Disclaimer:
"Saiyuki" and all of its characters belong to and were created by
Kazuya Minekura. In this story they are used without prior permission. No
profit is made through this story.

The Punishment for Cheating

“Tonight I’m going out for some serious
card playing,” Gojyo declared as he caught sight of the gambling house in the
town they were entering. “You coming with me, Hakkai?”

Hakkai looked hesitantly at his friend.
“I don’t know, Gojyo. I was going to read–.”

“Come on, man. You need to do something
other than sitting with those books in the evenings. Live a little.” Gojyo
clasped Hakkai on the shoulder and laughed. The thought of a night at a real
gambling house made him feel relaxed and happy.

“Go with him,” Sanzo ordered. “That way
you can make sure he comes back at a reasonable time. I want to get an early
start tomorrow, and I don’t want to have to look all over town to find out
whose bed he’s sleeping in.”

That settled the question. After they had
checked in at the inn, Gojyo and Hakkai headed for the gambling house. The room
they entered was big and smoky, but well lit. It seemed to be quite full, too.
Gojyo strolled among the tables, Hakkai in tow, before he found a table with
space where two men had just left. He pulled out a chair and gestured to Hakkai
to take the seat opposite him. “Well, gentlemen,” he addressed the others
around the table. “Poker, is it?”

Knowing he had no chance against Hakkai,
Gojyo ordered something to drink and enjoyed himself watching his friend.
Hakkai took every hand, and Gojyo grinned to himself. He never made a high bet,
so he would not lose much. Trying his best, he still could not beat Hakkai.

Ordering more to drink, Gojyo noticed that Hakkai’s winning streak
had made many come to watch the game. The men around the table started to get
angry, flashing irritated glances at both himself and Hakkai. Gojyo saw
Hakkai’s apologetic smile every time such a glare was sent in his direction,
and he grinned even more broadly. Gojyo could recognize a card shark when he saw
one, and there were two at this table. Neither of them could do much about
Hakkai.

Suddenly one of the players stood up.
“There is no way this man can win this much without cheating!” he yelled,
pointing at Hakkai. The room went quiet.

A sturdy, gray-haired man approached the
table. “I’m the manager,” he told them. “What is the problem?”

The angry man turned to face him. “I
accuse these gentlemen of cheating.” This time he pointed at both Hakkai and
Gojyo.

“Me?” Gojyo was surprised. “I haven’t won
anything all evening, and my friend here doesn’t cheat.” Maybe that could have
come out better, Gojyo thought. It was as though he had admitted that he could
cheat. The drinks had started to show; but no one seemed to care.

Hakkai rose. “Please calm down, Mister,”
he asked politely. “I can assure you I have not cheated.”

The angry man snorted. “Yes, you have.
You and your partner are playing together. That’s cheating in my book.”

“That’s a serious accusation,” the
manager said gravely. “Do you have any proof of this, besides the fact that
this man has won your money?”

“No,” the man admitted.

The manager turned to Hakkai and Gojyo.
“I can’t say if you are cheating or not, and I won’t throw you out without
proof that you are. But for the sake of the peace, could you please split up to
different tables?”

“Sure.” Gojyo shrugged. “If there’s an
opening anywhere else, I’d be glad to.” He grinned. “I wouldn’t mind winning a
little myself.”

The manager looked seriously at him.
“I’ll make room for you at another table. Just remember we’ll be keeping an eye
on you and your partner. Come with me.”

Gojyo followed the manager on somewhat
wobbly legs. Hell, how many drinks had he had? When they reached a table at the
other side of the room, he got a seat from a man the manager asked to take his
former chair at Hakkai’s table. This was not anything Gojyo was going to
complain about. He ordered a couple more drinks and smiled to himself. Finally
he would be able to make some winnings of his own.

The night went on, and Hakkai continued
to win at his table. Gojyo could see that the pile of markers in front of his
friend was higher than before. At least he thought so. His vision had started
to blur a little, but what the hell, he wasn’t drunk yet. His own pile of
markers was also quite high, he observed with a happy little smile. He was
dealt a new hand, placed his bets, took new cards.

Gojyo looked at the cards, trying to think: Was this a good hand? Of
course it was. But was it as good as his stakes had made it seem? No, he was
bluffing this time. Problem was–Gojyo tried to clear his mind–the man sitting
across from him looked like he had something good, too. Again Gojyo managed to
focus on his cards. Good, yes, but wouldn’t it be even better if he made use of
the cards he had hidden earlier? Sure would, he decided.

Gojyo fumbled with the hidden cards and
changed his hand. He grinned at his opponents, and opened his mouth to say
something, but a big hand fell down on his shoulder before he had the chance.

“You better come with me,” a firm voice
said.

As Gojyo hardly could walk now, he was
half dragged to a smaller room behind the big gambling hall. There he was
pushed, not too gently, onto a chair. “Sit still,” he heard the voice say.
Swaying as he turned his head, Gojyo saw a man he thought he should recognize.
Ah, the manager. But why had the man brought him here? A couple of
seconds later the door was opened again, and another man came in with Hakkai.

“Hakkai!” Gojyo exclaimed happily when he
saw his friend. “Hows doin’, buddy? Been winging…winning a lot?”

Looking resigned, Hakkai answered the
redhead. “Yes, I have. And you seem to have had a little too much to drink,
Gojyo.”

“Nah, nevr t’much,” Gojyo laughed. “No
sushing as t’much.”

Hakkai shook his head. “You won’t feel
that way tomorrow.”

“Well, he can sober up in prison,” the
manager told Hakkai. “You’re both going there now.”

“Excuse me?” Hakkai looked surprised.
“What for?”

“Cheating,” the manager stated calmly.
“Your friend here was caught red-handed, and as for yourself… well, you haven’t
lost a single hand all night, and it just isn’t possible for a man to win like
that without cheating.”

“As I said before, I assure you I have
not been cheating.” Hakkai smiled his most polite smile. “I just am very good
at poker, that’s all.”

“I’m afraid I don’t believe you,” the
manager said. “I’ve sent for the sheriff. He’ll be here any minute now.”

Just as he had said that, the sheriff
entered the small room. “Are these the cheaters?” he asked.

The manager nodded, and the sheriff
grabbed Gojyo by his arm and pulled him to his feet.

“Hey, whatcha doin’?” Gojyo slurred.

Not answering, the sheriff pulled Gojyo
out the door. One of his men followed, leading Hakkai. They walked, in Gojyo’s
case stumbled, through the gambling hall. All the while Gojyo was audibly
protesting, “Lemme go, bast’rd.”

Before they went out, the sheriff dragged
Gojyo to a board hanging beside the outer door. “Look,” he demanded, holding
Gojyo’s head close to a note on the board. “What’s this say?”

Gojyo tried to focus, to no avail. “Can’t
schee,” he told the sheriff.

“It says,” Hakkai was behind him. “‘All
cheating on these premises is punishable by 42 days in prison or a fine of
three times the amount of money gained while cheating’.”

“Priz’n?” Gojyo started to laugh.
“Sanzo’s not gonna like this.”

“No, he won’t.” Hakkai sighed.

The sheriff took the two of them to the
town’s small jail and locked them in a cell. Gojyo immediately fell down
collapsed on one of the small beds and started to snore, but Hakkai stayed by
the bars. “Sheriff,” he started. “Could you please send a message to the Sanzo
monk at the inn and tell him we’re here?”

“You’re strangers in town, right?” The
sheriff nodded pleasantly. “I guess I can do that. But now I bid you good
night.” With a mock bow he left, and Hakkai stretched out on the other bed and
tried to sleep.

---

The messenger found Sanzo still awake, so
could readily give him the message from the sheriff.

Sanzo opened the folded paper and read,
“Cho Hakkai asked me to inform you that I have taken him and Sha Gojyo under
custody for cheating. They will stay here for 42 days, or a fine of 2000 L must
be paid.” Signed, “Chow, Sheriff.”

Growling to himself, Sanzo threw the note
away and sat down to continue reading his newspaper. If those two morons
thought that he was going to rush over to the jailhouse to free them, they
would have to think again. Irritated, he turned a page of the paper,
concentrating hard on what he was reading. After a few minutes he gave up. It
was time to go to bed anyway.

He undressed and lay down under the
blanket. It’s a very comfortable bed, he thought. Hopefully the beds in the
prison were not this comfortable. He growled again. What a pair of idiots.
Cheating! Why the hell were they cheating? Well it wasn’t unlike the stupid
kappa to try something so brainless, but Hakkai? Sanzo would never have thought
that man would cheat at a gambling house. Whatever. Time to sleep. Sanzo rolled
over to his side, closed his eyes, and immediately fell asleep.

---

The next day Sanzo was abruptly awoken by
Goku who rushed in, yelling. “Sanzo! Wake up! I can’t find Gojyo and Hakkai
anywhere! They’re not downstairs and they haven’t slept in their beds.”

Sanzo glared at the boy. “That’s because
they slept in jail last night. Now, get the hell out of my room.”

“Jail?” Goku did not leave. Instead he
sat down on the chair by the window. “Why are they in jail?”

Sanzo closed his eyes. Why didn’t anyone
ever obey him when he asked to be left alone? Sighing, he opened his eyes again
and answered Goku. “Apparently they were cheating at the gambling house last
night.”

“Hakkai, too?” Goku looked surprised, and
Sanzo’s lips twisted at Goku’s thoughts being so similar to his own.

 “Seems like it,” he answered. “Now will you get out of my room?”

“But if they‘re in prison we have to get
them out!” Goku rose. “Hurry, Sanzo, we need to go to the prison.”

“If anytime soon you find it convenient
to leave my room and let me get dressed, then maybe I’ll consider this over
breakfast,” Sanzo growled.

“Consider?” Goku questioned. “What do you
mean, ‘consider’?”

 At Sanzo’s answering glare,
Goku shut up and left the room, murmuring, “See you downstairs, Sanzo.”

Sanzo reached for his cigarettes and lit
up one. He was in no hurry. The monkey was probably already stuffing his mouth;
he could manage without Sanzo for a moment longer. What to do about those other
two morons, then? The fine was big, but it wasn’t his money anyway. Besides, he
was in a hurry to go west, and being held up for 42 days was not acceptable. On
the other hand, why should he have to go through this kind of trouble just to
get a pair of stupid imbeciles out of jail? They should know better than to get
themselves in trouble. Maybe he could leave them there to teach them a lesson
and let them catch up later. Then he could kill them for being such fools. Or
would it be more satisfying to pay the fine to get them out, and then kill them
right away? He could not decide. One way or another, those two were going to
pay for this, that was for sure. Sighing, he trashed the cigarette in the tray
and went down to join Goku at breakfast.

As he suspected Goku was already busy eating, but he looked up when
Sanzo arrived. “I wonder what Gojyo and Hakkai get for breakfast in jail,” was
the greeting he gave Sanzo. “Maybe they didn’t get any. Hurry up, Sanzo, we
have to get them out!”

The monk calmly sat down and poured
coffee into the cup in front of him. He sipped the black fluid, then searched
the table for some eggs.

“Sanzo,” whined Goku. “We must hurry to
get them out,” he repeated.

Sanzo looked at the boy over the rim of
his cup. “Why?” he asked.

“Eh, what? What do you mean why?”

“Why must we hurry to get them out?”
asked Sanzo, unusually patient. He found it wonderfully quiet at the breakfast
table. A couple of days without the annoying kappa would be heavenly. Of
course, he was not sure heaven was such wonderful place. But anyplace without a
certain redhead must be better than a place with him.

“But… but…” Goku stammered. “You usually
don’t want to stay for long at the same place. You said yourself that you
wanted an early start today. Unless…” he stared suspiciously at Sanzo. “You’re
not planning on leaving them behind, are you? Because even if you don’t care
about them, I do. And besides, the Sanbutsushin said we need them.”

Sanzo snorted. “We can manage just fine
without those two. They’re more trouble than help, anyway.”

Goku opened his mouth to protest, but
before he could say anything Sanzo interrupted him.

“Shut up, idiot. I haven’t decided yet.
Who knows, they might be of some use in the future. Now let me finish my
breakfast in peace for once. Without the kappa that may be possible.” Sanzo
took up the paper lying beside him on the table and started to read. Good, he
observed. Goku had ordered the paper for him. At least the little monkey knew
what he wanted in the morning.

---

Hakkai sat on his hard bed watching Gojyo
slowly come to life.

“Ooh, ouch,” the kappa groaned as he
tried to sit up, but gave up and sank back on the bed. “Hakkai?” he asked with
his eyes closed.

“Yes, Gojyo, what is it?”

“Can you give me something for this
headache? Don’t be cruel and pretend you don’t have anything, will ya?” Gojyo
mumbled, as he grimaced at the pain.

“Oh, but I don’t have anything, Gojyo,”
the healer replied coldly. “You see, those pills are in my bag, and I don’t
have that with me at the moment.”

At that, Gojyo managed to turn his head
to the side and squint at his friend. “What do you…?” He caught sight of the
small cell they were in, and asked weakly, “Where are we?”

“Thanks to a certain someone, who cheated
last night, we’re in prison,” Hakkai said icily.

Gojyo pondered that for a minute. “I
cheated? Yeah, I guess I did.” He groaned again. “Hell, how much did I drink?”

Hakkai’s answer was chilly. “I would say,
‘too much,’ but you told me yesterday you never could drink too much, so I
suppose you drank exactly the right amount of alcohol last night.” He stared
steadily at Gojyo. “And if you didn’t drink too much, then I would appreciate
an explanation as to why you were cheating.”

The kappa cringed at the look the healer
gave him. “Huh? Eh…? I don’t know,” he finally admitted. “But,” he suddenly
came to another thought, “why are you here...? Or are you here to get me out?
Then let’s go. I really don’t like being behind bars.” He tried once again to
stand, but had to give it up when the pain flashed through his head.

“No, Gojyo,” Hakkai’s voice was still
icy. “I was brought here for cheating, too.”

Gojyo shot a sharp look at his friend.
“Heh, you were cheating, too? Never thought you would do that. You can’t blame
that on me, though.”

Hakkai’s only answer was an even chillier
stare. Gojyo immediately shut up.

---

Sanzo was standing in front of the inn
with an unusually blank expression on his face. He had suddenly realized that
it would be difficult for him and Goku to go on without the other two. Maybe he
could convince Goku to leave Hakkai and the kappa, but he knew he could never
make Hakuryuu leave without the healer.

“Sanzo, what’s wrong?” Goku’s voice
interrupted his thoughts, and Sanzo saw the boy’s worried expression.

“Nothing,” he snapped, irritated. “Here,
take this.” Sanzo handed the gold card to Goku. “Make yourself useful and go
take care of the shopping.” When Goku showed no sign of moving, he growled.
“What’s the matter? Get going!”

“But,” Goku started hesitantly, “what do
you want me to buy?”

Sanzo got more annoyed. “Damn, monkey.
You’ve done the shopping before. Go get whatever is needed. And don’t forget my
cigarettes.”

Still Goku did not move. “Hakkai always
makes the shopping list. I don’t know what we need. How much? For how long?”

Sanzo swore to himself. True. The
shopping had always been Hakkai’s responsibility. He glared at Goku like it was
his fault, and snorted. “Just get my cigarettes… and a new lighter.”

Finally, with a shrug, Goku went off down
the street. Sanzo went to sit on a simple bench under a nearby tree. He managed
to light one of his last two cigarettes with the bad lighter, then leaned back
against the tree and lifted his head up to watch the green leaves above him.
How could he get out of this town without Hakkai? No other cars, no buses
heading west, no trains. The only options were by foot or by horse. Sanzo
grimaced. Neither was very appealing. He had to admit Hakkai was of some use
after all. Driving, shopping, healing. Maybe he could get only the healer out
of jail and leave the worthless kappa there? Tch, like Hakkai would agree to
that.

It was very soothing sitting under the
tree. It was a nice day, not too hot, not too cold. The leaves waved slowly in
a tiny breeze, and there was no stupid kappa to argue with a likewise stupid
monkey. He took the last drag of the cigarette and blew the smoke out through
his nostrils, trashed the stump, and closed his eyes. Peaceful. 

What to do? It would be much faster
driving than walking, so what would he gain by leaving on foot and letting the
other two catch up in the jeep, nice and cozy, a month and a half later?
Nothing but sore feet. Not an option. Horses? The only horses he had seen had
been workhorses, and he doubted the owner wanted to sell them. They were
probably too valuable in their work to be sold anyway. Besides, Goku had never
even sat on a horse, and it was a long time since he had done it himself. That
would lead to sore bottoms instead of sore feet. And it would still leave the
two cheaters with the more convenient mode of travel.

Leaving without them did not seem a good
idea. How about taking a vacation here then, while letting them sit in prison
for 42 days?  No way. He could not be
held up on the journey for so long. Damn. The only way out of this was to go
and pay their fines and get them out so they could continue immediately. Coming
to that decision, he lit up his last cigarette and relaxed. Might as well at
least let them stew for a while.

Half an hour later he started to get
irritated again. Where was that stupid monkey with his cigarettes? At the same
moment he saw Goku running towards him, grinning happily.

“What took you so long?” he demanded
harshly as Goku handed him the cigarettes and lighter.

“Sorry, Sanzo. I found this food stand
with the tastiest noodles I’ve ever eaten.” Goku was practically beaming. “And
beside it they sold dumplings, and–”

“Shut up. I get the picture. Give me back
my card. We’re going to get the idiots out of jail.” Sanzo smirked. “But they
can wait until after lunch.”

---

When Gojyo woke up again, having fallen
back to sleep in spite of his throbbing head, the pain was far more bearable.
He carefully sat up and grinned when he was successful. Hakkai was lying on his
bed, but he was not sleeping. He cast Gojyo a glance then resumed watching the
ceiling. Shit, Hakkai’s still pissed.

“Hey, Hakkai,” Gojyo called to his
friend, “Does Sanzo know we’re here?”

“Yes, Gojyo, I sent him a message.”

Not liking the icy tone, Gojyo
nevertheless continued. “You heard anything from him?”

“No, Gojyo, I haven’t,” was the curt
answer.

Gojyo sighed. “Come on. Hakkai,” he
begged. “It’s not my fault you were arrested for cheating, ya know.”

The healer turned stern eyes on him. “The
difference is that I didn’t cheat, while you did. And since they knew we were
in company, they wouldn’t believe my winnings were honest.” Hakkai turned his
head away again.

Gojyo was quiet for a moment. “What do
you think Sanzo’ll do? He must be fucking pissed.” He laughed. “That almost
makes it worth being in jail.”

“Well, he’s not the only one angry,
Gojyo.” Hakkai’s voice was so cold that Gojyo immediately withdrew any thought
that it was worth being here. Imprisoned together with an angry Hakkai was not
his idea of a good time. He rose and started to pace the cell, and was relieved
he could do so without too much pain. Gojyo cast glances on Hakkai now and
then, but the healer ignored him.

“How long are we going to be here?” Gojyo
asked quietly, not expecting Hakkai to answer.

“Forty-two days.” Hakkai answered, his
tone no friendlier. “Unless Sanzo pays our fines and releases us.”

Gojyo almost jumped at the sound of
Hakkai’s voice. “Forty-two days, huh? The monk’ll be pissed all right.” He
laughed sarcastically. “Guess they didn’t let us keep our winnings, so we can
pay the fines ourselves?”

Hakkai raised a brow. “My winnings, you
mean. Yours weren’t really yours. You cheated, remember?”

“Hey.” Gojyo had started to become
annoyed himself by now. “I won some money without cheating. I only cheated once
–I think– and that’s when they caught me.”

“You think? Hard to say what you did last
night. I doubt you remember very well–”

He was interrupted by a guard who
appeared with a lunch tray. “Here you are, boys,” he declared cheerily, as he
put the tray in a small opening in the door. “Cooked by myself, so don’t
complain if it doesn’t suit you.” He winked and disappeared.

Gojyo took the tray and put it at the end
of Hakkai’s bed, since there was no table in the cell, and sat down beside it.
Hakkai sat up, and they inspected the contents of the tray. There was a pot
with a stew that smelled very good, one bowl with rice, one bowl with
vegetables, and some bread. There was also a pitcher of water. A simple meal,
but there was enough food for both of them.

In silence they divided the food on the
plates they had received and started to eat. Gojyo was hungry. He had slept
through breakfast, and even if he had been awake he probably would not have been
able to eat anything. After the first mouthful he made a surprised sound. “Hey,
this is good!”

Hakkai agreed. “That man is a good cook.
He knows how to use spices.” He tasted some more. “Maybe I could get the
recipe. I think Goku would like this,” he mused.

“Hell, so do I,” Gojyo declared, and
stuffed his mouth full. “If we get this kind of food, I don’t mind staying here
for six weeks.”

“Unfortunately for you, I’m here to let
you out.” They turned toward the well-known voice and found Sanzo standing right
outside the bars, looking annoyed. Goku stood beside him with an eager
expression on his face.

“That smells so good. Is there anything
left for me? I’m so hungry,” the boy complained.

“Sorry.” Gojyo shoveled the last of the
stew into his mouth. “It’s all gone, and it was really tasty, ya know. The meat
was tender, and it was spiced perfectly.” He grinned at Goku’s thunderstruck
expression when the boy realized what he had missed.

“Shut up.” Sanzo smacked Goku’s head.
“You ate half an hour ago, and you didn’t complain about the food you got
either.” The monk turned to the prisoners. I’ve paid the fine, and as soon as
the sheriff is done with all the paperwork he’ll let you out. I’m going back to
the inn. You better hurry.” Without another word he left, with Goku right
behind him.

“See ya.” The boy waved at them before he
followed the monk out.

A few minutes later Gojyo and Hakkai were
free to go, and they soon were on their way to the inn. Gojyo glanced at Hakkai
and was relieved to see that the healer had finally lost the hard, cold look in
his eyes. “Hey, Hakkai. What do you think Sanzo will do about this?”

Hakkai answered with a straight face. “I
expect that you will have to run behind the jeep when we take off again.”

Gojyo started. “Me? What about you? We
were in jail together!”

“I’m fairly sure Sanzo will see my
innocence when I explain the situation to him. And,” he turned to Gojyo and
smiled, “Hakuryuu wouldn’t let me run behind him, and Sanzo knows that. If he
wants to continue the journey in the jeep, he’ll let me drive.”

“That’s not fucking fair,” Gojyo
exclaimed crossly, but he silenced when he saw the smile on Hakkai’s lips.
Realizing Sanzo would not let him run behind the jeep, if only because that
would slow down the journey, Gojyo grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, yeah, I know, it
was all my fault. I’m sorry Hakkai. But don’t you let that fucking monk know
that,” he threatened with a grin.

Hakkai only chuckled.

Back at the inn Sanzo stood beside the
jeep eating an apple, while Goku brought out their bags. The boy heaved the
bags into the car and asked the healer; “Hey, Hakkai, did you really cheat?”

Hakkai smiled. “Of course not, Goku. They
only thought I did because I won every hand.”

“Ch,” Sanzo snorted, but all of them
understood that Sanzo accepted that, too. “Better hurry to buy everything we
need. I want to leave as soon as possible. We’ve been held up long enough
because of the stupid kappa.” He held the gold card out to Hakkai, who did not
take it.

“The next village is quite large and is
only about seven hours drive from here. We should be able to reach it this
evening, and we don’t need anything until we get there. If you want, we can
leave immediately,” Hakkai said and took his place in the driver’s seat.

Sanzo climbed in and sat down beside him,
while Goku jumped into the backseat. Gojyo hesitated outside the jeep.

“Get in, kappa.” Sanzo ordered. ”We’re leaving now, with or without you.”

Gojyo frowned. “I’m out of cigarettes. If
his holiness could wait five minutes…”

A smirk briefly crossed Sanzo’s cool
face. “No,” he stated. “Get in. Hakkai, let’s go.”

The jeep started to roll, and Gojyo,
swearing, jumped on board, half falling over Goku. “Damn it, Sanzo. It wouldn’t
hurt you to let me buy cigarettes.”

“Sanzo growled. “We’re leaving late enough
because of you.”

Gojyo glared angrily as he tried to avoid
Goku’s pushing and get seated comfortably. “Fucking, bastard,” he muttered.

Sanzo took up his own cigarettes and lit
up one. “Besides,” he blew some smoke in Gojyo’s direction, “you don’t have the
money to buy any cigarettes.”

“What do ya mean?” Gojyo grunted,
irritated. He was not in the mood for any games from the monk.

“Tch,” Sanzo snorted. “Use your brain,
kappa.”

“It’s too difficult, when he doesn’t have
one,” Goku peeped in.

“He means we both lost all our money at
the gambling house last night, Gojyo,” Hakkai reminded patiently.

Gojyo groaned. He knew he was at the complete mercy of the bastard
monk. There was no way to say when he ever would get a smoke again. And this
time he could not even borrow money from Hakkai to begin building up new
capital.

“Then, of course, you need to pay back
the fine.” Sanzo turned in the seat to watch Gojyo. “Both yours and Hakkai’s,”
he added indifferently, blowing smoke in Gojyo’s face.

“What? You shitheaded monk!” Gojyo cried
out and half rose. “It’s not even your damned money! Hakkai,” he pleaded for
support, “tell him this isn’t fair.”

Hakkai met his eyes in the rearview
mirror. “As a matter of fact, Gojyo,” the healer answered coolly, “I think
Sanzo is right. You put yourself in this situation, and you have to deal with
the consequences. There is also the matter of the money I lost.”

“What do you mean?” Gojyo asked,
uncertain. This didn’t sound good.

“I mean you should pay me back, too,”
Hakkai replied calmly. “It’s because of you that I’m now just as broke as you
are.”

Staring in disbelief, Gojyo slumped back into his seat. Forty-two
days in jail with delicious meals was beginning to sound way better than
continuing on this journey with a merciless Sanzo and vengeful Hakkai. Gojyo
closed his eyes and dwelled on his misery. The monk had found the perfect way
to punish him for cheating.

Owari