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Watching from Above: Journey II

Destination 12: Monster

Gravity wasn't helping him; it wasn't helping him at all. The laws of gravity, along with his personal rules were being broken, shattered and destroyed. "Let go!"

Currently Genjo Sanzo was standing over Goku's bed, bent over because the chibi hanging from his neck refused to let go. He was not carrying the boy, so the laws of gravity dictated that he had to fall, but the monkey refused to follow those laws and held on for dear life. Furthermore, Sanzo's personal rules established that he did not like being touched, he had made an exception to carry the sleeping chibi to his bed and he was regretting it.

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The previous night, little Goku had woken Sanzo with a kick. How the boy got to his room in the first place, Sanzo didn't know. He took the sleeping chibi back to his own room and left him on his bed. Goku liked his room because he could see the peach tree out the window. It was also convenient to have a hiding place near by after taking peaches from the tree. But it seemed that on that night Goku didn't want to be in his room.

It only the beginning of Sanzo's sleepless night, because a little later, after he had gone back to sleep, he was woken up by a slap. Pissed off but quietly, Sanzo removed the small hand from his face and once again carried the sleeping boy to his room.

This time Sanzo made sure to lock his door but of course that didn't work because the chibi saru went through the trouble of escaping through the window so he could enter Sanzo's room by the window. Once again, Sanzo was woken up by a kick, this time more painful than the first.

Sanzo managed to control his temper and the sleeping Goku was returned to his room. It seemed the priest was more of a softie when no one could witness it. After returning Goku to his room, Sanzo locked his door and closed the windows.

The blond then tried to sleep but couldn't because he felt, not heard, but felt the boy with the golden eyes silently calling out to him. By then it was so close to sunrise that Sanzo decided to get up and right next to his door, sitting on the floor in uneasy slumber, he found Goku. He picked him up and placed him on the bed at least someone would get some sleep.

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A little later Goku woke up and the day started as it usually did. "Why did you keep coming to my room last night, stupid monkey?" Sanzo sounded very annoyed during breakfast that day.

"I was scared," Goku admitted staring into his cereal.

Sanzo's eye twitched, it was obvious he didn't get enough sleep and he was more irritated than usual because of it. In anger he said things that he shouldn't have said. "You spent many years locked up in a mountain all by yourself and nothing happened. Why are you so afraid to sleep by yourself if you're been alone for such a long time?"

That was Goku's sensitive spot. It didn't take more than a split second for the boy to grab his breakfast and run away crying.

Sanzo didn't know if he should run after him, since he had a pretty good idea where Goku was going. Or simply take note of the fact that even in his haste and highly emotional state, he still remembered to take the sugary chocolate O's with him.

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That day Goku went to visit Hakkai and Gojyo all day. There was something bothering him and both Hakkai and Gojyo noticed.

Later, at the end of the day, they walked Goku back home and while Gojyo kept him entertained playing rock paper scissors, Hakkai went to talk to Sanzo.

"Good afternoon, how was your day today?" Hakkai asked with smile.

Sanzo gave him a glare that almost made him stop smiling, almost but not quite. "If you're here with the monkey I don't want to talk about it."

"Today he didn't eat as much as he usually does," Hakkai continued as if he hasn't heard Sanzo.

"That's all he ever thinks about," Sanzo half growled. He knew that Hakkai wouldn't drop the subject.

"He looked worried, as if he was thinking about something, analyzing it over and over. Then he looked determined and said he was coming back. He didn't explain it but said something about proving he's brave so you wouldn't want him to go away," Hakkai explained.

"He woke me up many times last night even when I tried to lock him out of my room. Then when I finally locked him out, I found him at the door in the morning," Sanzo recalled the events.

"Did you ask him why?" Hakkai inquired, but Sanzo ignored him hoping he would drop the subject. "He seemed really upset."

Maybe mentioning his past locked up in that mountain wasn't such a good idea. Maybe he had gone too far. Hakkai's cheerful stare was constant and insistent, awaiting Sanzo's answer. "I'll take care of it."

Hakkai's smile grew. "I trust that you will."

From that point on, things flowed normally, with Goku playing with his little paper sumos and Sanzo sitting by window while flipping pages of a different newspaper that mostly had the same articles as the one he read that morning worded differently.

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Eventually it was dinner time and Goku ate plenty. After dinner, he went back to playing with the paper sumos until he fell asleep. Sanzo picked him up from the floor and took his to his room. Just when he was about to place Goku on his bed, the boy woke up and refused to let go.

Gravity wasn't helping him; it wasn't helping him at all. The laws of gravity, along with his personal rules were being broken, shattered and destroyed. "Let go!"

After much effort, Sanzo managed to pry the boy off. The chibi sat there with the saddest expression. "I'm sorry."

"Are you still scared?" Sanzo asked.

"No! I'm not scared! I'm not scared!" Goku shook his head and denied it with all his might.

"Don't lie to me," Goku grew pale at Sanzo's words.

"I'm not lying because Hakkai told me that being brave means facing your fears and I'll face the monster so you won't want me to go away," Goku replied.

"What monster?" Sanzo asked.

"The one that I hear at night, I've never seen it, but I hear it and it's scary. That's why I didn't want to be alone," Goku revealed.

"There is no such thing," Sanzo was irritated, very irritated but deep down, though he would never admit it, he was sorry for what he said that morning.

"It's true I hear it at night!" Goku insisted.

There was only one solution Sanzo could think about. "I'll stay here and listen to this monster to find out what it really is."

"No, it's okay, you don't have to, I'll be brave! I promise I won't be scared anymore, you don't need to lock me up again." Goku's big golden eyes showed fear, sorrow and desperation.

"I'm not going to lock you up. You're not in a cage anymore, I won't let anyone lock you up again," Sanzo's irritation seemed to disappear and his gaze became gentler to calm the chibi. Goku nodded and sat next to Sanzo waiting.

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Time passed slowly and in complete silence, until Goku fell asleep. Sanzo stayed as he said he would and soon a sound was heard. Goku's eyes shot open and he clung to Sanzo for dear life, in a way that not even the mighty harisen could get him off. "It's back! It's the monster!"

Annoyed, frustrated, irritated, exasperated and yet at the same time with a hint of amusement, Sanzo stood. "Let's go see your monster."

"Are you going to feed me to it?" Goku asked in fear.

"No one will eat you or lock you up," Sanzo assured and made sure to bring a flashlight along. Goku held his hand and looked scared but determined to face the monster if Sanzo was with him.

Once outside, the sound of the monster was heard again. "Hoot!"

Sanzo pointed the flashlight at the peach tree and the owl, aka the monster, closed its eyes tightly looking very uncomfortable. Goku stared as the relatively large brown bird retreated deeper into the branches of the peach tree. "An owl, that's what you've been hearing."

"An owl," Goku was amazed, I thought all birds sounded chirp, chirp." The boy smiled brightly because he realized he had nothing to fear. "I won't be scared when I hear that owl anymore. I'll be happy instead, because I'll remember how brave you were to come out here and see what was making the sound."

"Didn't you have to go outside so you could come into my room from the window?" Sanzo asked.

"I did, I guess I wasn't thinking that the monster could get me. I just thought that if I was with you I'll be safe," Goku realized.

As they walked back inside, the dim light of the flashlight, with batteries that needed to be replaced, wasn't enough to reveal a light smile on Sanzo's face.

Destination 13: Bug

The Merciful Goddess, still a teenager, strolled down the semi-deserted halls, seeing few signs of life, other than herself and her companion. It seemed that everyone was busy with their own things today. So was she, for the young goddess had been given the task to care for her nephew, Konzen, who currently followed her.

The boy looked bored, so bored it almost hurt. The young goddess stopped and so did he. It seemed that weather he walked or stood still it made no difference, either way he was bored.

She tried to think of what little boys liked to do. She had suggested a few games she liked when she was a small child, but her stubborn little nephew absolutely refused to play dolls or dress up. What was the young goddess to do?

She gave it some thought and tried to analyze the situation. Perhaps the games she had suggested were too girly for his liking. Maybe if she thought of some kind of game little boys liked he would play.

She smiled as a realization came. Of course, it was logical, little boys liked games that little girls didn't like. There was something that she used to particularly hate when she was a child and she still hated it. She hated when little boys played with bugs and she hated it even more when they showed her those bugs. Those poor boys certainly regretted crossing her path holding insects. She was sure that even if it had been years ago, they must still have the scars. Bugs were creepy, but since Konzen was a little boy, he would probably find them fun. Kanzeon was even willing tolerate insects just to get the little guy out of his pitiful state of absolute boredom.

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Years later, in the realm of the mortals, the entire morning little Goku had been playing outside. Sanzo was in his office, Hakkai and Gojyo were running errands and the morning air was accompanied by a silent atmosphere. All in all, it was a calm and quiet day, until the chibi saru returned from his play time in the yard.

"Sanzo look what I found!" Goku had a bright smile, his golden eyes shone happily and he held something in his little hands. The boy's hands were carefully cupped together and as if to make sure the thing didn't fall nor get squished.

Sanzo peeked at the thing in Goku's hands, the chibi was holding a bug. Immediately the blond's first reaction was to back away against his chair.

Goku leaned across the desk, bringing that freaky looking insect closer to Sanzo, who of course didn't like it at all. "Isn't it cool?" Goku's voice had a childish innocent tone, as if he had no idea how much Sanzo hated insects, especially freaky looking insects with their bright red color and black spots. Goku really didn't know.

With his violet eyes opened wide and an otherwise unreadable frozen expression, Sanzo reached for his paper fan and hit the chibi saru on the head. "Leave the bugs outside baka!"

"Ow! I just wanted you to see it! Hakkai always explains stuff about the kinds of bugs I show him. Gojyo doesn't mind either and this is his favorite kind of bug." Goku honestly didn't know what he had done wrong.

"Don't compare me to them!" Sanzo waved the mighty harisen in the air and in fear of facing its wrath again, Goku hurried out of the office with a terrified little ladybug in his hands.

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After setting the tiny insect free in the garden, Goku returned to Sanzo's office determined to find out exactly what he had done wrong, so he could ascertain never to make the same mistake again. "Sanzo, how come you were mad at me?"

"I hate insects," Sanzo glared icily.

"But they're not scary, they're really tiny!" Goku argued.

"I didn't say I was scared, I said I hate them," Sanzo clarified.

"How come?" Goku's expression seemed to say 'I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me'.

Sanzo paused; he wasn't sure why he hated insects so much, he just did. But the chibi saru wouldn't accept that as an answer. "Leave the bugs outside, it's were they belong, just leave them alone."

"You mean they don't like it inside? Hakkai always tells me to put them back where I found them, I guess they really don't like inside. Okay, I won't bring the bugs inside anymore, but can I still play tag with the butterflies outside?" Goku asked.

"Do whatever you want," Sanzo grunted. Minutes after the chibi left, Sanzo saw him out the window chasing after an orange and black butterfly that was stuck being his playmate.

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That time many years ago, "look Konzen!" Though she felt quite uncomfortable holding it, the Merciful Goddess had captured a little red bug with black spots that wandered all the way up to Heaven from the world below.

Konzen's violet eyes grew wide, his expression was positively terrified and his scream echoed throughout all of Heaven as he ran away at an amazing speed.

The young goddess stood there wondering what in the world had just happened. Then she grinned mischievously. "Babysitting is going to be so much fun!"

Destination 14: Sunflower

Goku was a very energetic child, he ate a lot and jumped around a lot, it seemed logical, but this boy was beyond what was usual. That is why Sanzo knew that letting him keep his energy bottled up was not a good idea. Eventually the chibi saru would have to release all that energy and he didn't want to be there when it happened. Then again, Goku would probably find him wherever he went and annoy him to no end. Sanzo was sure that if the golden eyed boy didn't let go of all that energy soon, his eventual outburst would be too much for even the mighty harisen to stop.

That is why Sanzo wondered why Goku was sitting on the ground outside his window staring at a flowerpot with no flowers, instead of running around playing, annoying the monks and trying to steal fruit from the peach tree. He hadn't moved in hours and Sanzo was beginning to get irritated. He wasn't sure if he was irritated because Goku was sitting there unmoving, which was not normal for him, or if the real reason for his irritation was acknowledging the fact that he had become so accustomed to having the chibi running around the temple causing a ruckus, that when he didn't do it, it felt like something was missing. If he was more irritated at Goku or at himself was irrelevant, Sanzo was just irritated, that was the point. Whatever the reason, the only way to get rid of that irritation or lower it back to its usual level, was to make Goku go back to being his energetic self.

Determined to solve his dilemma, Sanzo got up from his desk and headed outside. Goku was sitting on the ground as he had been doing all day and didn't even notice Sanzo's presence, or didn't react to it. "Chibi saru, what are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for the flower," Goku's eyes were glued to the flowerpot.

"Go play, I don't want you to destroy the temple when all the energy you have bottled up explodes," Sanzo urged.

Goku looked at him and blinked in surprise with slight worry. For a second he looked like he was in deep thought then looked relieved. "People don't really explode when they don't play, because you don't play enough and you haven't exploded," Goku concluded.

Sanzo was tempted to hit him with his infamous paper fan, but for the moment being he didn't. "What makes you think a flower will grow there just like that?"

"Hakkai gave me some sunflower seeds to eat. I ate them all except one. I planted it here and I'm waiting for it to grow. Then I'll put it on your desk." Sanzo opened his mouth to protest, but before any sound came out Goku continued. "Don't worry I'll take good care of it. I'll water it and take it outside to get some sunlight and do all the things that need to be done to take care of a sunflower. I'll ask Hakkai what else it needs besides water and sunlight. You won't need to do anything and you'll have a nice flower in your office!"

A flower, in his office, on his desk, Sanzo got an odd feeling of deja vu that he couldn't explain. He had never put any flowers in his office, yet he could almost remember sitting at a desk doing paperwork with the scent of flowers in the air. But those were not sunflowers; it was a different type of flower. He paused, that never happened. He pushed the thoughts away.

Sanzo took a moment to study the chibi's expression, he looked happy and exited about the sunflower. Sanzo knew about the sunflower seeds Hakkai had given him because of the trail of seed peals Goku had left in his path for the very annoyed temple monks to clean. He was better off eating the seeds whole, but Hakkai insisted on correcting the action. Sanzo wanted to tell Goku that there was no way a sunflower seed that was dried, salted and prepared to be eaten, would grow into a flower, but somehow he couldn't. Somehow that strange feeling of deja vu wouldn't let him.

It had started with the thought of working at his desk with the scent of flowers in the air, though they were different flowers in his dream or whatever that was. Even if he tried to rid himself of that feeling, it only became stronger. Sunflower, the sun, bits and pieces of dreams floated in Sanzo's mind until he decided that it was best to return to his work and ignore the boy for now. He couldn't disappoint him after he tried so hard to grow that flower, somehow he just couldn't.

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Time passed and after dinner, Goku went off to give the sunflower seed its dinner, consisting of water. He was going to give it a soda, but remembered that about a week ago he had seen Hakkai watering and speaking to the plants that now surrounded Gojyo's house and asked about it. They had a conversation about gardening and one of the things he learned was that plants didn't like soda. When the sun went down, Goku brought the flowerpot inside. "The sun is gone now. You're a sunflower so you don't like the cold right? It's okay, I'll bring you inside every night so you don't have to be out there with the cold night air. Don't worry, tomorrow morning the sun will be back and I'll take you outside again. Grow up big and strong!"

Sanzo blinked, he stared. "What are you doing?" He asked slowly pausing after every word.

"Hakkai told me that talking to plants makes them happy," Goku replied.

Sanzo was seriously beginning to consider introducing Hakkai to a very dear friend of his named harisen.

"Want to stay in my room for tonight? It's nice and warm." Obviously the seed did not reply to Goku's inquiry.

The next day, right after breakfast, Goku took the flowerpot outside to get some sunlight and sat next to it waiting for the flower to grow. "Hakkai said not to give you too much water because then you'll drown in it. Was that enough breakfast? How come you won't come out? Are you shy? I promise not to eat you."

Since the chibi saru was right next to his window, Sanzo could hear the conversation clearly. Other than introducing Hakkai to harisen as soon as possible, he was starting to consider the possibility of introducing his head to the desk repeatedly. He couldn't take this anymore, so he went out of the office and found one of the monks to send in a very specific errand.

The young monk looked surprised that Sanzo-sama wanted him to do buy or find a sunflower. But it could not be any sunflower; it had to be a young one, just beginning to grow. Although the monk found the request to be very odd, he did not object nor question Sanzo.

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At the end of the day, after a long tiresome search, the exhausted young monk returned to the temple after accomplishing his mission. He proudly presented Sanzo-sama with a tiny sunflower sprout. The flower itself was only a little bud yet to open.

Sanzo had warned him not to speak of this errand to anyone and the monk had given his word. He still wondered what the purpose of the little sunflower was, but he dared not ask. He assumed that the purpose for it was something deep and mysterious he was supposed to realize during his search and he didn't want to admit that he was still in the dark. Oh, no he couldn't disappoint Sanzo-sama after he was chosen for such a special secret task! So the monk pretended that he understood whatever he was supposed to understand. He did his best to look enlightened.

Sanzo was rather pleased that the monk didn't ask any questions about why he needed a little sunflower that was yet to bloom. He did notice that strangely, the monk looked happy and even honored to be sent to do such a meaningless task. 'He must have been really bored,' Sanzo thought and the young monk was dismissed to do whatever else he usually did.

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Sanzo hid the little sunflower and waited for the right moment to put his plan into action. He didn't know why he was doing this. It was one of those mysteries that continued to elude him.

When Goku was already fast asleep, Sanzo planted the tiny sunflower in the flowerpot. The chibi was certainly happy to see it when he woke up. "Sanzo look! The baby sunflower started to grow!"

Destination 15: Nightmare

He tossed and turned in bed, his sleep was anything but peaceful, yet he didn't wake up. The memories were painful, perhaps too painful to turn away from them. Genjo Sanzo was anything but helpless when he was awake, but he had been completely defeated and captured by his nightmares. His eyes were tightly closed, his expression revealed pain and guilt and the nightmare of that night when his master was killed before his eyes replayed in his unconscious mind. The man who had saved him and raised him, a father to him "I couldn't protect him..." a soft pained slumbering whisper.

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The Merciful Goddess, being a goddess didn't exactly need sleep, but she liked to take a little nap every now and then anyway. She slept when it was night time in Shangri La and her favorite nephew had already gone to sleep. That way she would make sure not to miss anything amusing. This time she woke up suddenly and a rather unpleasant feeling settled in. She got up and hastily threw her robe her pajamas while she slipped her feet into her soft and fluffy white bunny slippers. It was a useless action really, because her peach colored silk pajamas though short, covered her more than her usual clothes did, but it was what a woman from the world below would do if she was to leaver her room in the middle of the night. This was Heaven and she was a goddess, but the activity of sleeping was something required in the world below, so she might as well do it like they did.

With a look of worry, Kanzeon hastily made her way to the lilly-pad pond like a mother who knows she simply has to go check on her baby. Reflected in the waters at her will, there was a clear image of Genjo Sanzo, sleeping, having a nightmare. She could see it all very clearly despite the darkness of his room. "My poor little Konzen!"

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Coincidentally, Goku had woken up with a craving for a midnight snack. The need for food was irresistible, not that he tried to resist. He got up and made his way to the kitchen as quietly as he could and satisfied his stomach. After having a small snack, consisting of every edible thing he could find in the kitchen that didn't require cooking, Goku tiptoed back to his room, which happened to be next to Sanzo's.

"I couldn't... I couldn't protect him," in the quiet of the night, the chibi heard those whispered words filled with sadness. He gently opened the door and peeked into Sanzo's room. The soft moonlight came in by the window providing just enough light for Goku to see that Sanzo's bed was a mess of tangled up sheets, his pillow had been tossed off the bed and he kept moving around unable to obtain a peaceful slumber. None the less Sanzo was asleep and Goku thought that he probably wouldn't want to be woken up.

The boy quietly entered the room and picked up Sanzo's pillow. Careful not to wake the blond, he lifted his head and placed it on the pillow. Sanzo suddenly turned facing the opposite direction. Goku was startled but calmed down when he realized that Sanzo had not woken up.

Quietly but quickly Goku returned to his room and retrieved a certain item from its hiding place under his bed. He then brought the soft brown item to Sanzo's room. By then Sanzo had turned again now facing the ceiling. Goku placed the brown toy on top of Sanzo and moved his arm to hug it. Satisfied with that, Goku observed him for a little while. He had to make sure the plushie was enough to keep all the bad dreams away, so he would stay with Sanzo for a little longer even if he was sleepy.

In Sanzo's dream world, the image of that tragic night stopped replaying. He was surrounded by a golden light and an insistent, almost annoying, yet caring voice wished him good dreams.

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The Merciful Goddess smiled up in Heaven, "sleep well my little ones."

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When Sanzo woke up the following morning, he was not amused to find that he was hugging a monkey plushie, a very deformed handmade monkey plushie.

That fuzzy brown stuffed animal was something Goku had sacrificed his fingers to make, since he was not very skilled with a needle and thread. The boy had been very insistent in making a plushie when he discovered a piece of fuzzy brown fabric while visiting Hakkai and Gojyo. Hakkai said he didn't even remember purchasing it and Gojyo claimed he had never seen it before in his life, so Goku claimed it as his own.

When the chibi returned with plenty of colorful bandaids covering his fingers, he refused to say how it happened or what was in the bag. He had only said "It's a surprise, for later."

The look in Hakkai's eyes simply screamed 'I did everything I could to stop him.' While Gojyo had an amused grin on his face that didn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon.

Now Sanzo finally made the connection. Surely Hakkai was more skilled than this in sewing and Gojyo wouldn't even try. The strange looking monkey had to be made by the monkey. He then noticed that there was a card attached to the end of the golden colored ribbon that was tied around the strange creature's neck. In truth it hardly looked like a monkey, but it was brown with a long tail, so Sanzo assumed it was meant to be a monkey.

"Hapi birt-day," Sanzo read, "Monkeys can't spell." The date written on the card was still a few days away. Goku was probably hiding the gift until then, but for some reason gave it to him early, but why?

As Sanzo got up he nearly tripped over the sleeping monkey on the floor next to his bed. Why was he there? Puzzled, he picked up the boy and placed him on the bed, he was already getting up anyway.

"Sanzo..." Goku was still half asleep, his golden eyes only half open. "Did your nightmare go away? I wanted to give you a birthday gift but I thought you needed it early."

Sanzo would never admit it, but he thought it was sweet. "A monkey to remind me of another monkey?"

Goku smiled and drifted off to sleep, this time he didn't mind being called a monkey.

Destination 16: Sneeze

"Sanzo!"

Sanzo took a deep breath.

"Sanzo!"

He dropped the newspaper on the desk and tried desperately to suppress the sneeze that he felt coming. He had been sneezing all morning and it had to stop. There was no way a little cold was getting the best of Genjo Sanzo.

"Sanzo!" Goku entered the room looking as cheerful and energetic as ever. "Guess what Sanzo?"

That noisy monkey was breaking his concentration. He needed to focus if he was to repress that sneeze!

"Guess what! Guess what!"

He couldn't hold it in anymore! He turned his face away from the noisy monkey and prepared to let it but oh no! The monkey moved now standing to his right, instead of in front of the desk like a second ago. Stupid monkey! Sanzo pushed the boy away with one hand and covered his mouth with the other. "Achoo!"

"How come you pushed me?" Goku whined.

With a deadly glare Sanzo replied, "don't get in the way when I'm trying not to sneeze on you baka saru!"

Goku blinked, "sneeze?"

"Yes, sneeze, I don't need a monkey with a cold around here, sniff," Colds put Sanzo in a bad mood, a lot of things did.

"You're cold?" Goku was confused. It seemed that for the moment being he had forgotten about whatever he was going to tell Sanzo before. "Want me to bring you a blanket?"

"No, baka saru, I'm not cold, I have a cold. Stay away from me or you'll catch it." Colds put Sanzo in a very, very bad mood.

Goku still looked confused.

"I'm sick with a cold," Sanzo tried to explain.

At that Goku looked frightened. "Oh no you're sick! What's the cure? Where is it? There is a cure right? Sanzo!" And he clung to Sanzo for dear life.

"Let go baka saru, it's not that serious!" Sanzo yelled, but the chibi wouldn't let go, not with harsh words and not even with the harisen. "Hey, Goku," Goku looked at him; at least he was listening now that Sanzo spoke in a softer tone. "A cold is not a serious illness. It'll go away by itself in a few days so you can let go now."

Looking relived, Goku finally let him go and the second he did Sanzo hit him with the harisen several times. "Ouch! Stop!"

All that exercise with his paper fan must have gotten to him, because Sanzo started feeling dizzy but refused to admit it until the world turned to darkness.

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When Sanzo woke up, the first thing he felt was an unbearable heat. As soon as his other senses started working, he realized that he was in his room, buried under who knows how many blankets.

"Are you still cold?" Goku asked when he realized Sanzo had woken up.

"You did this? Are these all the blankets in the temple?" Sanzo spoke with a hint of sarcasm and plenty of annoyance as he struggled to escape from the mountain of blankets that threatened to cook him alive.

Goku nodded, "yup, I brought you all the blankets I could find so you won't feel cold anymore. Are you feeling better now?"

"Achoo!"

"Oh no, you're still sick! You should stay in bed until you're all better!" Just what he needed, a monkey bossing him around.

Sanzo wanted to give the harisen another workout, but Goku was trying so hard to be helpful and looked like he was truly worried about him. "I'll be fine, go out and play. I told you I don't want you to catch this cold."

"I don't mind. If it'll make you feel better, I'll take it from you," Goku offered.

"It's not that simple."

"Why not?"

Sanzo shook his head. Explaining this to Goku wasn't a task he was up to doing when he could hardly stay focused on his train of thought. "I don't need this many blankets, just one is enough. Return the others to where you got them."

"Are you sure?" Goku asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Sanzo tried to keep his temper in check. He was in a worse mood today because of the cold, so that proved a little more challenging then usual.

"Okay, I'll put the blankets back, but first you need to eat your soup!" Sitting on a nearby table, there was a bowl with a spoon beside it. Goku retrieved it and handed it to Sanzo along with the spoon. "Remember when we were visiting Hakkai and Gojyo and it started raining, and Hakkai made soup, and he said that soup made people feel better when they're not feeling well, and we ate it together, and it was really good?"

Sanzo was in a trance staring at the bowl's contents but he still faintly nodded.

"I couldn't get into the kitchen; the monks wouldn't let me use it, so instead I got some peaches from the peach tree and made peach soup!" Goku was certainly proud of his accomplishment. He made soup and didn't eat it; he was taking good care of Sanzo.

"Peach soup..." It looked like Goku had torn the peaches apart and squished him with his own hands. The liquid part was apparently water, mixed with the peaches' juice and he called that strange substance peach soup. "Goku, what were you going to tell me before?" If only he could distract the chibi long enough to get rid of the peach soup. Sanzo simply couldn't get himself to throw it away with Goku watching and he didn't know what was stopping him.

Goku blinked, "I guess I forgot; it probably wasn't anything too important." That didn't work.

In his extra sour mood, an unanswered curiosity was not what Sanzo needed. Furthermore, the chibi kept staring at him, but Genjo Sanzo was not afraid of some strange soup. With all the courage he could muster, Sanzo took a spoonful of the substance, carrying a small piece of peach and some watered down peach juice to his mouth.

Goku smiled brightly because Sanzo was eating the soup he made, he would have been disappointed otherwise.

Sanzo realized that he was inevitably going to end up eating all the soup. Because Genjo Sanzo would not be defeated by a bowl of peach soup, and most of all, because Genjo Sanzo was a bigger softie than he would ever admit.

Destination 17: Laugh

Konzen blinked, Kenren stared, Tenpou shook his head and Goku looked adorably confused.

The golden haired young man's seemingly constant frown had disappeared. He was close to smiling, oh, so close. The general continued to stare at the sight before him, while the marshal shook his head slowly.

Lacking the dignity that a goddess should have and feeling like the world had no mercy for her, the Merciful Goddess struggled to get to her feet and failed miserably.

Goku was an adorable child indeed. He alone was quite funny and mischievous, an endearing disaster waiting to happen; but when the boy was with Konzen, Tenpou and Kenren, that was a dangerous combination.

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It had all started with a game of baseball. Kenren threw the ball as hard as he could. It zoomed past an unsuspecting Konzen, flew over his shoulder and made a hole in the newspaper that had captivated his attention and made him oblivious to the danger around him.

While the game took place, the Merciful Goddess sat in her usual chair in front of the lilypad pond, next to where the home base was located. She exploded in a fit of laughter at Konzen's expression when the round projectile pieced his precious newspaper.

Startled far worse than he cared to admit and pissed off beyond belief, Konzen stomped towards Kenren with ready fists and a murderous look. He failed to notice that Goku had been eating a banana before they decided to play baseball and that he didn't tidy up the peel. The blond's foot was caught in the slippery peal and inevitably he fell backwards into a sitting position.

The Merciful Goddess' laughter intensified. She hadn't recovered from the incident with the baseball and the newspaper, when another hilarious event was displayed before her.

"Konzen, are you okay?" Goku was worried about Konzen, but in his haste he too suffered the rage of the banana peal of doom and fell forward into Konzen's lap, tackling him in the process.

Kenren twitched from holing back laugher, unlike the Merciful Goddess who continued her breathless explosion of laughs. Finally, he gave up and let it out, while Tenpou, wearing a good natured yet at the same time mocking smile, approached his fallen comrades. "This is why I told you to pick up the banana peal," he casually reminded Goku.

That was the cherry on top of Sunday of humiliation. Konzen somehow managed to push the chibi off despite the weight, which was due more to the shackles than to the boy, and approached Tenpou. His violet eyes seems to scream 'kill' with a piercing glare that made Tenpou completely certain that by one twist of fate or another, one day the golden haired man before him would become very trigger happy.

The Merciful Goddess was certainly enjoying the show. She clutched her stomach, kicked her legs in the air and let her laughter ring out loudly and vigorously all throughout the land of Heaven.

Seemingly unfazed, but with a pounding heartbeat that could be heard in the ten mile radius, Tenpou tried to keep a straight face as Konzen approached with the burning anger of a super nova. Then at the last second, the golden haired fury turned and in a quick movement, picked up and threw the offending banana peal, straight towards the laughing general.

The yellow projectile flew with the force of Konzen's vengeance and landed in Kenren's mouth. He coughed and nearly choked, but managed to spit it out.

That was when the Merciful Goddess had too much. She laughed so hard she fell right off her chair and into the pond. Her legs were swung over the edge of the pond, while her upper body was completely submerged and perched upon her head was a lilypad.

Konzen blinked, Kenren stared, Tenpou shook his head and Goku looked adorably confused.

"Kenren, don't you dare look up my skirt. Tenpou, stop shaking your head. Goku, I fell, isn't it obvious? Konzen come over here and give your dear aunt a hand getting up," Kanzeon ordered.

Grumbling because he was still upset that she had laughed on their account, mostly his, Konzen approached the helpless goddess. He wanted to leave her like that, but he knew he would never hear the end of it if he did. He took the hand she had extended to him but before he could pull her out, she pulled him in.

With a lilypad hat to match his aunt's and a glare that burned with the fire of a thousand suns, Konzen emerged from the pond, drenched from head to toe.

Goku slimed and with childish hyperness and happiness, jumped into the pond. "Pool party!"

The Merciful Goddess, who was not so helpless after all and even less merciful, smiled at her nephew as if she had planned this all along. Had it been her plan or a spontaneous act to make the best of the situation, no one knew, but one thing they had learned was that as much as the Merciful Goddess liked to laugh at them, she was also capable of laughing at herself.

Destination 18: Mermaid

The journey to the west felt eternal, even more so since they had passed so many days on the road without any signs of a town near by. Hakkai checked and rechecked his map, but it made no sense what so ever. "We should have reached the next town by now." Goku looked desperate, Gojyo looked drained and Sanzo looked more murderous than ever. "I'm sure we'll get there soon." Hakkai's statement was met with a triple glare.

"I'm hungry! What if we run out of food before we reach the next town?" Goku complained.

"Is that all you ever think about?" Gojyo asked though he, as well as everyone else in the group, already knew the answer.

The harisen was quick to silence both of them, with a force far stronger than ever before in the past.

Hakkai sighed; his babysitting job became very challenging sometimes. "We'll have a small meal then continue."

Goku looked just about ready to die. "Small meal?" That had to be the most offensive thing he had ever heard. "But I'm hungry! Ow!" The harisen collided with his head again.

Sanzo did not speak; he simply glared in a way that would give his companions nightmares. Neither Hakkai, nor Gojyo, nor Goku, dared to look into Sanzo's eyes for more than a split second, as if the raging violet would steal their very souls.

Things proceeded quietly as Hakkai cooked their canned food, Sanzo reread an old newspaper for what felt like the billionth time, and Goku eyed Hakuryu suspiciously. The little dragon decided not to take his chances with the hungry monkey and perched himself in a high tree branch.

Finding water was not a problem, in the middle of the forest there was a vast lake filled with crystalline liquid. It would have been a beautiful view had their vision not been clouded with frustration and an irresistible need to reach civilization. In a way it was the opposite of cabin fever.

Gojyo sat near the lake, staring lifelessly into the water. He was so bored he contemplated jumping in just to pass the time. He was afraid that if they didn't reach the next town soon, he would forget what women looked like; then, when a woman walked near him, instead of flirting, he would simply stared at the unknown creature and wondered what in the world it could be. The seconds dragged on heavily and an atmosphere of tension settled in.

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The Merciful Goddess yawned, she was counting on those four to provide her with entertainment and lately they were doing a horrible job. The endless youkai battles where monotonous and repetitive. If something didn't happen soon, she would consider locating some other people to spy- watch over.

'Ding!' "The cookies are ready!" Kanzeon was so bored she had even started to learn to cook. She thought that since nothing interesting had happened lately, then nothing interesting would happen in the next few minutes. Without a second thought, she went off to get her cookies out of the oven and stopped watching the pond for a few minutes.

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Gojyo continued to sit by the lake, bored out of his mind, then he saw her, a woman was swimming in the lake. He rubbed his eyes and stared, never had he seen such radiant beauty. The woman had clear blue eyes and shining long silver hair. She jumped out of the water to reveal a silvery-blueish fish tail. After her graceful landing in the crystalline water, she smiled and winked at Gojyo.

The kappa stared open mouthed at the being before him. A mermaid, a real live mermaid and a beautiful one at that; one that apparently liked him.

"The food is ready!" Hakkai's called, he was focused on serving the meal and didn't look up from his task as he made the announcement. Hakuryu was busy watching Goku while Goku watched Hakuryu. Sanzo was rereading the newspaper with a burning glare that threatened to set it aflame. None of them where looking towards Gojyo as he kept flailing his arms in excitement and surprise so fast that it looked like he was about to take flight.

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The Merciful Goddess took her usual seat again with a plate of freshly backed cookies in her hands. "What did I miss?" She expected no answer, have asked in the tone one would use when returning to the TV and realizing the commercials ended sooner than expected.

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The water sprite wondered why they have not commented on the presence of a mermaid in the lake. He managed to pry his eyes of her and turn his head for just a split second to see if they had simply been rendered speechless by her beautify. To his surprise they were going about their business normally, oblivious to the mermaid's existence. "Guys, did you see the mermaid? Did you see her?" Gojyo looked towards the lake again, but there was no one there.

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The Merciful Goddess looked at the lake reflected in her pond. She didn't see anything that looked like a mermaid there. "I guess he saw a mirage." She picked up a rock hard cookie and tried to bite into it. "Ow! What did I do wrong this time? How many times must a goddess bake cookies to get it right?" It had been over a dozen already.

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The harisen collided harshly with the kappa's head and Sanzo's frightening deadly glare was enough to inform him that he was not in the mood for jokes, not that he ever was.

"I'm not lying! I'm going to find her!" With that said, Gojyo jumped into the lake but he had no luck.

By the time he gave up on his fruitless search, the others had already finished their meal and were riding the jeep. The kappa's cue to get out of the water, were bullets that narrowly missed him. In Sanzo's state of ultimate rage, Gojyo knew it was best to simply hop on Hakuryu without complains, even if he was wet and hungry. That silent anger made Sanzo scarier than when he was yelling 'Shut up!'.

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When the travelers finally reached the next town, the atmosphere started to slowly calm down. Goku was cheerful and hyper again after a good meal. Sanzo was catching up on the latest news and Hakkai's smile didn't look like it would break any second. Gojyo also felt better as he walked down the streets of town, flirting with every young woman he saw. Maybe the mermaid had been a product of his imagination because he hasn't seen anything female for such a long time; perhaps there was no mermaid after all.

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After the four men had left on their jeep, a rock was pushed aside in the bottom of the lake and a silver haired woman with a fish tail came out of the hidden underwater cave. She smiled mischievously "oh, how I love to leave them hot and wet."

End of Journey II

Disclaimer, I don't own Saiyuki. Baka means idiot. Destination 13 is based on Saiyuki chapter 20, where Sanzo says he hates freaks and insects. Some parts of the story with Sanzo and Goku take place before the journey, it's easy to tell which ones. Destination 15 has another sleeping Sanzo for Arysin. Destination 17 is for Sarah.