When Words Aren't Spoken

Okay, I wanna get this out before you read too far. I’m one of those crazies that likes to stay close to canon. (Kinda hard, considering I’ve only seen the first 4 DVD’s and read the first 9 volumes.) So that means no obvious yaoi of any pairing. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good yaoi, it’s just I don’t see it in the original work. And if I don’t, I don’t work it. Any hints at anything in here is purely accidental. You’re welcome to take it as you see it, if the whole story still works, that is.

**********************

“Why did I agree to this?” Sanzo asked Hakkai as they stayed out of the fight.

“Wha!!” Goku yelled as the giant tiger swatted him away, flinging him through the air.

Calmly stepping aside as he slid past, Hakkai simply smiled, “I guess Gojyo and I were destined to come back to this village.”

Goku instantly hopped up, enthusiasm at a whole new level. Summoning his nyoi-bo, he charged forward, vaulting over Gojyo as he was driven backwards by the force of a blow. “What the fuck happened to this thing?” Gojyo asked, turning to the others.

Sanzo just glared. The tiger was taller at the shoulder than Goku was completely. It wasn’t fighting like the animal would either: it wasn’t jumping or stalking like a normal tiger… But there was no evil aura to it… It was fighting because it was attacked... it was fighting to live.

“Goku, look out!!” Hakkai called out as it crouched, preparing to jump.

“Shit!” Goku yelled as he turned to the giant tiger, twisting as the creature launched itself.

Right at Sanzo.

Barely having time to draw his gun, Sanzo stumbled backward as Goku appeared, shoving him out of the way. The force of the landing knocked Sanzo on his ass, drove Goku to his knees; he tried not to scream as the teeth sunk into his shoulder. Sanzo could only stare as the nyoi-bo fell on him, the audible cracking of bones telling him why.

“Great, just great,” a woman’s voice grumbled as the tiger was knocked off of Goku with a chi blast.

Sanzo was still in shock as Goku fell into his lap, shivering uncontrollably. Absently drawing him closer, Sanzo turned to Hakkai, only to find him helping the kappa up. “I told those idiots I’d handle this, but you two show up again and they expect a repeat performance.” She finally stepped out of the forest. Rounded ears, long brown hair in a single braid, jeans and a tunic, no visible limiter or birthmark: she was apparently human. At least until…

The tiger shook off the effects of the blast and lunged at her. Seconds before impact she raised both hands, a whole different energy coming forward, engulfing the creature in a watery sphere. “Took me three frickin’ days to figure out was the fuck this is.”

“So?” Gojyo asked, annoyed at how easily she handled it.

Raising her right hand and flexing her fingers, a new wave of energy rippled through it, breaking the transformation. Now, instead of a waterlogged tiger, she had a giant spiky fish with the tiger’s head swimming in her bubble. “A shachihoko, a sea monster that can transform when on land. The fact it came this far upstream either means it was driven out or came all this way on purpose.”

“It’d take months to get to the ocean following the river…” Hakkai agreed, “Maybe it was captured and brought this far.”

She only shrugged as she walked over to Sanzo and Goku. “Damn,” she knelt, checking his shoulder out. “Great, a water spirit poisons an earth spirit. Damn.”

“Poison,” Sanzo mumbled, his hold getting tighter.

Gojyo and Hakkai stepped closer, concerned for the monkey. “Can you fix him?”

She rolled back on her heels, rubbing her hands together, eyes never leaving Sanzo’s, “Not completely, at least not all at once. There’s just too much, I can’t remove it all.” She paused at the twitch in those violet eyes, “I’m just not strong enough in either healing or elemental magic, but I think a little fire magic with my healing chi might help.”

“What the fuck?!?” Gojyo exclaimed as Sanzo suddenly jumped.

Goku had gone rigid in his arms.

“Shit!” she exclaimed, instantly grabbing Goku’s right shoulder, a golden glow and a steam-escaping hiss gave them some idea her powers were working.

“Aaahh!!” he cried, trying to pull away, the shivering starting again.

“Nozomi,” Hakkai called out, catching her before she fell across Goku and Sanzo.

Sitting her back on the ground, Hakuryu crawled from Hakkai’s shoulders into this Nozomi’s lap as Gojyo stood in her place. Bending to pick up Goku, Sanzo’s glare made him pause briefly, “Give me the saru so you can get your almighty ass up, Your Holiness.”

“Why are you still alive?” Sanzo replied, discreetly tousling Goku’s hair before he allowed Gojyo to pick him up. Scurrying sounds stopped him on his knees.

Turning to the sounds, Sanzo could only watch as other dragons scampered out of the forest. One the size of a large dog had curled around behind her; at least four others like Hakuryu were crawling all over her. She smiled as she patted the smaller dragons’ heads before turning to the dog-sized one, “Thanks guys. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Two of them flew away as everyone stood, Hakuryu changing forms as the larger one tugged on her pant leg. Turning to it, she realized why. “I know, I didn’t forget.” Rubbing her hands together again, she smiled at the dragon, “Wanna help?”

Sanzo stepped forward as Hakkai took her shoulder. “Why don’t you let me Nozomi? Save your energy for Goku,” he offered, both of them feeling Sanzo’s cold concern like another presence behind them.

“You’re right,” she nodded, looking over her shoulder into droopy violet eyes. “Let his fire do most of the job Hakkai.”

“Of course.”

Sanzo could only watch as she calmly walked over to Jeep as the shachihoko was taken care of. Gojyo was putting Goku down in the back, “AAAHHH!!” Goku suddenly screamed as his shoulder bumped the side of Jeep.

“YOWCH!!” Gojyo yelped as she grabbed his hair, pulling him down the few inches it took to get eye level.

“You stupid half-breed! If you screwed up any of the healing I did, I’ll make damn sure no woman would ever want to go near you again!” still holding Gojyo’s hair tight and ignoring his swatting, prying hands, she turned to the others. “Unfortunately, no matter how carefully you drive, it’s a bumpy ride back to my place. So who’s gonna look after the kid?”

Calmly joining her, Hakkai smiled as he took her hand, getting her to release Gojyo’s hair. “I better drive, why don’t you look after of Goku?” he politely offered, turning to Sanzo for approval.

Finally tearing his eyes off her, Sanzo turned to the shivering, whimpering boy in the back of Jeep. Blood had soaked into his shirt, the bite a visible red U down his chest and up his arm. His entire shoulder was slumping oddly, almost as if it was dislocated. If only his arm wasn’t lying simply across his stomach. Sanzo only shook his head in… disbelief… as he walked over to the driver’s side, picking up Goku’s feet as he slipped in under them.

The two dragons still with her suddenly landed on Goku, crawling ever so carefully towards his injuries. The same golden chi she’d emitted encompassed both when they could move no further, four wings stretched out over his shoulder as best they could. With that, she cautiously got in beside Goku, both hands glowing as she slipped one arm beneath him, automatically soothing him as he groaned at the pain. Hakkai hopped up on the back bumper, supporting himself on the back of the seat as he slid his arm under Goku’s good shoulder, down and across his back to help support him as Nozomi folded one leg under her, facing Sanzo as she sat, leaning him back on her left shoulder, trying to
lay his right one safely across her chest. Moaning and flinching at the movements, Goku suddenly woke up as they settled, “It-it hurts! Saannzzooo make it st-stop!”

Gently taking Goku’s right hand in his, Sanzo jumped as he realized he’d been rubbing Goku’s legs the whole time. “Hold on baka, we’ll fix it.”

She couldn’t help smiling as they started off. Taking Goku’s other hand, she spoke softly. “Goku, listen. I have to take you back to my place so I can fix you up, ‘kay. But the ride’s gonna be really bumpy. I can put you to sleep if you want."

Sanzo had to admit he was surprised by the boy’s adamant refusal.

Nozomi only nodded against Goku’s cheek as she squeezed his hand. “It’s all up to you. We’re getting close to the bumps though; squeeze my hand if it hurts too much. As hard as you can, don’t worry about me, ‘kay.” Her only response was numb fingers as she tried to lean them towards Sanzo so they wouldn’t feel the bumps so badly.

The one thing Sanzo couldn’t understand was why she kept blowing on Goku’s diadem. He was shivering as if he’d been lost in a blizzard, teeth chattering between bumps. How the hell was that helping him?

She brought her right hand to Goku’s face, summoning a small sphere of water, “Drink Goku,” she barely mumbled, pressing it to his lips; glad he eagerly sucked it in.

The dragon across his chest turned to her as she grabbed his cowl and cape, biting firmly into both fabrics as she quickly tore them open, revealing his bloody sweat-stained shirt and vest, more importantly his broken shoulder guard. Trying to remove it, she froze as he cried out. “Sorry Goku. Should have realized it’s…” he barely grunted before passing out, his head lolling towards hers. “You’re damn lucky you wear this kid.”

“Why? What’s so lucky about those ugly things?” Gojyo asked, twisting in his seat.

She caught Hakkai’s gaze in the rearview. He understood why, “If the shachihoko didn’t have to bite through Goku’s shoulder guard…”

Turning to Sanzo, she just waited as his gaze slowly went up the saru’s body, staring at his flushed cheeks. “There’s nothing I can do to reattach limbs,” she finally answered as the realization crossed his face.

They rode on in silence.

~~~~~~

The sun was just sinking in behind the forest as they pulled onto a well-worn path, a small glen extending out of a bend in the river showing off a simple two-story house half hidden in the forest as it started up the mountainside. Hakkai stuck to the path, driving right up to the front door of the house. Not wanting to dwell on why, Sanzo simply released Goku’s hand as she started sitting him up and slipped his arms underneath him, picking up the saru as he stood, getting down. Turning to the others, he could only glare as they stood there, shocked. Goku whimpering in his arms snapped him out of his anger.

She just beckoned him to follow her as she went inside. Eyes on her back, he barely registered that they went through the living room and kitchen, passing a stairwell before she turned into the first of four doors. Still not turning, she swung a hand toward the bed as she turned to the cabinets along the north wall. “Put him on the bed. Hakkai, do you think you can get his shirt off?” she half-ordered, half-asked as one thing after another was tossed into a large mortar.

Bringing Sanzo closer to the bed, nodding at him, Hakkai answered as Sanzo put Goku down, “Considering his injuries, it’d probably be easier just to cut it off.”

Picking up the pestle, she twisted toward the bed, offering the scissors. “Here.” Suddenly realizing the others were still in the room, she turned to them, “Both of you out now. You’ll only be in the way.”

All Sanzo could do was stand there, staring as Hakkai started cutting up Goku’s sleeve, the dry blood cracking and flaking as he peeled the fabric away. Goku’s arm and hand twitching with each cut, each pull at the wounds seemed to call out to him, like he had to hold that hand again. The only thing that stopped him was a hand on his shoulder, “Come on Sanzo. They know what they’re doing. Let’s get out of their way,” Gojyo calmly stated, turning them both towards the door.

Seeing the shattered pieces of Goku’s shoulder guard imbedded in his broken bruised shoulder forced him to turn away. This trip alone they’d seen enough, killed enough that nothing could disgust or appall him… but somehow… that did.

He didn’t stop until the end of the hall, right beside the stairwell.

It didn’t make sense. He’d seen the kid hurt hundreds of times… what was so different about now?

“Don’t worry about your pet,” Gojyo spoke up, Sanzo spinning to find him closing the door just as Goku screamed. “Might not sound like it, but the saru’s in the best hands. We just gotta wait,” he finished as he crossed the hall, squatting down against the wall.

That comment reminded him, let him push his feelings for Goku aside again. “I’ll relax when I know what the fuck’s going on here,” he replied, pulling out his cigarettes.