emerald eyes that made her freeze mid-motion.
“I think that it is time you take your leave, Mrs. Sha,” the bearer of those eyes said in an quiet, polite voice, pointed and sharper than any knife could have been. He would have chuckled at the blatant surprise on the woman’s face at the mention of her name, had he not been so angry. His grip tightened around her wrist, as he delighted in the feeling of her bones shifting under the pressure. “And I would think that it would be appropriate for you to not come to see your son for a while. After all, you wouldn’t want him getting more ill, would you?”
Her own eyes narrowed into slits at that, as she jerked her wrist out of his now lax grip to grab her purse and handkerchief from where they had been laying on the table. “Of course.” She stormed out of the room before any one had the chance to say anything in reply.
Hakkai immediately turned his attentions to Gojyo, who was struck with a fit of wracking coughs from all the excitement. His arm was bleeding freely, and it was hard to distinguish whether the blood on his hands was from that or from his lungs. He watched Goku lean down to rub the red-haired man’s back gently, a blossoming bruise forming on the boy’s own forehead in an ugly mix of purple and black. “Goku? What happened to you?”
“Gojyo’s mom pushed me when I was trying to get him off of her. Don’t worry…I won’t bleed to death internally or anything. I’m not a hemophilic, remember?” He smiled at the man once before turning back to his suffering friend. It was then that Aria chose to walk back into the room, the sound of pill bottles hitting the tile and rattling loudly filling the air as she rushed over.
“Gojyo?! Oh my God, what happened?” she asked frantically, the answer to her unintentional rhetorical question dawning on her after a moment. Tears began to streak down her cheeks as she joined Goku in trying to calm the stricken man down.
Sanzo stood silently in the corner, surveying the scene with a blank expression on his face even as his eyes remained trained on the ugly mark on the boy’s forehead. “Why the hell would you leave him with her? It looks to me like this has happened before.” Accusing eyes slid to her face at that, even as the inflection of his voice remained calm and impassive. He couldn’t understand why he felt so angry about the mark marring Goku’s features, or why he had gotten the sudden urge to punch that bitch squarely in her face for knowing she had hurt the younger man. ‘What the hell is wrong with me?’
“I . . . only left for a moment. She said she wanted to see his medication, and I’m supposed to honor requests like that. I couldn’t tell her no,” she stammered, helping Gojyo to a nearby chair. By this time, his coughs had dwindled to wheezes and heaves of breath, his shirt stained nearly the same color as his hair and eyes. “I’m s-sorry, Gojyo. I-I didn’t think.”
Gojyo shook his head lightly, managing not to jar his body any more than was necessary to perform the action in the first place. “I-It’s a-all right. I j-just pissed h-her o-off.” He offered some semblance of an encouraging smile, finally able to get his breathing under control though his lungs burned painfully as though a small fire had been set beneath his ribcage. His chest ached and his throat was throbbing from all the blood and fluid that had come up. “Hey, monkey, fetch me some water, will you?”
The younger brunet nodded compliantly, surprised to see that the blond priest was following him out of the room. However, he was too preoccupied to think properly on it. He hurried to the sink and reached for a glass in the high cabinet, surprised again when the taller man got it for him. “Thank you,” he said sheepishly, ducking his head so that the other wouldn’t be able to see the blush that decided to color his cheeks.
“Whatever.” The blond watched out of the corner of his eye as the smaller man hurried about his task, holding tanned fingers beneath the steady stream of water to check the temperature. It was then that he decided to say what had been bugging him since the strange incident with the wind several nights prior. “Hey brat…you can stop calling now.”
Goku was so startled that he nearly dropped the glass into the sink. “What do you mean? I haven’t been calling to anyone,” he replied, bewilderment furrowing his brow as he looked at the blond. He wasn’t sure of what the man meant, or if this was one of their testing tactics that he had been anticipating. How was he supposed to answer to that?
Sanzo snorted irritably at that, frowning hard to indicate that he thought the brunet was lying to him and he didn’t believe a word of it. “Cut the shit, kid. I’ve been hearing your voice for the past two weeks or so, and it’s fucking annoying. I’m here now, so you can stop calling,” he commanded, feeling a bit foolish at the words that had left his mouth. He sounded like a complete moron.
“If you say so.” A confused smile crossed the golden-eyed boy’s face at that, as he filled the glass with the cold water from the running tap. He hurried back to the room where his friend was waiting, the strange blond right at his heels.
-----
Curious vermillion eyes followed the priest’s hands as he worked, wondering why the verdant-eyed man had insisted on patching up his arm instead of letting Aria do it even despite the woman’s protests. Instead, she had been sent to get bandages and some pain medication. Goku was told to go amuse himself so that he wasn’t in the way, because Hakkai gently informed him that he couldn’t patch Gojyo’s arm up with him hovering as he was. Strangely, Sanzo had followed the boy out of the room again, leaving his companion to smirk almost privately to himself.
“These aren’t too deep…they shouldn’t scar,” the brunet said conversationally, wiping a bit of gauze coated in alcohol gently across the wounds. The bleeding had slowed a bit, giving him a chance to inspect them better. He admired the musculature of the other man’s arm, almost causing a bit of heat to flood onto his face.
The redhead snorted in derision. “So what? It’s nothing new. It doesn’t really matter if it scars or not.” He tossed his head, crimson locks brushing aside to reveal the twin scars that traveled down the length of his cheek. Before either one could react, one of Hakkai’s pale hands cupped the scarred flesh delicately in his hand, as though afraid it would bruise beneath his touch. Gojyo’s body went rigid at the unexpected contact, waiting on bated breath for whatever the man was planning to do or at least explain.
“That doesn’t make it right, Gojyo. A mother should never, ever hit her child, be it blood or otherwise,” Hakkai murmured, offering the man a real, true smile. He was sure that the other wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the one on his lips at that moment or any other he wore, but it was a start. Vague amusement tainted it after a moment, when he watched a tanned hand rest where his own had been resting moments before. “And scars are a part of us, I’m afraid, whether we wish them to be or not.” His own unoccupied hand strayed to his abdomen, trailing across his robes to where his own reminder of the past was forever etched into his skin.
The action didn’t go as unnoticed as he previously thought, a light of understanding filling the crimson-haired man’s eyes and accompanied with a brief nod of his head. “I guess so,” was all he said, the two of them falling into an almost companionable silence as the priest went back to his task.
Aria walked in a moment or two later with the bandages, but she stood a moment and took in the sight before her instead of alerting them to her presence. A barely visible smile crossed her lips at the interaction, feeling as though everything was going to work out better than she had initially hoped. Perhaps Goku had been right, and these men weren’t as bad as they had seemed.
“I noticed that Kougaiji wasn’t here with you…did you walk alone?” she asked nonchalantly, as though she had indeed just walked in. Both men looked a bit startled at her ‘sudden’ entrance, but the brunet recovered quick enough to answer her question.
“No, he escorted us, but he hurried back. His daughter was born the other day, so I’m sure he would much rather say home with the child and Yaone. The path is much easier to find in the daylight.” He noticed a faint glimmer of something cross her features at the mention and he was suddenly curious as to whatever it was he said that would have provoked such a reaction.
Instead, the nurse smiled warmly as she handed him the needed items to finish wrapping Gojyo’s wounds. “I’m so glad to hear that. I was very afraid that something was going to happen this time,” she answered vaguely, turning back towards the door before the brunette had a chance to say anything else. Instead, Hakkai turned his questioning glance toward the red-haired man, who looked away so their eyes wouldn‘t meet. Realization dawned on Hakkai that it was probably not his place to ask, even if his curiosity had been piqued.
“So…what are you here for?” Gojyo asked when he was finished, flexing his wrist experimentally and fighting off a wince that the action tried to produce. He tried to make the comment sound offhanded, but the nervous edge was obvious by the slight quiver in his voice that was barely noticeable.
Ever observant, Hakkai knew a tactic to change the subject when he saw one. “We’re going to try hypnotizing Goku to see if that can bring back some of his repressed memories. Perhaps that could lend a bit more of a clue as to what is going on.”
A nod was his reply as they walked to where the boy and the other priest were, until a curving smirk that glowed with mischief overtook the thoughtful expression Gojyo had been wearing. “So…you could make him cluck like a chicken or act like a monkey for real, couldn’t you?” The question sounded innocent enough, but the look on his face said otherwise.
“Perhaps, but I don’t think it would be conducive to what we’re trying to achieve here,” the brunet admonished gently, barely able to conceal his amusement at the prospect. It was impolite, he knew, but it was terribly funny to imagine the boy clucking like a chicken and strutting around the room. “So, I hardly think that I should answer that to prevent the spread of potentially dangerous ideas.”
“Hey man, it was just an innocent question.”
(Translations: As we forgive them that trespass against us)
--Chapter 9: Maledicat Dominus --
Goku fidgeted in his chair, his hands wringing together as he watched the two priests prepare for the coming hypnosis. Though the older brunet had carefully explained what was going to happen, it wasn’t enough to quell the feeling that was roiling around in the pit of his stomach. “I-Is it going to hurt?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions,” the blond commanded, giving him a stern look when their eyes met. He studied him carefully, noting the skittish expression that kept flitting about the boy’s gaze. With an agitated sigh, he combed his fingers through the unruly locks to offer a bit of comfort. Amber eyes widened in surprise before a boyish smile of pleasure spread across Goku‘s face, and Sanzo could feel the head beneath his hand nod in assent.
Hakkai smiled at the scene, holding the expression firm as he turned to face the younger man. The pale hand was gone in a flash, but the brunet already knew that it had been there in the first place. “Are you ready, Goku? Remember what I told you?” His words were coaxing in their tone.
“Pay attention to your directions, listen closely, and relax. You’re only going to ask me questions and that’s all,” the boy repeated with a slight shake in his voice, smiling to mask his nervousness. A look to his redheaded companion, despite the dazzling smile and the thumbs-up he offered, wasn’t much of help when his face betrayed his own discomfort with the situation.
Letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, Goku did his best to relax when he let his body slump backward. His eyes slid closed when he heard the quiet, soothing sound of Hakkai’s voice filling his head. “Ready? Here we go.”
Gojyo watched the hypnosis unfold before him, keeping his eyes trained firmly on the boy’s face as he crossed his arms across his chest. He frowned, making a skeptical noise in his throat. “This sounds really stupid. How’s this supposed to hypnotize the squirt?” The blonde looked at him with narrowed eyes at that, swinging his fist and bringing it down hard on the other’s head. He let out a hissing breath, speaking in a low tone.
“Shut up, all right? Just sit back and watch.”
When he had finished counting, Hakkai gave the boy a few minutes to see if it had worked. In that time, he turned to Gojyo with a serious look, finding it hard when he felt the urge to chuckle at the look of indignant outrage on the other’s face. “Well, it’s mostly tapping into the subconscious mind. Often times there are things that the conscious mind tends to suppress for one reason or another, but the inner mind is more open to suggestion and answering questions,” he explained in a patient voice, snapping his fingers when he finished.
It took the boy a moment to respond, his body and mind seeming as though they had been temporarily disconnected. His movements were awkward and sluggish, eyelids fighting to open and his mouth slacking a bit. After a minute or two, it was as if a switch had been thrown as he seemed to gain some control over what was happening to his features. Golden eyes opened to reveal slit pupils that would look at home on a feral cat, who was looking at them as though he were deciding whether or not they were prey. The toothy grin that broke out across his face gave him the appearance of elongated fangs. It emphasized the other-worldly glow that illuminated his eyes and turned them the color of aged brandy.
Sanzo’s own eyes widened at the sudden shift in personality, recognizing the studying, smug state that whatever this was had fixed so firmly on the three of them. He could easily transpose an equally familiar face with mismatched eyes over Goku’s expression, and that angered him. “Goku?”
To their surprise, the boy shook his head with that damnable smile still firmly in place. His eyes flickered with amusement, as though this was the best sort of game. "Vix. Haudquāquam quod exspectābam," it spoke, the voice an almost indecipherable rumble echoing from somewhere deep inside Goku’s chest. The words were in another language, and it took the older brunet a moment or two to place it.
“That’s . . . Latin. But . . .Goku doesn’t know Latin. He wouldn’t, because it’s a dead language, only used now by some of the older members of the Vatican.” He turned questioning eyes onto Gojyo, noting the dumbfounded expression on the other man’s face when he offered a shrug as a reply.
“Don’t look at me. I don’t know anything.”
Crimson eyes were unable to leave the face of his younger friend in disbelief, as a visible tremor sliding up the redhead’s spine when that slit gaze met his own. Sensing the need to dissipate the tension growing between them, Hakkai posed another question. “If you’re not Goku, then who are you?”
A deep, mocking laugh sprang from Goku’s mouth at that, the thing doubling over as though it had been told something utterly hilarious. "Cur te dicam, peccātor? Homō cūius manūs dēdecī cum sanguinē aliēnus manent, occultatus ā tergō vestēs quod adhibet eius factī excūsāre. Mihi dicē: te excruciatne?" Its eyes slid to the brunet’s stomach as the smirk widened, clearly pleased that all the color had drained from Hakkai’s face.
“How-?” was all he could manage, phantom pain pooling in his abdomen when his hand tentatively touched the fabric of his robes. No one, absolutely no one knew the reason he had that scar. Sanzo knew only vague details from what the villagers and the staff at the hospital had told him; but even then the blond, the only person Hakkai would consider a friend, didn’t know about that. He forced his eyes closed when the creature spoke next.
"Sanguis calidus eratne? Dissimilitūdō inter tui et eius sanguinem spectāvis dum scindēbat per tuum stomachum, antequam illam lāminam inter eius costas īnfīguis? Itane vērō, digna eratne, ea?"
“What’s it saying? You don’t look so hot, man,” Gojyo asked, breaking his gaze away from Goku’s own to rove worriedly over the brunet’s hunched form. Another laugh filled the air, sounding gleeful as it echoed off the bare hospital walls. Suddenly, the redhead was very grateful that Hakkai had asked Aria to wait outside. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea….”
"Tua sententia necessaria nōn est, semigenus." The words were spat in such distaste that Gojyo didn’t even need to understand what it was saying to understand the connation. He could easily derive its meaning from just the tone itself. Golden eyes still eerily alight, illuminating the prominent sneer that challenged the open look of surprise on the vermillion-haired man’s face. Goku would never, ever speak to or about him like that. Whatever this was, it wasn’t Goku.
Sanzo watched the creature through narrowed eyes, regarding it with a scrutinizing look. Instead of feeling nervous, all he felt was irritation that this wasn’t turning out as they had planned. “It understands us, but we can’t understand it, right?” He didn’t like calling Goku an ‘it’ but whatever had taken over from the recesses of the boy’s mind couldn’t really be called human.
As he regained his composure, Hakkai managed a weak nod. His skin was still sickly pale as his hand unconsciously roamed towards his left eye. “Yes…I can only understand some of what he’s saying. I haven’t brushed up on my Latin since seminary training.”
"Ego nōn sentiō necessarius esse vobis ipse explicāre. Quid essētis? Sīcārius et nefas et…" the voice trailed off, as finally locked gazes with the reluctant priest. The smirk on its face widened considerably, splitting Goku’s expression into one of almost grotesque amusement. "…et mendāx. Quid Deus cogitat, si quod cogitus es scīverit?" A tanned hand trailed across the boy’s chest in a very insinuating gesture, eyes burning with something akin to lust.
When questioning emerald and suspicious crimson eyes turned in his direction, the blond snorted derisively. “What did it say now?” The words were biting, but Sanzo didn’t dare to look away from the unearthly eyes that were attempting to drown him. He felt as though he was being devoured, in a way that made his skin crawl. It wasn’t at all like the gaze of the boy that he had been noticing, innocently filled with admiration and a bit of longing, but rather with the need to possess. The creature smirked knowingly at him, as though it carried a forbidden secret beneath that curving mouth and exposed teeth.
“It said that you’ve been thinking about something…less than savory, if I’m translating correctly.” The brunet’s voice trailed off then, leaving the blond to fill in the rest for himself. Sanzo started at that, coming to the realization that such implied thoughts had crossed his mind fleetingly once or twice. How did this creature know? His eyebrows furrowed in a sudden rush of anger and embarrassment at the intrusion on his thoughts.
“You need to shut the fuck up.”
The creature shrugged nonchalantly, leaning back and clearly enjoying the priest’s rage. "Tanta īra. Et ubī nārrem multī secretī tibi…num amārēs sīcārius patrī tuī? Eh, Fīlius Flūminis?"
Even the blond caught the implications in that statement, his breath hitching in his chest and his heart forgetting how to beat at the familiar name. How long had it been since he had been called that, the highly unusual pet name that his mentor had bestowed upon him as a child? Brushing his shock aside, he glared hard into those unholy eyes once more. “How dare you?”
“It says…it says it knows your father’s murderer, Sanzo…” the brunet breathed, startled at the way the words were affecting his companion, letting his statement fall away unfinished out of respect for the blond. Blue-violet eyes blazed with a mix of anger and outrage, tinted lightly with a morbid curiosity that the priest would never admit to feeling.
“Just stop this now. I can’t take this, and neither can you.” The sudden interjection from the formerly quiet redhead brought three varied gazes onto him rather suddenly. Gojyo hugged his arms tightly to himself, as he stared at the other two men with a slight curl to his lip. “This thing needs to leave now. It’s not Goku, and it’s not going to answer your questions. It’s just fucking toying with us.” Despite the shaking in his limbs, his voice remained steady as he openly challenged both of them.
Hakkai looked to his blond companion, his eyes offering the question that he could not force his mouth to form. A slight bit of his color had returned, but his gaze remained haunted from the tumultuous memories that had been dug up from the recesses of his mind. “Sanzo?” he asked, finally finding his voice.
The other priest’s stare was fixed on the creature’s amused face, the boy’s innocent features into a haughty expression that would not back down for anything. Its eyes were still taunting him, all of them with knowledge but finding supreme satisfaction in holding it over their heads. With one last hard look towards the boy, the blond nodded his assent.
Hakkai snapped his fingers, starting to count back to reverse the process and bring Goku back to himself. Again, the boy’s eyes slid shut and his body went lax as he slumped back in the chair once more. A shuddering breath escaped from his parted lips, blinking blearily at the three men when he finally opened his eyes again. “I-I’m really sleepy…” he slurred, nodding off and toppling out of his chair. If it hadn’t been for Gojyo’s quick movement to wrap his arms around the other’s waist, it wouldn’t have been just Goku’s body that connected with the floor.
“I’ll carry him to bed.” The redhead gingerly scooped the boy up in his arms, a slight shake of his head accompanying the grumbles that were sounding under his breath. He still looked shaken, but the relief that it was indeed his younger friend that he was carrying written across his expression.
Once the two priests were alone, the brunet collapsed heavily into the chair that Goku had been occupying, his hand brushing through his bangs. “That…was certainly interesting.” His voice shook, even as most of the color had returned to his face. He no longer looked on the verge of being sick. “What do you make of it?”
The blond ignored the question at first in favor of lighting a cigarette, despite the knowledge that he was in a hospital and the no-smoking sign situated on the wall behind him. He was as rattled as the other man, but he masked it with his usual indifference. “What ever it was, it was certainly a smartass. Dumb ape,” he sneered around the cigarette clenched between his lips before letting out a stream of smoke as he spoke. “And…I don’t know. I would say that it was a possession of some kind, if I believed in that kind of shit. As it is, I don’t know what the hell just happened.”
Hakkai nodded, eyes falling on the frowning vermillion-haired man that had just entered the room again. He posed his question again to Gojyo, receiving a shrug as his reply. “Don’t ever do that again…something wasn’t right about that whole deal. Goku’s not like that, and he doesn’t talk like that. Whoever that was, it wasn’t Goku.” Gojyo shot a dark look to Sanzo and to his cigarette, moving closer to the seated brunet to distance himself from the smoke. In such close proximity, the redhead knew he would find himself craving one and that was the last thing he needed.
“What makes you so sure that it wasn’t Goku? It was Goku’s face speaking, and his voice, wasn’t it?” Sanzo’s eyes were challenging and his question was clearly loaded, a hint of a smirk playing on the edge of his mouth. The dark look his observation earned him amused him, though it was left unsaid just how true his statement was.
“Because Goku isn’t like that. He’s a sweet kid, and he would never say things like that. Did you see Hakkai over here? He just about fainted dead away when that thing said whatever it said to him. And you didn’t look so hot either, priest-boy. Goku’s never been vicious like that just to be that way, not since I’ve known him.”
The brunet sighed, removing his glasses to press the heel of his palm into his left eye. He could definitely feel a headache coming on. “I have to say that I agree, Sanzo. That creature…knew things that it wasn’t supposed to. There would have been absolutely no way that Goku would have known some of what that…thing knew. As it stands, I’m going to have to go back to the church and start doing some research. I wouldn’t say that it was a possession, but…I think it may have something to do with Goku’s wounds.” The other two men nodded, the room falling silent after that.
Aria walked in then, her expression anxious and questioning as she looked from one face to another for an answer. She had seen Gojyo carrying Goku’s unconscious form to his bed, but the man hadn’t said anything to her. “What happened?”
“Ah, Miss Aria…I’m afraid that it’s much too late to explain now. Would it be a terrible inconvenience if we stayed the night? It’s dark out, and I don’t know if we could find the path to make our way to the church,” Hakkai asked politely, breaking in before either man could answer her question. Truthfully, he was more than sure that he could find the way, but he didn‘t trust himself to make the walk back safely. He was still shaken and the precipitous flow of memories that weighed down on him was not helping. No, staying at the hospital was probably the best option for them right now.
The woman shook her head, looking irritated that her questions had still gone unanswered. She folded her hands in front of her, keeping her voice even as she spoke. “No. There are plenty of empty rooms, so it won’t be a problem. I’ll go start making one up for each of you.” A sharp look crossed her features when she finished speaking, indicating to the brunet that he was going to tell her what happened, before she turned on her heel and left the room. He couldn’t fault her for worrying, since she played the role of mother to the golden-eyed boy.
“Do you mind staying here? Perhaps I can check some of the medical books they have here to see if I can find any information. I’m sure Miss Aria would be able to help me.” His words were meant for the blond, who had been staring down the hall with a thoughtful look on his face. It took Sanzo a moment to realize that he was being addressed, the blond frowning hard at being caught off-guard.
“Whatever. It’s not like I have a choice anyway.” With that, the reluctant priest started off down the hallway in the direction of Goku’s room, leaving Hakkai to wonder exactly where he was going.
An audible yawn sounded from his other side, a faint smile crossing his face when he caught the redhead in the act. “Why don’t you go off to bed, Gojyo? I’m sure you’re tired,” he offered, feeling his own exhaustion weighing down on him. However, too many questions were flitting about his mind that needed to be answered before he could go to sleep. Plus, the nightmares that he was sure would haunt him would only serve to keep him awake as well.
Gojyo’s head jerked up at being addressed so suddenly, but his mouth curved into an easy smile as he leaned back against the wall. “Nah. I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep for a while, but thanks. I’ll be fine-” The sudden sound of a door swinging open and crashing against the wall interrupted him, cutting him off mid word. There, standing in the doorway with his chest heaving from exertion, was Jien with a very stricken look on his face.
“Gojyo! God, I’m sorry! Kougaiji just told me what happened with Mom…” the dark-haired man started to say, but Gojyo’s frown told him that they should take this conversation elsewhere. Understanding as he looked to the confused brunet still seated in the chair, he motioned for Gojyo to follow him into the next room. The redhead complied, offering a silent shrug to the priest before disappearing through the doorway.
“Well…I guess I need to get going as well.” The statement was made to no one in particular, heading off to find whereever it was Aria had gone off to so he could make sense of the muddled mess inside his head. Perhaps burying himself in research would make him forget what the demon’s words had conjured in his mind. He could only hope.
(Translation: May the Lord curse him)
Translations for the Latin used, in the order of appearance:
"Hardly. Not at all what I expected."
"Why should I tell you, sinner? A man who’s hands remain stained with the blood of others, hidden behind the robes he uses to justify his actions. Tell me, does it ache terribly?"
"Was his blood warm? Could you tell the difference between his blood and your own as he ripped through your stomach, just before you planted that blade between his ribs? Was she really worth it?"
"Your opinion is not needed, half-breed."
"I do not feel it necessary to explain myself to any of you. What are you? A murderer, an abomination, and…" "…And a liar. What would God think if he knew what you have been thinking?"
"Such a temper. And when I could tell you many secrets…wouldn’t you love to know your father’s murderer? Eh, Child of the River?"
--Chapter 10:Et dimitte nobis debita nostra--
Gojyo kept his face impassive, trying to keep the panic from Jien’s sudden arrival out his eyes and his voice. He leaned against the nearby wall with his arms folded across his chest and the smallest bit of a smirk on his lips. “So, you came all the way here to apologize for her? Shit, you know this is nothing new.” His gaze remained trained onis older brother, though the expression on his face contradicted his statement. The last thing he needed was pity from anybody, least of all Jien.
“That…doesn’t make it okay.” The familiar phrase made the redhead jump a bit, recalling that was what Hakkai had told him earlier on in the day. “I didn’t know she would come here by herself,” Jien tried again, ignoring his brother’s silent pleas and hanging in his head in self-deprecation. His eyes grew wet when they trailed to the bandage on the younger man’s arm that so starkly contrasted with his tanned skin. When the redhead noticed the look, he was quick to hide his arm behind his back.
“It’s nothing, all right? It doesn’t even hurt.” He offered a brilliant, cocky smile then to dissuade his brother from pressing further. The lie rolled off his tongue in a practiced manner; truthfully, he had to hide the wince the pressure on the still-stinging wound was causing. “Besides, that priest guy fixed me right up. No harm, no foul.”
Jien didn’t look convinced. “You’re a terrible liar, Gojyo.” Then, the man’s voice dropped to an almost whisper, so much that Gojyo had to strain to hear what he was saying. “I didn’t send her here. I told her to stop coming up to see you. She agreed, but I guess she lied to me.”
A slow burning began in Gojyo’s veins at that. “Oh, really? And you thought that telling her would simply be enough? You know, this all started when you started going to see Kougaiji. That damn priest’s always meddling in our business, insisting that you bring her here and make it all better. One big happy fucking family.” Gojyo could swear that he could feel it burning the inside of his throat as he spat the words.
Jien’s eyebrows furrowed hard in response, his cheeks reddening. “What does he have to do with this? He’s a good man with a good heart-” he started, interrupted by a growl and the sound of Gojyo’s fist connecting with the wall. Blood began to slither between his knuckles, brilliant red like the curtain of hair that swept down to hide the younger sibling’s face from view.
“If it wasn‘t for that damned priest, you and Mom wouldn’t visit at all. You never did before, until you met him. What, did you really think all of a sudden things would be all peachy? That we would be a perfect family because some priest said so? I don’t need you, who never says anything to stop her. Then you turn around and spout lip-service apologies when it’s already done. I have a family, Dokugakuji, and it isn’t you.” Crimson eyes turned in his direction then, emotions bare even as his face remained blank, like the surface of an ocean that hid the turbulent waves beneath the stillness. He had never accused his brother of anything before, but then again, he had never just come from an encounter like the one with Goku before either.
The redhead expected an explosion right back, or the weight of a fist cracking against his cheekbone. Instead, he received only a sigh. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right, Gojyo. I . . .couldn’t protect you, no matter what I did. It wasn’t enough . . . .” His words trailed off after that, the dark-haired man looking away as his fist clenched at his side. The expression on his brother’s face was pitying, enough to make Gojyo’s anger ebb away and leaving him numb from the sudden switch in emotions. He dredged up a lazy smile and offered a shrug of his shoulders.
“Forget I said anything, okay? Today’s been a weird day, and it has my nerves frayed.” Again, Jien looked unconvinced, earning himself a sigh from the redhead in frustration. “Look, Jien…you did what you thought was right. You didn’t want to make it worse for any of us. I get that, I really do. Let it go, okay? It’s done.” Despite how calm he appeared, inwardly he was panicking. His fingers twitched and he felt a craving for a cigarette washing over him, anything to alleviate the nervous butterflies fluttering madly in his stomach. He had never wanted to have this conversation with his brother, ever.
Chocolate eyes widened in slight surprise, his gaze softening when the words finally sunk in. That was probably as close to forgiveness that he was going to get from his younger brother. He offered a weak smile and ruffled Gojyo’s hair much in the same way the redhead was prone to do to Goku. “Yeah I guess. Who knew you were so smart?”
The redhead frowned at that, swatting the offending hand away playfully. “Shut up. So…we’re cool, right?”
“Yeah, we’re cool.”
-----
Hakkai’s vision blurred, the sheer amount of text he had flipped through in such a short amount of time making his eyes burn with exhaustion. The dim lighting from the light bulb hanging above him in the small room where the medical texts and record books were kept didn’t help, coupled with the dust that was stirred up from flipping through the underused pages. Frustrated that he had yet to find anything that could even begin to explain the strange events of the afternoon, he removed his glasses and set them on the table, pressing the heel of each palm into an eye to rub them.
The soft clink against the wood of the table he was seated at caught his attention, noticing Aria smiling down at him when his eyes regained their focus. She looked in better spirits now that she had been told what had happened, though the worry in her face was apparent by the slight shadows underneath her eyes. “I thought you might need a pick-me-up, and perhaps some help,” she offered as she took a seat beside him, taking a book from the stack and leafing through it. She didn’t speak again as she glanced down at a random page, seemingly unaware that Hakkai was watching her.
The sound of laughter drifted into the room, and Hakkai couldn’t mistake the slight smile that crossed her features at the sound filling the formerly quiet room. “Ah, must be Jien and Gojyo. It’s good to hear him laugh…he seemed quite shaken by what happened today.” Hakkai had resumed his fruitless search by flipping through the pages of the book in front of him, looking at Aria out of the corner of his eye.
The woman nodded, tossing the book aside and picking up another. “It’s not always like that. Sometimes they argue, especially when their mother comes.” She cut her words short then, biting her lip. She looked harder at the book, but Hakkai could tell she wasn’t focusing on the words.
“I see.” Truthfully, he was still curious about the strange redhead, but didn’t want to seem impolite by asking. He knew what it was to have an unusual past that was better left unspoken about. “Their mother seems to be . . . a bit strange, I think.”
Aria sighed, closing the book as she cast a look toward the door, a note of sadness threaded through her voice as she spoke. “She is. Gojyo was the result of her husband’s infidelity. Though she doesn’t want to see that it was an unwilling girl of barely fifteen who had no interest in a man nearly twice her age. A pretty young thing she was, so naturally she caught his eye. It didn’t stop him that she wasn’t interested, and once Gojyo was born, she killed herself and left him on his father’s doorstep. Desperate to avoid people finding out what he had done, he convinced his wife to take care of the baby and raise it like her own. But, he ran off with some other woman not long after that, which is when their mother started treating him as she does.”
Hakkai looked utterly horrified, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. He had half a mind to go and chase Jien out of the hospital. “That’s. . . terrible. So, how did he end up here?”
Again, Aria refused to look the brunet in the face as she spoke. “My father runs the hospital here, so I was always here helping out as a child. Gojyo’s mother would bring him in all the time with bruises and scrapes, claiming that he kept getting into accidents. Falling down the stairs, running into things . . . that sort of thing. Then, when he was about eight or nine, he started getting sick all of the time. It got so bad that finally she just left him here, and he’s been here since. He just kept getting sicker and sicker, at least, until Goku was brought here. They saved each other, you know. Goku wasn’t alone, and Gojyo found a reason to live. . . .” A note of pride swept through her voice then, unshed tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. Hakkai couldn’t help but smile as well.
“They’re both quite extraordinary, aren’t they?” he remarked, unable to help the small tremor of jealousy that coursed through him at that. He’d only had Kanan for a short while, and he could hardly consider he and Sanzo to be as close as Goku and Gojyo appeared to be. He was sure that the blond wouldn’t take too kindly to the idea if even dared suggest it.
As though reading his thoughts, the nurse offered a sly smile as her eyes finally met his own. “The two of you aren’t so bad, I suppose. I had my doubts, but . . . it’ll be all right.” An amused laugh escaped her as a light flush colored the brunet’s cheeks. Though, Hakkai couldn‘t help his surprise when she added, “And the two of you have your own chemistry. You shouldn‘t worry so much about it.”
Just as the man went to protest, the sound of a phone ringing interrupted whatever he had been about to say. “Excuse me,” she said, disappearing from the room. Hakkai stared dumbly after her for a few moments, finally letting out a resigned sigh. He picked up a nearby book that he hadn’t flipped through and began his search once more.
-----
Meanwhile, Sanzo had found himself standing in front of the door to Goku’s room, though instinctively he knew that the boy wasn’t sleeping anymore. With a sneer, he opened the door to find him propped up in the window. The boy’s form was illuminated in the moonlight, making him seem less than human once more. He had been staring out into the distance and hadn’t noticed the blond opening the door. It wasn’t until Sanzo cleared his throat, exaggerating the sound to get his attention. “Hey, brat…we need to talk.”
Goku looked up then, his eyes wide and sad even as he offered a smile. “Sure…about what?” he asked, turning towards the blond. His eyes still glowed, though without the cruelty and callousness that he had seen only an hour or so before. For a moment, Sanzo found himself caught again by the boy’s gaze on him. A shudder rippled through his body at those strange eyes, remembering what the thing had said about his attraction. He wondered vaguely if the boy had any idea of the war going on in his head.
At that line of thought, he shook his head lightly as a slight frown crossed his features. That was the last thing he needed to be thinking about. “You said some things when you were under that trance . . . and I wanted to know how the hell you knew them.” He knew it was best to approach this bluntly. Taking a seat across from Goku on the windowsill, he did his best to quell his body’s reaction to being so close to the boy.
To Sanzo’s surprise, the other looked at him with a bemused expression, cocking his head to the side and studying the blond. “What do you mean? I didn’t say anything,” he insisted, frowning suddenly. “You may be thinking of something else. I don’t remember saying anything.”
“But you said . . . about Hakkai . . . And . . .you called me. . . .” Sanzo retorted, eyes narrowing. He knew what he had heard, even if this kid was being too stubborn to admit it. Then, it dawned on him that maybe Goku really didn’t remember what had happened. He had been in a trance after all. “Never mind. Forget it.”
“Well, what did I say? You look really upset, so it must have been bad.” Those golden eyes were focused on the blond now, alight with curiosity and a hint of fear. Sanzo wondered absently why he was suddenly so interested in what had happened while his other self had been present. At the blond’s look, Goku turned away and muttered something unintelligible under his breath. Irritated, the reluctant priest shoved him hard in the arm.
“Well?”
Goku’s head shot up at that, still refusing to the look the other in the eye; instead, he fixed his glance on some undefined spot behind Sanzo’s head. “This . . . isn’t the first time this has happened. The first time was when the things on my head appeared. It was one of the reasons that they got so scared. They said that I attacked them and spoke in a weird language . . . .” His voice trailed off, wringing his hands together in nervousness. “I didn’t hurt anyone, did I?”
“You really don’t remember?” Sanzo asked, curious despite himself.
The younger man shook his head, moving his eyes to focus on the floor. “Another time, my friend and I were playing outside, climbing trees, when suddenly everything went black. It’s fuzzy, but I remember waking up and I was covered in blood. My friend was laying on the ground, not moving, and his mother screamed at me to get away from him. I haven’t been allowed outside since.” Goku looked as though he were about to cry, his hands clenching the material of his jeans.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Just don’t worry about it. It wasn’t you . . . it wasn’t nearly as annoying,” the blond huffed, his only warning a sniffle before he found himself with a lapful of brunet. His entire body tensed and he reflexively went to shove the smaller form off of him. At least, until the feeling of warm skin pressed against the curve of his shoulder and a smaller hand clutching his robes made him hesitate.
“Thank you . . . Sanzo,” was all the boy said, holding the priest tight as though he were afraid to let go. Forcing his body to relax, he rested his chin atop the messy mop of brown hair and threaded his fingers through the soft strands. The two of them sat underneath the moonlight in understanding silence, until Sanzo couldn’t take it anymore. The closeness got to him and he shoved the smaller form off of him unceremoniously.
“Enough. Get off of me.” A slight smile crossed the blond’s features at that, but it disappeared before the brunet could see it. His body buzzed at the contact, a feeling that he wasn’t entirely comfortable with but pushed to the back of his mind. He went to move off the sill and leave the room, but he felt a hand catch his wrist. “What now?”
“Stay with me . . . until I fall asleep?” Golden eyes gazed trustingly at him, and he found that he couldn’t deny the request. Letting out an irritated sigh, he grabbed a nearby chair from the desk in the corner of the room and set it next to the bed as the boy snuggled down under the comforters.
“Stupid monkey,” was all the blond said, folding his arms across his chest after clicking off the lamp next to the bed. As the sound of Goku’s even breathing filled the room, another smile crept onto Sanzo’s face and was lost somewhere in the darkness. He felt more at peace than he had in a long while.
(Translation: And forgive us our trespasses)
--Chapter 11: Non tiembo mala--
He walks along the path towards the house in the distance, humming merrily as the gravel crunches beneath his bare feet. He clutches the brilliant vermillion roses in full bloom tightly in his small hands and every time he sees them, a small smile crosses his face. He is able to forget about the bandage across his forehead and the soreness in his abdomen. He just knows his mother is going to love them; she always enjoys the gifts that his older brother brings home.
When he opens the door, he finds his mother sitting in her favorite rocking chair, the one his father made. She is staring out the window with her chin cradled in her hand. 'How beautiful,’ he thinks to himself as he walks over to her with light steps. There’s no telling what sort of mood she may be in. “Mama…I brought these for you. The man at the flower shop said you might like them.” His face flushes slightly in pleasure, giving her a smile.
At first she doesn’t acknowledge the shy offering as she continues to stare out the window. He waits, quietly, hoping that he will have done something right for once. Instead she turns towards him with tears shining in her eyes even as an angry hiss escapes her lips. “Red, huh? Like your filthy hair! And your filthy eyes! How dare you mock my pain like that? Evil child, damnable child!”
Her hands swipe madly at him, the flowers dropping to the floor forgotten as his hands move to protect himself from the blows. “No! That’s not true…I just wanted…like Jien….”he insists, tears pricking in his own eyes.
“You’ll never be like Jien! Dirty, filthy half-breed brat!” Her screams are shrill and wild, animalistic in her rage. She pushes him forward, manicured nails raking across the tender skin of his cheek. She keeps them long just for this, he knows though he wishes he didn’t. He doesn’t strike back, afraid to raise a hand against the woman he adores.
“Mama, please stop-” He slumps against the wall, tears flowing freely as they mingle with the blood welling to the surface of his skin. He starts coughing, his lungs burning as he struggles to breathe against the hands that wrap tightly around his throat.
Her face is contorted with rage, cheeks red and her eyes bulging. “You have no right to call me that! I’m not your mother!” He can feel his windpipe beginning to collapse beneath her crushing fingers as his vision starts to blacken at the edges.
As quick as those hands had captured him, he finds himself sputtering for breath as the form of his brother looms over him. Jien looks at him impassively, seeming at a loss at what to do. “Go to your room,” is all his brother says, clutching the crying woman to his chest. He runs then, far away from her broken sobs and her anger, even as her voice still rings in his ears…
-----
A loud, blood-curdling scream echoed in Gojyo’s head as he shot awake, dimly aware that the sound hadn’t come from his nightmare. He rubbed his eyes, watching as he caught sight of Aria darting past his open door as she called out down the hall, “Doctor! Come quick!” A sense of dread filled the redhead and he willed his muscles to move when he realized that the horrible sound was coming from Goku’s room. Not even bothering to pull on a shirt, he hurried into his companion’s room.
The sight that confronted him left his jaw slacked. Goku’s body was convulsing violently as his back bowed away from the bed, his sheets stained the bright crimson of fresh blood. Ear-splitting cries of anguish poured from his mouth, mixed with the jumbled words that Gojyo couldn’t make out. The white of the boy’s bandages were heavily stained and the scars on his forehead had turned an angry red as though they had been aggravated recently. Another scream escaped him, his convulsions growing more erratic. He rushed to the bedside, unsure of whether or not to touch the younger man out of fear of hurting him further. “Where’s that fucking doctor?”
Hakkai and Sanzo appeared in the doorway, both priests glancing around to assess the situation. As soon as the brunet’s eyes fell on Goku, he immediately made his way to the bedside. “What happened? We heard the commotion from down the hall,” he asked, swiping a hand across Goku’s damp forehead. His convulsions had begun to slow to tremors, even as small moans of pain continued to escape from him.
“I don’t know. I heard screaming and I saw Aria running to go get the doctor.” The redhead’s voice was hurried and his eyes were panicked. He didn’t even need to voice the question that was laid bare in his eyes.
“I’m sure Goku will be fine. We just need to figure out what’s going on with him.” He offered the other man a reassuring smile, turning back to the prone form on the bed. Goku was trembling and pale, though his cheeks were flushed as though he had a fever. “Where does it hurt?” he asked in a gentle voice, trying to do his best to keep the boy calm and coherent.
Aria entered moments later with a man that neither priest had seen before. Gojyo stiffened when he caught sight of the man, taking a step back. He was tall, with thin balding black hair and severe blue eyes accentuated with wire-rimmed glasses. His gaze raked over the four of them disapprovingly. “How long ago did this start, Aria?” The biting question was a bit ambiguous, as though it wasn’t certain that he was talking about Goku’s situation or the priests’ presence.
The woman looked startled at being addressed so suddenly, looking away and avoiding the doctor’s eyes. “I came in to check on Goku since he wasn’t feeling well earlier, and when I came in he was writhing on the bed and there was blood….” Her voice caught in her throat at that.
“Get a hold of yourself. You’re a nurse, please act like one.” His words were curt as he began to examine the boy for himself.
“It appears that his wrists and feet have opened up again,” Hakkai offered, the corners of his turning down. He didn’t like the doctor at all upon his first impression. Doubt was written all over the man’s face and the slight sneer in his expression didn’t help at all. “I think that-”
Anything the dark-haired priest had been planning to say was lost when Goku began to scream again, the convulsions wracking his body. Golden eyes were wide with panic and his chest heaved with pained breaths. “Grab him before he hurts himself!” the doctor bellowed.
Sanzo, who was nearest to the bed, scowled before he clambered on top of Goku’s bucking form to pin him down to the best of his ability. “Stupid monkey,” he muttered, though his eyes were clouded with anxiousness. When his hands came in contact with the boy’s clammy skin, a sharp pain that felt reminiscent of a bolt of lightning slithered up his spine and made his grip tighten. The hospital room melted away like dripping candle wax, and the sound of Hakkai’s voice become muddled as if he was speaking through a thick cloth. A glance down at the brunet beneath him told him that he wasn’t the only one experiencing this, but Goku’s eyes looked more panicked than before.
“It’s happening again.”
Before the blond could ask what he meant by that, the pungent smell of old blood and fresh death assaulted him, making him gag. The sound of screams followed, tortured and painful to hear. Their surroundings were shrouded in darkness, so much that the priest couldn’t tell where the sounds were coming from as he looked around. The background shimmered, and several robe-clad figures appeared in a circle around where Goku lay pinned. They were chanting so quickly that the blond couldn’t understand what they were saying, but the timbre of their voices did not indicate anything good.
After a moment, the chanting ceased and one of the figures stepped forward. The upper half of its face was shadowed by the dark hood, but the visible part was contorted into some semblance of a smile as its head titled down. A pale hand emerged from the folds of the robe, through it was distorted, as if Sanzo was seeing it through clouded glass. His hands tightened on the boy’s shoulder and instinctively he moved his body to shield Goku’s heavily breathing form. The boy had broken out into a cold sweat at their appearance, as though he had seen them before. The priest didn’t get the chance to ask, once more interrupted by the goings-on around them.
“A crown for our King,” the same figure spoke in a raspy voice, undulating only once before tucking it back inside its robe. The wounds on Goku’s forehead burst open again like overripe fruit, blood leaking down his face as a scream tore itself from his throat. With a growl, Sanzo tried to calm him down before looking up to glare at the figure looming over them.
“What the hell?”
His question was ignored as the hand remerged from the folds and waved once more over Goku, the sound of chanting in the background from the other members in the circle beginning again. “Tokens of His sacrifice for us.” Just like the wounds on his forehead, the bled-through bandages disappeared and his wrists began to bleed anew. The cloying scent of something sweet blanketed them, overpowering the scent of death that the priest could still taste on the back of his tongue.
Goku moaned in pain, tears leaking down his face to mingle with the red rivulets still streaming from the openings on the crown of his head. “Make them stop, Sanzo…make them stop.” It was a pitiful sight, but the blond could only stare in morbid fascination at first. When he snapped from whatever trance had fallen over him, he shook the boy roughly.
“Get a grip, monkey. I’m here, all right? I’ll make them stop,” he urged, locking gazes with the stricken teen beneath him. His breath caught when pain-fogged golden eyes cleared slightly and a bit of a smile played on the boy’s lips. The once taut body beneath him went lax, a soft sigh escaping the boy as his eyes closed.
“Okay…I trust you.” The blond was momentarily startled by the words and then a small smile crossed his features. By the time Goku opened his eyes again, it had disappeared as though it had never been there in the first place. Sanzo had looked back toward the robe-clad figure, drawing back when a loud crack sounded near his head, sounding vaguely like the sound of a whip.
In fact, it was just that, an ominous black whip in the hand of the pale figure, the barbed end coiled on the ground like a snake waiting to strike. “Last, punishment for the sins of His followers,” the voice thundered, rearing back with one hand and gesturing with his other. Sanzo found himself sprawled out backwards away from Goku, as though he had been shoved away by an unseen force. Looking up, he noticed that Goku’s position had shifted. The boy was kneeling and struggling, tied to a post and bound by invisible restraints. A look of unmistakable horror crossed his face the whip sailed through the air and tore through his flesh with a sickening noise resembling a wet pop. Another scream erupted from the boy’s mouth, blood flowing freely from the fresh wound on his back.
Sanzo growled deep from within his chest, getting shakily to his feet and drawing the gun that he always kept tucked away safely in the bottom of his suitcase; it lay hidden away amongst his spare robes and extraneous clothing. Experience had taught him to keep it with him at all times, though he wasn’t sure why he had it now in this dream-like state the two found themselves in. He didn’t hesitate to point it at the robed figure, obliviously continuing his ruthless attack on the bound teen. A shot fired, echoing deafeningly as it struck the figure hard in the upper shoulder. It hissed in pain and dropped the whip to clutch its wound, breaking whatever had been cast over them.
The darkness imploded in on itself and the priest found himself once more in the hospital room, clutching a heavily breath Goku to his chest as though he would never let go. It took Sanzo a second to regain his senses, realizing that they were back in the hospital room.
“Sanzo…are you…are you all right? What happened?” he dimly heard Hakkai ask, blinking to force his vision into focus. He pried his hands from the boy’s shoulders and backed away, as though he had been burned by the contact. What the hell had just happened to him? “One minute you were talking to Goku and the next both of you were acting like you had disappeared from yourselves.” The explanation was strange, and it didn’t help that Hakkai’s voice sounded perturbed at the prospect. They hadn’t disappeared physically, but the blond wasn’t ready to admit that it may have been something else entirely.
Goku lay on the bed with his eyes still wide and unseeing, probably from the immense pain that Sanzo was sure he was feeling. As though hit all at once, the boy began to sob and curled into a tiny ball on the bed, revealing his shredded back that had been reduced to a bloody mess. “Clean him up,” Sanzo ordered impassively, getting to his feet and trying to ignore the shaking of his hands. With one more purposeful look at Goku’s form, he stormed out of the room without so much as another word.
“What the hell, you fucking prick!? Come back here and tell us what the hell happened!” Gojyo shook an angry fist at the retreating blond, though a gentle hand on his shoulder made him pause. His body sagged as the anger left him and he felt himself steered in the direction of the chair that sat by Goku’s window on the other side of his bed.
“I think the best thing right now would be to let him alone. Sanzo…just let him be,” the brunet assured him, turning towards the more pressing problem of Goku’s new wounds. The doctor that had been standing there looked at a loss for words, his severe eyes wide as Hakkai’s sorrowful gaze met his own. “I do believe we’ve just witnessed Goku’s receiving of the next Stigmata.”
Aria had moved to start cleaning the wounds, doing her best to coax the still sobbing boy to lay on his stomach so she could treat them. “Goku…please lay on your tummy for me,” she crooned, stray tears that she was bravely trying to keep in check flowing down her cheeks. Her skin was sickly pale and she looked shaken, so much in fact that she didn’t hear what the doctor had said to her.
“Aria, you will stay with him tonight. I want you….” he stopped, turning then to Hakkai. “…to continue your search on whatever this is. Do you understand?” Though he didn’t care for the man’s tone, the brunet wisely nodded in response. The man nodded in affirmation to himself, turning to exit through the same door Sanzo had previously gone through. With a tired sigh, the priest turned to Gojyo, but before he could say anything, the redhead held up his hands.
“I’m not going anywhere. Just as long as you’re sure that pissy blond is going to come back. Damn kid’s gone and gotten all attached to him. It’d be a shame if he wasn’t here when he calms down.” It was spoken flippantly, but Hakkai recognized the sentiment for what it was, offering the other man a genuine smile that reached his eyes.
“Of course. Once we finish cleaning him up and get him to sleep, I’ll go look for Sanzo.” Gojyo rolled his eyes, sitting back in the chair and folding his arms across his chest. They all knew they were in for a long wait.
(Translation: I will fear no evil)
Hakkai wasn’t surprised to find Sanzo standing on the small porch outside the building, the man leaning against the rail as he smoked. Tendrils of white curled around him and gave him an almost otherworldly appearance.
It wasn’t until Hakkai took a seat on the porch swing that he looked up. “What the hell do you want?” His face was set in a glare even as his eyes still looked far off in thought.
Hakkai smiled slightly, folding his hands in his lap. “I just wanted to let you know that Goku’s sleeping in his room and his wounds have been tended to.” His voice was light, relieved at the nice turn after the events of the afternoon. The smile never faltered from his lips. Leaning back and staring out into the night sky, he let a sigh escape from him. “Hard to believe that we’ve been here for almost two weeks. So much has already happened.” “Are you trying to make a point?” The brunet chuckled to himself, not at all surprised by the other man’s reaction. “I suppose I am. Sanzo, if I’m correct, we just witnessed Goku receiving another Stigma. And if that is the case, then-”
Sanzo cut him off abruptly. “Then we won’t do anything. I am putting a stop to this right now. We’re leaving tomorrow morning, first thing.”
Hakkai couldn’t help the rush of surprise that flooded into his expression, getting to his feet to face the blond. “We can’t just leave now! We have to do something to help Goku,” he argued, fighting to keep his tone even. Surely Sanzo could understand the necessity of this mission?
Taking a particularly long drag on his cigarette, Sanzo waited several beats before answering. “The brat was fine before this, and he’ll be fine afterwards.” He waved his hand dismissively, crushing the butt into the wood before tossing it out onto the ground. He didn’t move to light another, not wanting the other man to see that he was still shaking. The encounter with Goku had rattled him, sure, but the last thing his pride needed was Hakkai knowing that. “We’re not telling Homura about this. I don’t care what that asshole wants with this whole business, but he’s not coming anywhere near this place.”
So, we’re just going to up and leave, Just like that,” Hakkai answered, folding his arms and frowning. “Without so much as an explanation.”
“Exactly. If you’ve got a problem with it, you can stay here for all I care.” Sanzo crushed the cigarette into the wood before tossing it carelessly onto the ground. He didn’t bother lighting another before turning towards the door, indicating that this conversation was over.
As per usual, the brunet was unfazed by the callous tone. With a smirk, Hakkai leaned up against the porch railing Sanzo had been previously occupying and folded his arms across his chest. “If you insist. Though, it sounds to me like you’re running. Is there something you need to confess?” The man’s tone was genial enough, but they both knew better than that. The blond flinched, whirling around so fast that the other priest knew he had struck a nerve somewhere.
“What was that?” Sanzo asked in a low voice, giving his companion the best glare he could muster. He knew full well what Hakkai was inferring, but there was no way he could deny it, to himself at least. The other man didn’t need to know what had been going on his head as of late.
“You heard me. Sanzo, there is a reason we’re here, I’m sure of it. Goku doesn’t need to be just left here. I want to know why this is happening, and what it has to do with Homura. And if I am guessing correctly, so do you.” Damn Hakkai and his ability to read him like a book. “Whatever. It’s none of my business. I just know that the prick isn’t coming anywhere here.” Or Goku. It was left unspoken, but the implication was clear.
Hakkai’s expression softened, turning to stare out into the stars that were dotting the sky. It was such a clear night, with the waxing moon riding high in the sky. “Exactly. But, is it wise to just leave either? Won’t it be suspicious? After all, you haven’t been reporting to him properly, have you?”
With his hand still on the doorknob, the blond couldn’t stop the smirk that broke out across his face at that. “I’ve been busy. He’ll understand. Besides, when we get back to the Vatican, you’ll just write up your little report telling him that it was a hoax and all a misunderstanding. Some village idiot trying to get sympathy from the Church. Simple as that.” His comment earned a chuckle from his companion, though tension shot through him when the brunet spoke next.
“How are you going to tell Goku? He’s gotten awfully attached to you…”
Sanzo gripped the doorknob harder, the sound of his teeth gritting together filling the silence that blanketed them. He did not need to be hearing this, and damn him if he was going to admit it. Attachments burned, he knew that well enough. Perhaps it was time that the boy learned that as well. “He’ll just have to learn to live with it, won’t he? It’s not my fault he went and got attached, now it is? Like a fucking puppy or something.” He tried to will his body to open the door and escape this conversation, but his muscles refused to work properly.
“Listen to yourself! Sanzo, I know you can be unreasonable when the mood strikes you but honestly, this is going too far. We have to do something, don’t you understand?” Hakkai’s voice was raised now, getting to his feet and moving closer to the blond with determination on his face.
Growling under his breath, Sanzo fisted his hands in Hakkai’s robe and pulled him close, able to see the green eyes widening in reaction. “Why are you so insistent on pressing this? It has something to do that red-haired punk in there, doesn’t it?” When no answer came, he ground out, “We’re leaving in the morning, and that’s final.” Without another word, he shoved Hakkai back into the porch railing before storming back into the hospital.
-----
Sanzo stormed down the hall, his mouth set in an angry line as he headed to one room in particular. He pushed roughly past Gojyo, knocking the other man off balance.
“Hey! What where you’re going, you prick!”
The blond ignored him and slammed the door to Goku’s room behind him, leaving the redhead to wonder if he’d woken the boy up.
“I wonder what crawled up his ass and died,” Gojyo mumbled to himself, smirking when he noticed Hakkai entering the building and heading to the research room. He had been wanting to get the other man alone for some time now to talk, and this would be the perfect opportunity. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he headed down the hall behind him, sure to take his time and keep his steps light.
-----
After Hakkai had collected himself from Sanzo’s outburst, he found himself in the records room again. He needed something to numb his mind from the thoughts that were swirling around in his head. Why had he been so insistent on them staying here? Was it that he wanted to help Goku, or was it some twisted penance for what he did so long ago? Setting his glasses down on the table beside him, he rubbed at his eyes and swore under his breath. “Why is this so hard?”
“Because is anything ever easy?” a familiar voice called from the doorway, mouth curving into a smirk at the reaction it received. Gojyo pulled up the chair next to him, sitting down heavily and propping his feet on the table. “Seriously, man. You’re going to rot your eyes out in here.”
A smile blossomed on Hakkai’s face, closing the book that he had been pretending to look over before the red-haired man’s arrival. “Too true, I suppose. How’s Goku doing?” He put his glasses back on, examining them once before deciding that they needed to be cleaned. A nervous habit, perhaps, since it was the first time he and Gojyo and been really alone since the day he had cleaned his wound.
Gojyo sighed once, though the smile never left his face. “Still sleeping, luckily. And he asked about that prick friend of yours before he dozed off.” His mouth formed a tight line then, running a tanned hand through his hair and looking away from the priest. Looping his hands and settling them in his lap, he kept his eyes trained on some indefinable spot on the table so their gazes wouldn’t meet. “Sanzo went into his room in a right state. But, it’ll be nice that he’s there when Goku wakes up.”
“It bothers you, doesn’t it? Are you sure you aren’t jealous?” Hakkai teased, chuckling when he heard the redhead’s indignant snort. “I guess I could see why. Goku is much like I was when I was younger, before life turned itself inside out. And why Sanzo of all people…” His eyes widened fractionally when he realized what he said, but Gojyo’s lack of response didn’t tell him if the redhead had heard or not. A glance to the man beside him didn’t tell him anything either.
No such luck. “I’m not jealous because of that…just…I don’t know. Goku’s been through hell and back again, and he doesn’t need some uppity bastard coming in and then throwing him away. How your friend became a priest, I don’t even want to know.” A sigh escaped him, leaning further back in the chair and soon Hakkai found himself staring into vivid crimson eyes.
His eyes trailed to the scars on Gojyo’s cheek, blurting before he realized it, “But so have you.” As soon as the words escaped his mouth, he winced and waited for a response. He hadn‘t intended on revealing what he had learned from Aria in regards to Gojyo‘s past, his cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment. “I’m sorry…I-” he started to say, but he saw Gojyo shake his head as a sad smile crossed his face.
“Don’t apologize. So now you know. So what? My mom hates me and my dad raped a foreign girl that had moved here with her family, and here I am today. A half-breed.” Gojyo shrugged, his words laced with the faintest hint of a sneer as if daring the other man to pity him. He wasn’t sure how much the other man knew about him, and he didn’t want to go into the more interesting things he had experienced in his lifetime. He was still smarting from the encounter with Jien and from the nightmare he had been having. A ghost pain danced across his face and he had to suppress the urge to touch his face. “People around here don’t take too kindly to mixing races, if you know what I mean.”
Hakkai’s smile soon matched the other man’s, folding his hands in his lap and staring down at his looped fingers. He had expected the other to be angry at him for invading his privacy, and he felt guilty for it. He stared down at his hands, his still-stained hands that he was sure would never come clean. “I guess I can understand that,“ he replied after a moment. “But, that doesn’t make you dirty, Gojyo. If either of us is dirty, it would be me.” He paused, practically able to feel the tangible tension that had risen at his words. His hands broke apart and one trailed across his stomach, tracing the scarred flesh through the cloth of his robes. A bitter laugh bubbled up from his chest, looking at the other man to find the redhead looking him with a questioning look. “I suppose it’s only fair…”
“What’s only fair?” Gojyo asked, not sure he liked where this conversation was heading. So far, the priests had remained a mystery, as he and Goku had discussed a previous night. The two of them had been comparing theories about the two priests out of a mix of boredom and curiosity. He still wasn’t sure about them, and Hakkai’s words made him uneasy.
At first, Hakkai didn’t answer, leaning to rest his elbows on the table as he stared at nothing at all. The smile on his face was unnerving, not reaching his unseeing eyes until he jerked, seeming to come back to himself. “I didn’t start out as a priest, you know. I used to be a teacher in a small village just like this one.” He glanced at Gojyo then, the sinister edge of his smile softening as he began to lose himself in his memories. The redhead said nothing, as though prompting him to continue. “I lived there with Kanan. She was my entire world…” His words trailed off, his fist clenching against the wood of the table.
“You don’t have to tell me this, you know,” Gojyo insisted, looking straight into those brilliant emerald eyes. So sad, and yet he knew that look well.
As though he hadn’t heard him, the priest continued on. “We were happy, her and I. We lived in our own little house, had enough food to eat, and had a good life. That is, until the day…someone came into our house, I guess to rob it. It was a preposterous idea, given that we didn’t have much. I found her bleeding on our bed, and I held her as she died. They struck me on the head, and I blacked out after that. When I woke up, I saw the bastard rifling through our possessions, so close to her body…and I lost it.” He stopped then, looking away as he clutched his stomach in memory. Anger flooded through him, nearly making him forget that someone else was in the room with him; at least, until he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I killed the man that did it, and his two accomplices. One of them nearly tore out my eye, and the other didn’t get the chance to hurt me.” He took of his glasses to show Gojyo what he meant, allowing him to see the duller shade of green of his left eye a bit closer. “The last man, the one I was sure had killed Kanan…I drove my knife into his chest just as he swiped me across the stomach. I was lucky I didn’t die, but…perhaps it would have been better if I had.”
Gojyo wasn’t sure what to say to that, but he understood anger and frustration well enough. His hand squeezed the other man’s shoulder again, offering a grin. “Don’t say that, okay? It’s not your call whether or not you deserve to live. You’re a priest, you should know that.”
A bitter, ugly laugh escaped from Hakkai’s parted lips, startling the other man into letting him go. “You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you? Tell me, what sort of man makes a good priest when he was sleeping with his own sister?”
The question was pointed and a wrong turn on Gojyo’s part could send the priest into a rage. His eyes narrowed expectantly, daring the redhead to say something.
At first, Gojyo stayed quiet, until a rich laugh of his own came pouring out before he could suppress it. He tried to stop before the priest got the wrong idea, but it was a futile attempt; he just kept laughing until his sides ached and tears poured down his face. When he finally managed to catch his breath, he looked Hakkai square in the eyes. “Is that all? Shit man, there are worse things. Maybe I’m just twisted, but so what? Love is love, right?” he asked simply.
Hakkai was struck dumb for a second, eyes widening as he took in what the other man had said. A trickle of laughter escaped him, but soon he found himself stifling giggles behind his hand. “I guess…I guess you’re right. I should have known better. Well, the villagers weren’t too pleased about us living together in the first place. No one knew she was my sister, but they didn’t like us living in sin. After they heard I killed the ones who did it, they sent word to the Vatican to have someone come and ‘cleanse’ my soul.”
“And that’s how you got stuck with Prissy Pants, right? Touching,” Gojyo snickered to himself, his smile widening when he heard the brunet’s quiet laughter echo his own. “So, let me guess…someone decided that the best way for you to clean up your act would be to make you a priest? I guess that works.”
Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, Hakkai looked at the redhead with a genuine smile on his face. It felt good to laugh, and it was nice that someone didn’t judge him for his sins. “You’re a good man, Gojyo. Goku is very fortunate to have you for a friend.”
If Gojyo would have been the type to blush, he would have been fire engine red. However, he shrugged it off and folded his arms behind his head to dissuade the pleasure fluttering in his gut at the compliment. He offered Hakkai a saucy wink and with a fleeting thought, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to the other man’s mouth. He wasn’t sure why, but it had felt like the right thing to do. He pressed closer, giving the man more trust than he had given anyone in a long, long time.
At first, Hakkai was far too stunned to react, gut fluttering madly at the feeling of such an intimate act. It had been far too long since he had felt another’s touch, but after a moment he began to respond automatically. Some part of him wanted the kiss and he knew it.
Before either could deepen it, Gojyo pulled back. He grinned recklessly at Hakkai, tipping an imaginary hat to the man before taking his leave.
Hakkai was left sitting in the room, running the pads of his fingers across his still tingling lips before they curved into a satisfied smile. He picked up the book with renewed interest and decided that maybe it would be a good time to get some work done.
-----
Gojyo went walking down the hall once more with his hands in his pockets and a bounce in his step. He whistled a merry tune as he sauntered, causing some of the nurses to stare as he past. He didn’t really notice them as his mind was still sitting somewhere in that small room at the end of the hall.
(Translation: And I shall want nothing)