Mer-Gojyo, rising from the deep! (Part 7/?)
This past week was kind of a crapfest, and today, so far, has just been icing on the cake. To give myself a break and a sense of accomplishment, I thought I'd post the next part of this story before I have to focus completely on family stuff for Easter weekend.
Given that it's a rough draft, I still feel pretty good about this piece. (Well, okay. I was going to wait to post this until I finished the scene that I think should come after this, but what the heck? I can just make that other scene into another, fleshed-out part.) Still in the nebulous territory of PG/Y7, I think. Still, alas, without a title. I don't have any idea what to call a story like this.
Previous parts found here.
------------------
Three days later, Gojyo was sick of the ship. Today was worse than the previous two onboard--the sea was glassy smooth and the breeze was fitful, barely enough to fill the sails. He stood on deck, tracking their progress through the water with a jaundiced eye. He was sick of how damn slow the ship went, how it stopped at every island along the way, how the passenger quarters smelled.
Gojyo paced along the edge of the deck. He shuddered at the thought that he'd be forced to eat the food aboard ship for four more days. What he wouldn't give for a nice fresh conch or a handful of periwinkles that had been fed on tender young kelp; anything but the continued variations on day-old eel pie and seafood mystery stew. He didn't think he could face another bowl that had tentacles floating on top. Gojyo understood now why Sanzo stuck to hard-tack. He frowned.
Speaking of, he wanted to go back in time and make sure those two never caught sight of him. Goku was so cheerful every day about everything that Gojyo wanted to drop him overboard. He suspected that Sanzo got a charge out of ordering him around and making him play with Goku. Heh. At least the kid didn't want to do something dumb like have tea parties. Nope. Goku was always wanting to fight, and Gojyo was okay with that. It'd been a while since he'd had to defend himself above water, and, though he'd never admit it to the shrimp, he needed the practice. Frankly, he was kind of surprised that no one had noticed how awkward he was on two legs. He stared down at his feet and wiggled his toes before continuing on around the deck.
And Sanzo…well. The less he thought about that unremitting bastard, the better. Gojyo didn't know if it was the seasickness that made him such a miserable person to be around, but he thought not. He hummed to himself as he leaned on the rail and stared out across the sea. The island was waiting for him and, though it inched closer every day, Gojyo felt completely useless as the ship crawled along. He turned himself around and just about jumped out of his skin as he came face to face with Sanzo.
"Speak of the devil," Gojyo said. "What is it this time? Shrimp need his diaper changed? You need a foot massage or an ego rubdown? Cause I gotta say, I’m not much of a masseuse."
Sanzo glared at him. Ah, another day on the good ship Holy Asshole. Gojyo clasped his hands behind his head.
"Goku's still asleep," said Sanzo. "And you're in my way."
Gojyo switched to whistling instead and was promptly smacked on top of the head with a fan. He yelped and moved to the side. Sanzo stole his place at the rail and brought a cigarette out of his robes. He looked at it contemplatively. His shadow rippled over the water.
"What, you don't like my voice?" said Gojyo. "I'm not that bad a singer!"
And so, of course, Gojyo gave in to the urge to actually sing the song. The problem was, he didn't really know the lyrics except for the refrain.
"Quit singing that song, you moron," said Sanzo. "It’s bad enough that I have to travel with you. I don't want to listen to your noise."
Gojyo sang louder.
"Those aren't even the right words," said Sanzo.
Sanzo brought out his pistol. Gojyo backed off, ready to duck and cover. But he didn't have to. Sanzo wasn't aiming the gun at him: he wasn't aiming it at anyone. Instead, he appeared to be…lighting his cigarette from the sparks the flint made as he pulled the trigger. Finally, the cigarette caught. Sanzo put the pistol away.
Gojyo stared at him, equal parts horrified and fascinated.
"What?" said Sanzo. "It's not loaded."
The unspoken addendum of "you moron" hung in the air.
"Okay," said Gojyo.
He started whistling again and couldn't help a smile as Sanzo ground his teeth.
"I hate that song," said Sanzo. "I want to shoot whoever the hell wrote it because they got it wrong."
Gojyo went silent for a second. Then he laughed.
"What?" said Gojyo. "You're shitting me. How would you know if it's wrong or not? Besides, that song is pretty low-class for you to know, isn't it? I mean, what with all the chanting and crap you monks are supposed to do."
"I met him once," said Sanzo.
Sanzo busied himself with his cigarette. Gojyo snorted and crossed his arms loosely over his chest.
"Who? Chin Yisou?" he said. "I don't believe that for a second."
"No, you moron," said Sanzo. "Chin Yisou's not who that song is really about. It's about Ha--Cho Gonou."
Gojyo paled. Nah. Sanzo couldn't be serious. He shook himself and laughed again, walking around Sanzo.
"You met Cho Gonou?" he said. "Go pull the other one! And anyway, isn't he supposed to be dead?"
Sanzo hit him with the fan again. His mouth turned itself down and his face was grim. Gojyo stilled; Sanzo looked so serious it was impossible to dismiss his claim.
"He's a fugitive,” said Sanzo. “If you’d paid any attention to the song, you’d already know that. He ran away before they could execute him for all the crimes he committed."
Sanzo‘s frown deepened.
"He did a lot of things for which he has yet to atone," he said.
"The murders?" said Gojyo. "Like in the song?"
Sanzo rolled his eyes and puffed furiously on his cigarette.
"Those, yes, but also for sleeping with his sister, among other things," said Sanzo. "It's a crime where we come from, and I assume it’s the same here."
He sized Gojyo up with his eyes, as if he expected him to suddenly break down and confess his wrongdoings. Sanzo's shadow trembled over the waves, and Gojyo thought, just for a second, that there was something not quite right with it. It was probably just how the water lay under it that made it look strange for a minute. It hit Gojyo then, what Sanzo had implied, and he forgot all about Sanzo's shadow.
"Hey!" said Gojyo. "You said we! Did you two know each other or something?"
"We met, once," said Sanzo. "I didn't put it together until too late, otherwise I would have shot him somewhere painful and dragged him back to face judgment."
And then Sanzo's former words sunk in, too.
"Wait," said Gojyo. "Kanaan was his lover, not his sister!"
"She was his sister, too," said Sanzo. "I can assure you, that's the truth."
"Dude," said Gojyo.
He perched on the rail beside Sanzo and filched the cigarette out of the monk's hand. He took a drag, exhaled smoke, coughed, and handed it back over to a livid Sanzo. Gojyo didn't really get the appeal of smoking, but the look on Sanzo’s face was priceless.
"Cho Gonou's dangerous," said Sanzo. “Very dangerous.”
"I bet," said Gojyo.
"And that's who we're going to go see," said Sanzo.
Gojyo just about choked on his tongue. Sanzo looked pleased with himself.
"But, but!" said Gojyo.
He reached for Sanzo's cigarette again, but got his hand slapped away.
"I need his services," said Sanzo.
Gojyo's eyes went wide.
"Don't look at me like that," said Sanzo. "He does other things besides kill people."
One lip twisted up, smug, Sanzo smoked. He had to be messing with him, Gojyo decided. There was no way he was serious.
"Like what?" said Gojyo. "What could he possibly do that your holiness would need?"
Sanzo’s face darkened. He did not speak. He shook out his robes, leaned back against the rail, and blew a cloud of smoke into the air.
"Oh come on," said Gojyo. "Who'm I going to tell? As soon as we get to port, you'll never see me again."
Sanzo stared up into the sky for a minute more before answering.
"Fine," said Sanzo. "Since you want to know so badly, I need answers."
"From a mass murderer," said Gojyo. "Right."
He crossed his arms, skeptical. Obviously, Sanzo didn't want to tell him the truth. Gojyo stared him down.
"You don't believe me," said Sanzo.
"No," said Gojyo. "I don't. What is so important that you'd chase this guy down just to ask him questions?"
"You don't understand," said Sanzo. "Ha--Gonou. He can tell the future. And it's always, always true."
Faint unease shivered its way through Gojyo. He frowned and drummed his fingers against the rail. Something was circling the edge of his memory, but he couldn't yet recall whatever it was that lurked just out of reach.
"You look like someone walked over your grave," said Sanzo.
He pitched the end of the cigarette over the rail and into the sea. His shadow moved along with him, and the butt plopped squarely in the middle of the head of it before the ship's wake washed the cigarette away.
"Hey, Sanzo," said Gojyo. "What's this guy look like?"
Gojyo forced himself to be casual. He slid down the rail and sat on the deck. A post dug into his spine as Sanzo looked down at him, really looked at him. He narrowed his eyes.
"A little shorter than you, dark hair," said Sanzo. "Polite to the point of ridiculousness. Why?"
"Oh, no reason," said Gojyo. "Just want to know who to avoid, you know."
Gojyo slid further down and rolled over onto his belly. He pushed himself up to his feet. Yawning and stretching his arms, he made to leave.
"Think I'll go wake the kid up," Gojyo said. "See ya later!"
Sanzo grabbed his wrist and stared into his face.
"Let me go, asshole," said Gojyo.
He yanked hard, but Sanzo's grip was like iron. Gojyo's heart beat fast in his chest.
"He's got green eyes," said Sanzo.
Gojyo flinched.
"Thought so," said Sanzo. "When did you have the misfortune of running into him?"
He let go of Gojyo and leaned back against the rail with a satisfied look. Gojyo flipped Sanzo off. He stalked away, refusing to answer.
Gojyo tried to reassure himself, despite the horrible feeling in his gut. This was all a mistake, that was all. Sanzo was an asshole and this was just a mistake in communication. There were plenty of dark-haired, green-eyed men out there, and one of them who was not Cho Gonou was the man he was looking for. Gojyo tried to forget all about the whole encounter. He went below deck, rubbing his wrist all the way.
------------------
Post-Part Analysis
I think I was a bit heavy-handed there, with the whole "maybe-something-in-the-water" bit. But...I thought it would be a good place to start adding that in, given that this becomes kind of important later. This part was written to bridge a gap. There is some irony, I suppose, in having to bridge gaps in the gap-bridging itself. (About half of what I've written for this story has been out of order. It's been a bit hectic trying to manage all the details when I'm writing the story's past, present, and future all at the same time.)
Also, maybe Sanzo was a touch too chatty, but I tried to keep him fairly acerbic to counteract that. I feel pretty good about his characterization over all, though, especially since it's in the context of AU, and everyone's backstories are the-same-but-different. And oh boy do I have stories about their pasts to tell! ^_^
Anyway, hope you enjoyed!
~later
Given that it's a rough draft, I still feel pretty good about this piece. (Well, okay. I was going to wait to post this until I finished the scene that I think should come after this, but what the heck? I can just make that other scene into another, fleshed-out part.) Still in the nebulous territory of PG/Y7, I think. Still, alas, without a title. I don't have any idea what to call a story like this.
Previous parts found here.
------------------
Three days later, Gojyo was sick of the ship. Today was worse than the previous two onboard--the sea was glassy smooth and the breeze was fitful, barely enough to fill the sails. He stood on deck, tracking their progress through the water with a jaundiced eye. He was sick of how damn slow the ship went, how it stopped at every island along the way, how the passenger quarters smelled.
Gojyo paced along the edge of the deck. He shuddered at the thought that he'd be forced to eat the food aboard ship for four more days. What he wouldn't give for a nice fresh conch or a handful of periwinkles that had been fed on tender young kelp; anything but the continued variations on day-old eel pie and seafood mystery stew. He didn't think he could face another bowl that had tentacles floating on top. Gojyo understood now why Sanzo stuck to hard-tack. He frowned.
Speaking of, he wanted to go back in time and make sure those two never caught sight of him. Goku was so cheerful every day about everything that Gojyo wanted to drop him overboard. He suspected that Sanzo got a charge out of ordering him around and making him play with Goku. Heh. At least the kid didn't want to do something dumb like have tea parties. Nope. Goku was always wanting to fight, and Gojyo was okay with that. It'd been a while since he'd had to defend himself above water, and, though he'd never admit it to the shrimp, he needed the practice. Frankly, he was kind of surprised that no one had noticed how awkward he was on two legs. He stared down at his feet and wiggled his toes before continuing on around the deck.
And Sanzo…well. The less he thought about that unremitting bastard, the better. Gojyo didn't know if it was the seasickness that made him such a miserable person to be around, but he thought not. He hummed to himself as he leaned on the rail and stared out across the sea. The island was waiting for him and, though it inched closer every day, Gojyo felt completely useless as the ship crawled along. He turned himself around and just about jumped out of his skin as he came face to face with Sanzo.
"Speak of the devil," Gojyo said. "What is it this time? Shrimp need his diaper changed? You need a foot massage or an ego rubdown? Cause I gotta say, I’m not much of a masseuse."
Sanzo glared at him. Ah, another day on the good ship Holy Asshole. Gojyo clasped his hands behind his head.
"Goku's still asleep," said Sanzo. "And you're in my way."
Gojyo switched to whistling instead and was promptly smacked on top of the head with a fan. He yelped and moved to the side. Sanzo stole his place at the rail and brought a cigarette out of his robes. He looked at it contemplatively. His shadow rippled over the water.
"What, you don't like my voice?" said Gojyo. "I'm not that bad a singer!"
And so, of course, Gojyo gave in to the urge to actually sing the song. The problem was, he didn't really know the lyrics except for the refrain.
"Quit singing that song, you moron," said Sanzo. "It’s bad enough that I have to travel with you. I don't want to listen to your noise."
Gojyo sang louder.
"Those aren't even the right words," said Sanzo.
Sanzo brought out his pistol. Gojyo backed off, ready to duck and cover. But he didn't have to. Sanzo wasn't aiming the gun at him: he wasn't aiming it at anyone. Instead, he appeared to be…lighting his cigarette from the sparks the flint made as he pulled the trigger. Finally, the cigarette caught. Sanzo put the pistol away.
Gojyo stared at him, equal parts horrified and fascinated.
"What?" said Sanzo. "It's not loaded."
The unspoken addendum of "you moron" hung in the air.
"Okay," said Gojyo.
He started whistling again and couldn't help a smile as Sanzo ground his teeth.
"I hate that song," said Sanzo. "I want to shoot whoever the hell wrote it because they got it wrong."
Gojyo went silent for a second. Then he laughed.
"What?" said Gojyo. "You're shitting me. How would you know if it's wrong or not? Besides, that song is pretty low-class for you to know, isn't it? I mean, what with all the chanting and crap you monks are supposed to do."
"I met him once," said Sanzo.
Sanzo busied himself with his cigarette. Gojyo snorted and crossed his arms loosely over his chest.
"Who? Chin Yisou?" he said. "I don't believe that for a second."
"No, you moron," said Sanzo. "Chin Yisou's not who that song is really about. It's about Ha--Cho Gonou."
Gojyo paled. Nah. Sanzo couldn't be serious. He shook himself and laughed again, walking around Sanzo.
"You met Cho Gonou?" he said. "Go pull the other one! And anyway, isn't he supposed to be dead?"
Sanzo hit him with the fan again. His mouth turned itself down and his face was grim. Gojyo stilled; Sanzo looked so serious it was impossible to dismiss his claim.
"He's a fugitive,” said Sanzo. “If you’d paid any attention to the song, you’d already know that. He ran away before they could execute him for all the crimes he committed."
Sanzo‘s frown deepened.
"He did a lot of things for which he has yet to atone," he said.
"The murders?" said Gojyo. "Like in the song?"
Sanzo rolled his eyes and puffed furiously on his cigarette.
"Those, yes, but also for sleeping with his sister, among other things," said Sanzo. "It's a crime where we come from, and I assume it’s the same here."
He sized Gojyo up with his eyes, as if he expected him to suddenly break down and confess his wrongdoings. Sanzo's shadow trembled over the waves, and Gojyo thought, just for a second, that there was something not quite right with it. It was probably just how the water lay under it that made it look strange for a minute. It hit Gojyo then, what Sanzo had implied, and he forgot all about Sanzo's shadow.
"Hey!" said Gojyo. "You said we! Did you two know each other or something?"
"We met, once," said Sanzo. "I didn't put it together until too late, otherwise I would have shot him somewhere painful and dragged him back to face judgment."
And then Sanzo's former words sunk in, too.
"Wait," said Gojyo. "Kanaan was his lover, not his sister!"
"She was his sister, too," said Sanzo. "I can assure you, that's the truth."
"Dude," said Gojyo.
He perched on the rail beside Sanzo and filched the cigarette out of the monk's hand. He took a drag, exhaled smoke, coughed, and handed it back over to a livid Sanzo. Gojyo didn't really get the appeal of smoking, but the look on Sanzo’s face was priceless.
"Cho Gonou's dangerous," said Sanzo. “Very dangerous.”
"I bet," said Gojyo.
"And that's who we're going to go see," said Sanzo.
Gojyo just about choked on his tongue. Sanzo looked pleased with himself.
"But, but!" said Gojyo.
He reached for Sanzo's cigarette again, but got his hand slapped away.
"I need his services," said Sanzo.
Gojyo's eyes went wide.
"Don't look at me like that," said Sanzo. "He does other things besides kill people."
One lip twisted up, smug, Sanzo smoked. He had to be messing with him, Gojyo decided. There was no way he was serious.
"Like what?" said Gojyo. "What could he possibly do that your holiness would need?"
Sanzo’s face darkened. He did not speak. He shook out his robes, leaned back against the rail, and blew a cloud of smoke into the air.
"Oh come on," said Gojyo. "Who'm I going to tell? As soon as we get to port, you'll never see me again."
Sanzo stared up into the sky for a minute more before answering.
"Fine," said Sanzo. "Since you want to know so badly, I need answers."
"From a mass murderer," said Gojyo. "Right."
He crossed his arms, skeptical. Obviously, Sanzo didn't want to tell him the truth. Gojyo stared him down.
"You don't believe me," said Sanzo.
"No," said Gojyo. "I don't. What is so important that you'd chase this guy down just to ask him questions?"
"You don't understand," said Sanzo. "Ha--Gonou. He can tell the future. And it's always, always true."
Faint unease shivered its way through Gojyo. He frowned and drummed his fingers against the rail. Something was circling the edge of his memory, but he couldn't yet recall whatever it was that lurked just out of reach.
"You look like someone walked over your grave," said Sanzo.
He pitched the end of the cigarette over the rail and into the sea. His shadow moved along with him, and the butt plopped squarely in the middle of the head of it before the ship's wake washed the cigarette away.
"Hey, Sanzo," said Gojyo. "What's this guy look like?"
Gojyo forced himself to be casual. He slid down the rail and sat on the deck. A post dug into his spine as Sanzo looked down at him, really looked at him. He narrowed his eyes.
"A little shorter than you, dark hair," said Sanzo. "Polite to the point of ridiculousness. Why?"
"Oh, no reason," said Gojyo. "Just want to know who to avoid, you know."
Gojyo slid further down and rolled over onto his belly. He pushed himself up to his feet. Yawning and stretching his arms, he made to leave.
"Think I'll go wake the kid up," Gojyo said. "See ya later!"
Sanzo grabbed his wrist and stared into his face.
"Let me go, asshole," said Gojyo.
He yanked hard, but Sanzo's grip was like iron. Gojyo's heart beat fast in his chest.
"He's got green eyes," said Sanzo.
Gojyo flinched.
"Thought so," said Sanzo. "When did you have the misfortune of running into him?"
He let go of Gojyo and leaned back against the rail with a satisfied look. Gojyo flipped Sanzo off. He stalked away, refusing to answer.
Gojyo tried to reassure himself, despite the horrible feeling in his gut. This was all a mistake, that was all. Sanzo was an asshole and this was just a mistake in communication. There were plenty of dark-haired, green-eyed men out there, and one of them who was not Cho Gonou was the man he was looking for. Gojyo tried to forget all about the whole encounter. He went below deck, rubbing his wrist all the way.
------------------
Post-Part Analysis
I think I was a bit heavy-handed there, with the whole "maybe-something-in-the-water" bit. But...I thought it would be a good place to start adding that in, given that this becomes kind of important later. This part was written to bridge a gap. There is some irony, I suppose, in having to bridge gaps in the gap-bridging itself. (About half of what I've written for this story has been out of order. It's been a bit hectic trying to manage all the details when I'm writing the story's past, present, and future all at the same time.)
Also, maybe Sanzo was a touch too chatty, but I tried to keep him fairly acerbic to counteract that. I feel pretty good about his characterization over all, though, especially since it's in the context of AU, and everyone's backstories are the-same-but-different. And oh boy do I have stories about their pasts to tell! ^_^
Anyway, hope you enjoyed!
~later