[fanfic] - changing part 6/8
Argh, apologies to jessiedark for putting this up a little later than I said I would... Real Life got in the way again, and trying to type with a cat on your hand is not easy! *but still loves cat* Anyway, here's chapter 6 for your enjoyment, and as before, concrit is thoroughly encouraged - it fuels the brain.
Title: Changing
Chapter: 6
Fandom: Saiyuki
Pairings: None for now.
Warnings: Total angstfest, just so you know! Worksafe, with minor swearing and horror.
Previous chapters:
Chapter 5: http://purpleicicles.livejournal.com/12031.html
Chapter 4: http://purpleicicles.livejournal.com/11696.html
Chapter 3: http://purpleicicles.livejournal.com/11431.html
Chapter 2: http://purpleicicles.livejournal.com/11158.html
Chapter 1: http://purpleicicles.livejournal.com/2007/09/11/
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: Sadly, we are not in the alternate universe where I own Saiyuki. Woe. Story, however, is mine. No stealy! The characters of Bing Zhu, Mr. Wenlong and Cao Shin are mine.
PART 6
Hakkai covertly glanced at Gojyo again. He was certain. This was not a stomach ache. For the past three days, he’d noticed his friend’s steady decline. Tonight he looked if possible even worse; he wasn’t even eating, just pushing food around on his plate. Even Sanzo was shooting him concerned looks over the rim of his paper. Goku, too, seemed to have noticed, giving up on his attempts at stealing food from Gojyo’s plate after his minimal efforts to retrieve it. Without all the usual squabbling, dinner was over quickly. All three had noticed Gojyo’s sudden eagerness to depart, despite the listlessness of his limbs and the contradicting tautness of his back. Hakkai hadn’t wanted him to leave, but Gojyo insistently overruled him, and left alone.
“Stupid kappa.” Goku muttered. “He said he’d be better by today - now he looks even worse!”
“He’s up to something.” Sanzo stated, finally emerging from behind his newspaper. “He kept watching the clock through the entire meal.”
“What little he ate of it.” Hakkai added, concern edging his words all to clearly. Sanzo frowned even deeper. “I told him not to do anything to delay us!” he said, taking the brunt of his annoyance out on the newspaper he was folding a shade too violently.
“We should go after ‘im!” Goku proclaimed around a mouthful of Gojyo’s leftovers. “If he’s not eating, he won’t be able to fight too good if he gets into trouble.”
“I agree,” said Hakkai, already standing. “Sanzo?” Sanzo grunted in reply before standing, drawing his gun.
“I’m gonna kill that fucking kappa if this isn’t worth it.” He spat, already marching towards the door. Hakkai hurried to catch up.
“Ahahaha, let’s just find him first, yes?” he pleaded.
“Goku.” Sanzo said, ignoring Hakkai entirely. “You take town centre and no stopping for food. Got it?” Goku nodded, recognizing the iron tones in Sanzo’s voice.
“Got it.” He took off at a dash.
“Hakkai, you go left, I’ll go right.” Sanzo said. “If he’s in trouble, give him hell.”
“You mean give them hell, right?” Hakkai corrected, eyeing him.
“Whatever.” They set off. Dammit, kappa. I warned you…
Gojyo meandered through the crowds on the main street. He was feeling worse than ever. The sight of food at dinner had made him want to hurl, and his growing nervousness was making his palms itch under the sweat. He was intensely aware of the water in the sweat and in the drinks of the people around him. Even the water in their bodies seemed to tug on him like never before. Finding Mr. Wenlong’s shop again was easy enough, but the turned-out lights and closed sign on the door had made him panic until he remembered Mr. Wenlong saying something about a back door.
He hurried round, relieved in some small way at the light leaking under the closed door. Of course he’d have to come in round the back; what jewellers was open this late? He knocked a little too loudly, but he soon heard the shuffling of Mr. Wenlong’s shoes. Presently, the door opened and Mr. Wenlong’s bespectacled face appeared around the door. “Ah! Right on time! Good, good, come in, Mr. Sha.” Gojyo willed his leaden legs to move, fighting down his distinctive urge to turn and run. I have to do this. To keep them safe. I have to do this… he repeated the mantra over and over in his head, using it to take him to the chair indicated by Mr. Wenlong on the workshop side of the room.
“You brought your payment?” he asked as he laid out the ring and a book on the cleared workbench. Gojyo nodded, finding his wallet and extracting the money. He counted it out for what felt like the hundredth time and handed it over with slightly trembling hands. His sinuses itched from the gem-dust in the air. Another wave of nausea hit him, but he fought it down, leaning back in the chair and concentrating on breathing.
“The procedure is simple.” Mr. Wenlong started after counting out the money and concealing it wherever he had put it whilst Gojyo wasn’t paying attention. “First, you must calm yourself. Concentrate on the flow of your breath. Concentrate on the element you feel most strongly connected to,” No problem. Gojyo thought. Haven’t been able to ignore it, recently. “I will then place the ring on your finger… any preference?” Gojyo shook his head. Just get on with it! “Good. I will then perform the incantation that will link the ring to your source of power, your element, transforming it into a limiter. as I do this, you must concentrate on your element, feed it’s power into the ring, directing it through your body, understood?”
“Yeah, I got it. How long does this take?”
“Not too long, it depends on how well you channel your energy, how strong your will is.” Mr. Wenlong turned, book in hand and ring in the other. “Now, close your eyes…”
Goku stopped, sniffing the air again. Why did he get the place with so many people?!? All their scents kept getting in the way of Gojyo’s! He sniffed again, turning his head when suddenly he caught it once more. That way! He took off again, hoping he would catch up before the kappa did something stupid.
Gojyo did as he was instructed, trying to quell the burgeoning sense of unease low in his gut, ignoring the scream of his heightened senses telling him to run. He closed his eyes and concentrated on water.
Hakkai had taken to the bars and nightclubs first, asking discreetly if anyone had seen Gojyo. This barman was just as unhelpful as the last, but as he turned to leave, a hand clapped onto his shoulder. He whirled, but it wasn’t Gojyo. “You looking for Sha Gojyo?” Hakkai nodded, too worried at first to check himself. The blue-eyed youth smiled and brushed his hair out of his face.
Mr. Wenlong put the ring on his finger. Gojyo felt it, but quickly tried to focus on water. As if from a great distance, he heard Mr. Wenlong tell him he would begin the incantation now. Gojyo breathed deeply and tried to concentrate.
Sanzo was pissed off. No Gojyo. Not anywhere. No-one seemed to have heard or seen him in any of the bars he’d looked in. suddenly, a flare of energy caught his attention. He stopped, tuning out the background noise of people enjoying the nightlife and the smells of food and beer and people, concentrating on that single point of energy. That way.
Splaying his fingers over Gojyo’s head, Mr. Wenlong began the incantation. At first, Gojyo didn’t feel anything at all, but gradually he felt as if the ring was acting like a tiny plughole, allowing the water energy to be drained away a little. It was working! The tiny trickle of energy got a bit bigger, rising with the volume of Mr. Wenlong’s voice, the words curling in the air as the lughole widened.
Goku’s head whipped round when he felt the energy spike. That wasn’t good, it was coming from the direction Gojyo’s scent was heading. Ignoring the scent trail, Goku took off at a sprint. He would bet his next meal Gojyo was there.
Gojyo relaxed a little, feeling the tension of the past few days drain away along with the excess water energy. He felt better already. Mr. Wenlong’s voice rose again, widening the hole. The energy trickled away faster. Suddenly, Gojyo felt a pull on his finger, like he was caught on a fishhook and was being reeled in. Gojyo ignored it, but felt the tug again, harder this time. The hole widened further. Gojyo tried to slow the water flow a bit, not wanting it to drain too fast, but the flow increased, the pull on his finger now gathering strength. Gojyo tried again, but suddenly felt dizzy, like he was falling head-first. He tried to resist, to open his mouth, but his body wouldn’t co-operate. Gojyo realised with horrible certainty that something was going terribly wrong.
Shin had turned out to be the boy’s name, who, it transpired, had led Gojyo earlier that day to the jewellers he worked at. They were already going there when Hakkai felt the sudden disturbance in the energy flow around them. The jewellers could wait. He started to run, Shin calling after him.
Sweeping fatigue washed over Gojyo. He barely pushed it back before again desperately trying to pull on the last vestiges of his energy. He felt like he was being sucked into a vortex, the pull on his finger having become an unbearable pain, obscuring his concentration. Mr. Wenlong’s voice sounded in his ear, too loud and echoing down through his very bones. He was trapped, inorexably sliding closer to that huge, gaping hole that now pulled powerfully on his final energy reserves. With a scream that was only in his head, he lost his grip and was swallowed by the hole.
Crossposted to: 1000_miles_west, saiyuki and saiyukiyaoi
Title: Changing
Chapter: 6
Fandom: Saiyuki
Pairings: None for now.
Warnings: Total angstfest, just so you know! Worksafe, with minor swearing and horror.
Previous chapters:
Chapter 5: http://purpleicicles.livejournal.com/12031.html
Chapter 4: http://purpleicicles.livejournal.com/11696.html
Chapter 3: http://purpleicicles.livejournal.com/11431.html
Chapter 2: http://purpleicicles.livejournal.com/11158.html
Chapter 1: http://purpleicicles.livejournal.com/2007/09/11/
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: Sadly, we are not in the alternate universe where I own Saiyuki. Woe. Story, however, is mine. No stealy! The characters of Bing Zhu, Mr. Wenlong and Cao Shin are mine.
PART 6
Hakkai covertly glanced at Gojyo again. He was certain. This was not a stomach ache. For the past three days, he’d noticed his friend’s steady decline. Tonight he looked if possible even worse; he wasn’t even eating, just pushing food around on his plate. Even Sanzo was shooting him concerned looks over the rim of his paper. Goku, too, seemed to have noticed, giving up on his attempts at stealing food from Gojyo’s plate after his minimal efforts to retrieve it. Without all the usual squabbling, dinner was over quickly. All three had noticed Gojyo’s sudden eagerness to depart, despite the listlessness of his limbs and the contradicting tautness of his back. Hakkai hadn’t wanted him to leave, but Gojyo insistently overruled him, and left alone.
“Stupid kappa.” Goku muttered. “He said he’d be better by today - now he looks even worse!”
“He’s up to something.” Sanzo stated, finally emerging from behind his newspaper. “He kept watching the clock through the entire meal.”
“What little he ate of it.” Hakkai added, concern edging his words all to clearly. Sanzo frowned even deeper. “I told him not to do anything to delay us!” he said, taking the brunt of his annoyance out on the newspaper he was folding a shade too violently.
“We should go after ‘im!” Goku proclaimed around a mouthful of Gojyo’s leftovers. “If he’s not eating, he won’t be able to fight too good if he gets into trouble.”
“I agree,” said Hakkai, already standing. “Sanzo?” Sanzo grunted in reply before standing, drawing his gun.
“I’m gonna kill that fucking kappa if this isn’t worth it.” He spat, already marching towards the door. Hakkai hurried to catch up.
“Ahahaha, let’s just find him first, yes?” he pleaded.
“Goku.” Sanzo said, ignoring Hakkai entirely. “You take town centre and no stopping for food. Got it?” Goku nodded, recognizing the iron tones in Sanzo’s voice.
“Got it.” He took off at a dash.
“Hakkai, you go left, I’ll go right.” Sanzo said. “If he’s in trouble, give him hell.”
“You mean give them hell, right?” Hakkai corrected, eyeing him.
“Whatever.” They set off. Dammit, kappa. I warned you…
Gojyo meandered through the crowds on the main street. He was feeling worse than ever. The sight of food at dinner had made him want to hurl, and his growing nervousness was making his palms itch under the sweat. He was intensely aware of the water in the sweat and in the drinks of the people around him. Even the water in their bodies seemed to tug on him like never before. Finding Mr. Wenlong’s shop again was easy enough, but the turned-out lights and closed sign on the door had made him panic until he remembered Mr. Wenlong saying something about a back door.
He hurried round, relieved in some small way at the light leaking under the closed door. Of course he’d have to come in round the back; what jewellers was open this late? He knocked a little too loudly, but he soon heard the shuffling of Mr. Wenlong’s shoes. Presently, the door opened and Mr. Wenlong’s bespectacled face appeared around the door. “Ah! Right on time! Good, good, come in, Mr. Sha.” Gojyo willed his leaden legs to move, fighting down his distinctive urge to turn and run. I have to do this. To keep them safe. I have to do this… he repeated the mantra over and over in his head, using it to take him to the chair indicated by Mr. Wenlong on the workshop side of the room.
“You brought your payment?” he asked as he laid out the ring and a book on the cleared workbench. Gojyo nodded, finding his wallet and extracting the money. He counted it out for what felt like the hundredth time and handed it over with slightly trembling hands. His sinuses itched from the gem-dust in the air. Another wave of nausea hit him, but he fought it down, leaning back in the chair and concentrating on breathing.
“The procedure is simple.” Mr. Wenlong started after counting out the money and concealing it wherever he had put it whilst Gojyo wasn’t paying attention. “First, you must calm yourself. Concentrate on the flow of your breath. Concentrate on the element you feel most strongly connected to,” No problem. Gojyo thought. Haven’t been able to ignore it, recently. “I will then place the ring on your finger… any preference?” Gojyo shook his head. Just get on with it! “Good. I will then perform the incantation that will link the ring to your source of power, your element, transforming it into a limiter. as I do this, you must concentrate on your element, feed it’s power into the ring, directing it through your body, understood?”
“Yeah, I got it. How long does this take?”
“Not too long, it depends on how well you channel your energy, how strong your will is.” Mr. Wenlong turned, book in hand and ring in the other. “Now, close your eyes…”
Goku stopped, sniffing the air again. Why did he get the place with so many people?!? All their scents kept getting in the way of Gojyo’s! He sniffed again, turning his head when suddenly he caught it once more. That way! He took off again, hoping he would catch up before the kappa did something stupid.
Gojyo did as he was instructed, trying to quell the burgeoning sense of unease low in his gut, ignoring the scream of his heightened senses telling him to run. He closed his eyes and concentrated on water.
Hakkai had taken to the bars and nightclubs first, asking discreetly if anyone had seen Gojyo. This barman was just as unhelpful as the last, but as he turned to leave, a hand clapped onto his shoulder. He whirled, but it wasn’t Gojyo. “You looking for Sha Gojyo?” Hakkai nodded, too worried at first to check himself. The blue-eyed youth smiled and brushed his hair out of his face.
Mr. Wenlong put the ring on his finger. Gojyo felt it, but quickly tried to focus on water. As if from a great distance, he heard Mr. Wenlong tell him he would begin the incantation now. Gojyo breathed deeply and tried to concentrate.
Sanzo was pissed off. No Gojyo. Not anywhere. No-one seemed to have heard or seen him in any of the bars he’d looked in. suddenly, a flare of energy caught his attention. He stopped, tuning out the background noise of people enjoying the nightlife and the smells of food and beer and people, concentrating on that single point of energy. That way.
Splaying his fingers over Gojyo’s head, Mr. Wenlong began the incantation. At first, Gojyo didn’t feel anything at all, but gradually he felt as if the ring was acting like a tiny plughole, allowing the water energy to be drained away a little. It was working! The tiny trickle of energy got a bit bigger, rising with the volume of Mr. Wenlong’s voice, the words curling in the air as the lughole widened.
Goku’s head whipped round when he felt the energy spike. That wasn’t good, it was coming from the direction Gojyo’s scent was heading. Ignoring the scent trail, Goku took off at a sprint. He would bet his next meal Gojyo was there.
Gojyo relaxed a little, feeling the tension of the past few days drain away along with the excess water energy. He felt better already. Mr. Wenlong’s voice rose again, widening the hole. The energy trickled away faster. Suddenly, Gojyo felt a pull on his finger, like he was caught on a fishhook and was being reeled in. Gojyo ignored it, but felt the tug again, harder this time. The hole widened further. Gojyo tried to slow the water flow a bit, not wanting it to drain too fast, but the flow increased, the pull on his finger now gathering strength. Gojyo tried again, but suddenly felt dizzy, like he was falling head-first. He tried to resist, to open his mouth, but his body wouldn’t co-operate. Gojyo realised with horrible certainty that something was going terribly wrong.
Shin had turned out to be the boy’s name, who, it transpired, had led Gojyo earlier that day to the jewellers he worked at. They were already going there when Hakkai felt the sudden disturbance in the energy flow around them. The jewellers could wait. He started to run, Shin calling after him.
Sweeping fatigue washed over Gojyo. He barely pushed it back before again desperately trying to pull on the last vestiges of his energy. He felt like he was being sucked into a vortex, the pull on his finger having become an unbearable pain, obscuring his concentration. Mr. Wenlong’s voice sounded in his ear, too loud and echoing down through his very bones. He was trapped, inorexably sliding closer to that huge, gaping hole that now pulled powerfully on his final energy reserves. With a scream that was only in his head, he lost his grip and was swallowed by the hole.
Crossposted to: 1000_miles_west, saiyuki and saiyukiyaoi