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Watching from Above

Destination 29: Water Sprite

Gojyo may have been called a water sprite in the past, but in that particular situation he was anything but. Cornered between a rapidly flowing wild river and more youkai than the links in the crescent blade's chain, Gojyo missed a step and fell in.

His companions had been busy with their own share of enemy youkai and it wasn't until they started to clear the battle field that they realized that one of their party members was missing.

Sanzo searched around for the missing kappa, yet the only trace of him found was a half smoked cigarette at the river's edge. "I thought I heard a splash," Hakkai commented.

Without another word, the little white flying dragon transformed into a jeep and carried the three passengers following the river. Hakuryu came to a screeching halt when they reached a waterfall. Fortunately it wasn't too tall so they managed to climb down the cliff.

The river continued to flow, extending into the distance after the small waterfall. There were a few rock formations there, but none were directly under the waterfall, so it wasn't likely that Gojyo hit them, but rather was carried towards them by the river, hence his current location stuck between two rocks.

No sooner had they spotted Gojyo, more youkai spotted them. They fought with haste and won, perhaps too much haste for the chi user. Seemingly out of breath from the battle, Hakkai sat at the river's edge looking towards Gojyo. It looked like he was holding on to the rocks but he wasn't moving. "Someone needs to save him." Though he said that, he was well aware that Gojyo didn't really need immediate rescuing and could get out of the river himself.

Goku looked back and forth between Sanzo and Hakkai for a few moments before it became obvious that neither was going to volunteer, "I'll go."

"Aren't you tired Goku? That fight really took it out of me." Hakkai emphasized his fatigue, which made it even more obvious that said fatigue had been faked from the beginning, Hakkai never got tired that easily.

Goku blinked in confusion but caught Hakkai's discrete nod. He shrugged and began his act with a yawn instead of panting. "I'm really tired, I need a break. I guess you'll have to save Gojyo." Goku wasn't sure why he was playing along, but Hakkai was the cook of their group and that game him certain authority from Goku's perspective.

Grumbling something about "lazy bastards", Sanzo made his way towards Gojyo, hopping from one stone to another, not too gracefully. He shot a glare back at Hakkai and Goku as they both tried to look innocent and not laugh. Finally, Sanzo reached Gojyo and dragged him back to shore.

Once out of the river, Sanzo set the Gojyo down on the ground and watched as his face twitched suppressing laughter. "Stupid water sprite, you could have gotten out of the river on your own!"

Gojyo sat up and grinned in amusement, "I just wanted to see if you'd save me."

Sanzo glared dagger at the other three, to Gojyo for his trick and to Hakkai and Goku for playing along. Then, wielding the fierce harisen, Sanzo vowed to make Gojyo wish he really did drown.

Destination 30: Paper Fan

"Come back here Chibi Saru!" Konzen chased after the boy that had been entrusted to him all over the office.

"I'm sorry Konzen!" It felt like the golden eyed chibi was repeating those words for the millionth time since he got there.

Konzen's hair grew back rather quickly so he eventually forgave the boy for pulling some of it out by accident when they first met. Although he was still a bit sore from the incident that occurred when Goku tried to climb that tree, he also forgave him. The branch broke and although Konzen would never admit it, he was relieved that the child had fallen on him rather than on the ground. However, he certainly wished Tenpou and Kenren would stop congratulating him saying things like "nice catch, daddy!" That was just plain annoying.

However, one thing Konzen could not allow to pass was when Goku completely ignored what he was told. He had told the monkey time and again not to fold his important documents or draw pictures on the back. How was he supposed to stamp his seal and admire how the corners of the emblem were perfectly aligned with the corner of the paper if the paper was wrinkled? It was Konzen's shumi and the chibi saru better not ruin it!

Finally, Konzen cornered the boy and with his ever present 'sour look' he scolded, "I told you not to touch my documents!" He held a particularly important document that had been folded into a paper fan and used it to hit the boy on the head.

"I'm sorry Konzen!" Goku repeated.

"Don't do this again, ever!" Konzen said as angrily as he could yet, his little 'pet' always seemed to bring out his soft side no matter how much he tried to suppress it. Then there was the fact that after hitting him with the paper fan, he felt as if his stress was already stating to melt away.

"I won't do it again, I promise!" Goku gave a bright smile. The impact of the fan on his head wasn't too hard since the fan was quite small and Konzen appeared to be much calmer now than he looked before. Though Konzen's expression had hardly changed, Goku could tell the difference in just the smallest detail.

"Alright, go play or something, I'm busy working," Konzen stepped aside allowing the boy to leave the office.

"I'll bring you some nice flowers for your desk!" Goku dashed out. That was his plan to make it up to Konzen for the folded documents and thanking him for taking this a lot better than last time. He didn't know why things went that way. He was yet to make the connection between Konzen and the stress reliving powers of a paper fan and it would be along time before that connection was made.

Konzen returned to his desk and stretched out the document. He would have to get a paper fan to discipline the monkey when ever necessary. It was for his own good really, because he didn't want the boy to get into the kind of trouble that he couldn't get him out of. Besides, a paper fan wouldn't be too harsh and it helped relief stress. Little did he know that one event would lead to another and his plan to get the paper fan would be forgotten, or rather postponed for a long time.

"Konzen, look!" Goku had rushed back in and placed some flowers on the desk using an empty bottle of sake, which he probably obtained from Kenren, as a base. Konzen didn't mind as long as Kenren didn't let the chibi try the sake, but by the looks of it, Kenren was smart enough not to permit it. "It looks nice right? Do you like them?"

"They're fine," Konzen replied. Why did the chibi saru had to be such a nice kid? "Go on and play now."

"Okay, see you later. Enjoy stamping papers!" Goku once again rushed out to play, as energetic as ever.

Konzen looked at the papers then at the door where Goku had just left. He got up and left the office. Maybe Kenren and Tenpou were right, relaxing once in a while and spending a little more time with the little guest would be a good idea. He delivered the unfinished documents to Kanzeon, some of them with lines that indicating they had been folded before. "I don't have time for this. Taking care of that monkey is too troublesome."

He tried to make it sound like the biggest drag, but the merciful goddess knew it was just as excuse to get out of work and go play with Goku, or at least sit under some tree and watch him jump around chasing the butterflies. "If you're that busy, I suppose someone else could do this. You're being a good dad." Konzen gave her a glare more piercing than his usual one, then left without saying a word, while Kanzeon only smiled with satisfaction.

Destination 31: White Weapon

Two youkai of unusual origins and a half youkai watched in amazement as a human chased after a group of youkai, beating them mercilessly with a paper fan. Of all the times Sanzo had been annoyed, this time was by far the scariest. This time he was truly angry. Goku shifted uncomfortably. "Hakkai," he spoke in a fearful whisper.

"It's alright, it'll all be alright." The man with emerald eyes tried to comfort him, but the golden eyed boy was frightened beyond belief. He was scared that Sanzo would never forgive him for his actions.

"Guys, I think we should keep our distance until he cools down," Gojyo suggested, though no creature in that world or in the world above, would be insane or masochistic enough to approach Sanzo in his current state of ultimate rage.

"Gojyo, are you afraid?" Hakkai asked with an almost amused tone, or as amused as one could sound with a mad man running around harshly beating youkai with a paper fan so close by.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not scared, but I'm not suicidal either," Gojyo clarified.

"It's my fault! It's my fault!" Goku cried.

While Hakkai tried to console the crying boy, Gojyo took a moment to become quite confused by the scene before him. "What do you mean it's your fault? What's going on?"

"It started this morning," Goku confessed.

Flashback

It was early morning and everyone was awake except for Sanzo. No one had called him that morning, fearing that the foul mood he was in the previous night was still present. After eating a big breakfast, Hakkai decided that it was long overdue time to wake Sanzo, unless he was already up. "Goku, would you check if Sanzo is still sleeping?" Not wanting to disturb him, the three were eating in Gojyo's room, since it was the furthest from Sanzo's room at the inn.

"What if he gets mad at me?" Goku asked.

"Just check if he is awake and if he isn't, I'll come in and wake him up," Hakkai wouldn't risk Sanzo going all out with the harisen on Goku for waking him up, but if he happened to be awake already and sitting around reading a newspaper, Goku would be the best one to call him to breakfast. Though Sanzo hated interruptions from anyone, even if he might not show it, Goku interrupting him annoyed him the least. The chibi was adorable and sometimes not even Genjo Sanzo could overlook that fact.

"Right, I'll go have a look then," Goku made his way to Sanzo's room quietly, while taking small bites of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, so it would last all the way there and back.

Goku quietly opened the door to Sanzo's room and found that he was still asleep. His gun had been left on the nightstand next to his bed. It was a rare sight, since Sanzo usually kept it hidden. Goku curiously peeked at Sanzo's sleeping form. As he leaned closer to try to hear what the blond was muttering in his sleep, the sticky peanut butter and jelly slipped out from between the two slices of bread and fell on the nightstand, or more precisely, on the gun that rested on top of it.

Sanzo slightly moved in his sleep, which made Goku jump back in surprise. He breathed relieved when he noticed that Sanzo was actually still sleeping. Then he saw it, the sticky peanut butter and jelly that had fallen on the gun. Surely Sanzo would be angry if he saw that. Goku knew he had to clean it up before Sanzo woke up or else he was in big trouble.

He swallowed his sandwich in one bite and grabbed Sanzo's gun. He quietly but quickly made his way back to Gojyo's, room where they had been eating breakfast, to request some advice in the best way of properly cleaning a revolver, so that it looked like it was never dirty in the first place. When Goku arrived Gojyo had already gone out, supposedly to take a walk and enjoy the fresh morning air. However, Hakkai knew he was out looking for women to flirt with.

"Hakkai, Hakkai, I need your help!" Goku looked like it was very important. He held out the sticky gun, while running on the same spot. "I got Sanzo's gun dirty by accident and he'll be mad if he sees it! I need to clean it before he wakes up! What do I do? What do I do?"

"Calm down, Goku. It' not so bad, I'm sure we can clean it," Hakkai's usual content smile didn't waver.

"Let's clean it quick!" Goku urged.

A few minutes later, the revolver was clean and shiny. Goku then had the mission to return it to Sanzo's room without waking him. However, he wasn't even halfway down the hall when he heard an angry voice yelling. "Where is it?" In the rush of the moment, Goku hid the gun in his clothes and stood there, still as a statue, as Sanzo walked over to him. "Have you seen my gun?" The boy could only shake his head 'no' in response. Sanzo looked very angry with a glare that could kill, perhaps even faster than the gun he lost.

End of Flashback

"Sanzo's been in a bad mood all day because of me. I've been trying to return the gun but every time he kept saying stuff like 'if I find out who took my gun I'll kill them' and I was scared," Goku explained.

"Stupid monkey, he's not going to kill you," Gojyo shook his head hopelessly, if only the revolver had been returned sooner, then he wouldn't have had to suffer the wrath of harisen more often than usual.

"Of course not," Hakkai agreed. "If you simply explain what happened and apologize, everything will be okay. So far I have been allowing you to take your time because I think that this is something you must face on your own free will. However, I must say that it is most imperative that you apologize right away and return the gun to Sanzo."

"Yeah, do it before he runs out of youkai and starts picking on us again," Gojyo urged.

"Mercy! Mercy!" As the cries were heard, the three turned their attention to the battle once again. The youkai were beaten and bloody and the harisen was stained in red, but Sanzo did not stop. The harisen had given a new meaning to the words 'paper cut'. Those over sized paper cuts caused and lengthened by the constant impact of the harisen certainly looked painful, as if they had been made by a large sword.

"I don't believe this, they're actually begging for mercy now!" Gojyo was in disbelief. The youkai were not experiencing the sudden and fast death that a bullet provided. They were experiencing true pain that felt like it would never end and brainwashed on not, it was too much.

"I almost feel sorry for them. Goku, please return the gun to Sanzo right way and allow him to put those poor creatures out of their misery," Hakkai urged.

Goku gulped and nodded. The more he waited, the worse it would get. He walked over to the infuriated Sanzo and stood behind him holding the gun for him to take. "Sanzo please stop." Though Sanzo did not stop nor turn to look at him, Goku continued speaking. "This morning when I was checking to see if you were awake, I spilled peanut butter and jelly on your gun, so I took it to clean it." Sanzo paused and Goku continued. "I was going to return it, but you woke up and you were so angry I was scared, so I waited. But then you just got angrier. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I caused so much trouble for you Sanzo!"

Sanzo turned around and shook the harisen in the air. The blood from the youkai fell off the fan and sunk into the ground. The paper fan was left a pure white as if it hasn't been stained in the first place. Perhaps that fan was more special than Sanzo let on. Once the fan was clean, Sanzo hid it in his sleeve and took the gun from Goku's hands. He turned to point it at the youkai but realized they were gone. They didn't go too far, as Sanzo could see them dragging their pained bodies just up ahead and he could clearly hear they're morbid complains. 'Bang! Bang! Bang!' they were put out of their misery. Sanzo hid his gun in his other sleeve and directed a glare at Goku, who was staring at the ground.

Feeling Sanzo's glare on him, Goku looked up with teary eyes. "I'm sorry Sanzo!"

Perhaps Sanzo scared the chibi more than he intended to with his explosive temper. Maybe what really scared him was witnessing what the harisen could really do. Possibly, the little monkey was wondering if he would end up like those youkai the next time the harisen visited him.

"Stupid monkey don't cry," Sanzo lifted his hand, Goku expected a hit on the head but Sanzo's hand landed gently on the boy's head and messed up his hair. "Don't do this again, ever."

Goku stared wide eyed then blinked twice. "Huh? You're not mad at me?"

"Of course I'm mad at you and if you do it again, I'll kill you," Sanzo growled, though his tone didn't sound as angry as Goku expected. In fact, it sounded calmer than usual. Gojyo, Hakkai and Goku were used to Sanzo's death threats by now. They all recognized the slight change in his tone. When he said such things to a youkai enemy, there was a certainty to it that was clearly absent when he said it to his traveling companions. "That was... a good stress reliever," Sanzo admitted in a nearly inaudible voice. Goku knew right away he had been forgiven and he couldn't help it but to hug Sanzo in thanks. "Stop that chibi saru! Let go!"

Hakkai smiled a genuine smile and Gojyo grinned in amusement. "He's more of a softie than he'll ever admit," the red haired water sprite commented.

"That's true, but to say that to his face would be suicide," Hakkai agreed.

Destination 32: Elegant Lady

'The lady had an aura of pure white around her. Her complexion was fair and somewhat pale, but beautiful. Always dressed in white, the lady was very elegant. Her hair was an endless field of snow, though she was of a young age. Not a single wrinkle or imperfection could be seen in the lady's flawless skin. The lady was always with her husband, a man of golden hair and eyes the color of rare amethysts. Hidden in his shadow, she only made her presence known when he called.'

'The lady's husband had two best friends and companions, who were like brothers to him. Today those two men were visiting and the lady was called greet them. She politely but shyly glanced at one of them, offering her quiet greeting while keeping her distance. The man with the emerald eyes, a true gentleman, greeted the lady politely as well, making no effort to approach her. The lady then gently ruffled the hair of her child, an energetic little boy with eyes that matched the color of his father's hair.'

'Her next action would have been surprising, had anyone seen it but the gentleman with the emerald eyes was speaking to the man with golden hair and the young boy whose eyes matched the color of his father's hair was distracted by the banquet that the mansion's servants were setting up at the adjacent dinning room.'

'Even if her beloved had seen it, he probably wouldn't have thought much of it, for he trusted his companions with his life. The lady had a look of longing in her eyes as she extended her hand and caressed the ruby haired man's face. He gently took her hand and placed a light kiss on it before letting her go. She was his forbidden love, a married woman who had a son and she was married to his comrade no less.'

'Though it seemed that the gentleman with the emerald eyes was absorbed in the conversation and didn't notice, in truth he saw. He saw the way his comrade's lady looked at the ruby haired man. What would he do? To speak of it would be to betray one of his dear friends, but to remain silent would be to betray the other. He decided to speak to the lady himself and tell her that she should not toy with those two men's hearts. He was determined to save their friendship, honor and her marriage.'

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"Stop making up crazy stories about my fan and take our order before the monkey eats the table cloth!" Sanzo half yelled, half growled in annoyance.

The waitress jumped in surprise as a red tint appeared on her face. "Sorry! I just got really inspired to write all of a sudden." She turned the pages in her little notebook, which had more stories than orders, until she found a blank page. "Sorry about the delay, I will take your order now."

"You're just jealous because lady Harisen likes me best," Gojyo teased.

"Then why don't you have an affair with her?" Sanzo whipped out his loyal paper fan and soon harisen's strength was once again experience by Gojyo.

Destination 33: Goldfish

"So you're saying that I can't catch enough fish to feed the chibi saru?" Gojyo was somewhat disappointed that Hakkai would doubt his fishing abilities.

"It's not that I don't believe you're a good fisherman, but rather that no one could catch enough fish to satisfy Goku's appetite. You should not say things like that to get his hopes up." Hakkai smiled politely as he always did, but he knew deep down that what his innocent advice triggered could not be stopped.

Fishing was one of Gojyo's favorite hobbies other than smoking, gambling and flirting. He remembered the first time he held a fishing rod when he was a kid. His brother had offered to teach him how to fish, but Gojyo didn't need a lot of help. "You're a natural at catching fish. It's almost as if you've been practicing for a lifetime." Little Gojyo had gotten a strong sense of deja vu when his brother told him that all those years ago.

Hakkai sighed, "you're still going to brag about how many fish you can catch aren't you?"

"Of course, I'm taking the chibi saru fishing, he'll do nothing but speak of how cool I am afterwards and it'll annoy Sanzo to no end!" The half youkai smiled in amusement, picturing the image of a Sanzo who had to put up with a chibi saru constantly retelling the story of Gojyo, the greatest fisherman ever.

"That's a little mean, isn't it?" Hakkai responded.

"But a lot of fun," Gojyo's mind was made up; tomorrow he would take Goku fishing.

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The next day, when the kappa showed up at the temple, carrying fishing poles and supplies, Sanzo knew it was too good to be true that he had offered to take the monkey fishing for a day. Surely there was some sort of catch to it that would benefit in kappa one way or another, yet Sanzo couldn't figure out what it was. None the less, some peace and quiet would be very welcomed, so without a second thought, Sanzo told Goku he could go. Of course the chibi wanted him to come along as well, but Sanzo refused.

After plenty of walking, Gojyo and Goku arrived at a good fishing spot in a river. Gojyo began to set up the equipment and teach Goku how to use a fishing rod. The chibi was of course very eager to catch plenty of fish and roast them to have a feast, but that changed when he saw the bait. "Fish, little fish."

"Usually people use worms to fish with, but they didn't have any at the shop and I'm not about to go digging around looking for them, so these goldfish will have to do," Gojyo explained.

Goku stared at the little goldfish swimming around the bowl. They were so small and cute and they were golden, golden like the sun, golden like Sanzo's hair. "We can't hurt them!"

Gojyo stared at Goku, it seemed he had developed a soft stop for the bait, that couldn't be good. "Don't you want to watch me catch lots of big fish so we can roast them and eat them?"

"Not if the little golden fishies get eaten!" Before Gojyo could stop him, Goku grabbed the bowl and ran. "Go fishies, be free!"

"My bait!" It was too late for Gojyo, because Goku had already thrown the fishbowl into the river. The chibi probably wouldn't understand if he tried to explain that those tiny goldfish couldn't survive in the river anyway, but he couldn't bring himself to break Goku's heart like that. The kappa sighed in frustration and retrieved the almost empty fishbowl which had been carried into a shallow area of the river. "There's only one left."

Before Gojyo could say anything else, Goku snatched the bowl. "Don't hurt him!" He hugged the fishbowl so tightly, that it was a good thing it was plastic, because glass would have shattered.

"Fine, keep the fish, our fishing trip is cancelled, no more roasted fish banquet!" This had not gone how Gojyo wanted it to.

"If it's big fish I'll eat them, but the little golden ones are cute, I don't want to hurt them and this one looks like Sanzo!" Gold, that color had a special meaning, the color of the sun and the color of Sanzo's hair. It was also the color of his eyes, a color that caused so much so long ago. With the cutest sad monkey face, Goku then asked, "are you mad at me?"

"Forget it saru." Gojyo couldn't help it but to be amused when Goku said the fish looked like Sanzo. "Why don't you keep that fish as a pet, I think it looks like Sanzo too, maybe you should name him that." Certainly the golden haired priest would not be too happy with a fish that carried his name. It would seem that Gojyo achieved part of his goal after all. It wasn't that he particularly had anything against Sanzo, but rather that it was as fun to annoy him as it was dangerous, and it was very dangerous.

"Thank you Gojyo!" Goku happily exclaimed. "Hear that Sanzo? You're my new pet and I'll take good care of you!"

xoxox xox xoxox

When Gojyo and Goku arrived back at Gojyo's house, Hakkai knew something must have gone differently from Gojyo's plans because they were back so early. Goku was quick to tell the story and happily informed Hakkai that he had a new pet. "A pet goldfish, named Sanzo? That's sweet. You'll need some fish food for it and maybe getting a better bowl would be good too," Hakkai suggested.

"Can we go get it? Can we?" Goku bounced up and down; the chibi was as hyper as every day.

"Alright, I'll help you get some supplies for the fish. Meanwhile Gojyo can roast the fish I bought." Hakkai's smile seemed to say 'I told you so' as he was already prepared with store bought fish.

Gojyo stared, how in the world did he know something would go wrong? Hakkai was quite the mystery sometimes. "I guess we'll have fish after all."

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After getting plenty of supplies for the fish, Goku and Hakkai returned. Of course the chibi wanted Sanzo to be there too, so they could all eat together. Hakkai agreed and Gojyo wanted to see Sanzo's expression when he learned of the fish's name, so he agreed as well. Though he didn't say it, Hakkai was rather curious to Sanzo's his reaction as well.

Soon they arrived at the temple with their fish lunch. Sanzo hit Goku on the head with his paper fan for naming a goldfish after him and hit Gojyo harder for laughing, but other than that things went about normally. They enjoyed their lunch and later, Gojyo and Hakkai went back home, leaving Goku to talk to his fish which annoyed Sanzo to no end.

"But if I don't talk to him, he'll get bored swimming around in his fishbowl all the time." Sanzo knew that Goku probably wouldn't understand that goldfish have extremely short memories. By the time the fish got to know his environment, his memory would slip away and the bowl would always feel like a new place for it. Gojyo would pay for this.

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The days passed by slowly for Sanzo, as Goku continued talking to the fish every day. It would be no problem if he did it in his room, but the chibi insisted on going to his work office and bringing the fish along. He would then sit in a corner, start his childish chatter and he simply wouldn't shut up. However, for the monks that fish was a blessing that kept Goku busy and prevented him from getting into too much trouble.

Then a tragedy occurred. Those little goldfish, cute as they were, didn't live very long. That was a fact that most people knew, but Goku did not understand. "Sanzo! Sanzo! Something's wrong with Sanzo!" Even the monks heard Goku and started to panic because there was something wrong with Sanzo-sama, or so they thought.

The panicked monks nearly ran over Sanzo in a stampede towards his room to see what was going on. They soon realized who they had carelessly pushed out of the way in their moment of ultimate worry and rushed back to see if he was alright. "Sanzo-sama! Sanzo-sama!"

Sanzo's temper boiled. It was always like that, 'Sanzo-sama I have a problem', 'Sanzo-sama I need your help', 'Save us Sanzo-sama!' Sanzo-sama this, Sanzo-sama that, a day didn't pass in which no one whined at him. "Shut up!"

"But we're worried about your health!" One of the monks said.

"Yes, we heard that boy you brought saying there was something wrong!" Another monk added.

As if on cue, Goku's voice was heard again. "Sanzo! Come quick! There's something wrong with Sanzo!"

The monks did not look happy. "He was lying!"

"Continue with whatever you were doing, I'll handle this." With that said, Sanzo went to Goku's room while the monks discussed the recent happenings, instead of continuing with their duties as they should. Gossip was one of the few entertainments they had at the temple.

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As Sanzo approached, Goku rushed to the door without realizing Sanzo was at the other side. He didn't want to move the fishbowl in case fish-Sanzo's condition was too delicate and he didn't want to leave his side, but human-Sanzo had not yet arrived despite his constant calling. He would have to go get him, or at least try to call louder.

Goku opened the door at the worse time possible and hit Sanzo with it. With a hand on his face Sanzo stumbled backwards only to have Goku pop out of the room and scream at the top of his lugs. "SANZO!" The golden haired man's ears would be ringing for quite some time.

"Sanzo, you're here! Come quick, there's something wrong with Sanzo!" Before the human had time to recover, the chibi pulled him into the room and practically dragged him over to the table were the fishbowl was. "Look!" Goku pointed a worried finger at the unmoving goldfish. "He's not swimming around or anything, he's just floating there and smells like... like..." Goku paused, saying the last part in a whisper, "like he's dead."

Sanzo wanted to hit Goku with his paper fan until the chibi was reduced to dust, or both his arms fell off from all the exercise. He hit him with the door, though it was an accident, and yelled at him, though that was also unintentional, and Sanzo's temper was at a whole new level. Then he saw the boy's golden eyes began to water and he settled for hitting him with harisen only a few times, then running off with the fishbowl. "Stay there, I'll solve this."

"Sanzo, where are you taking Sanzo? To the fish hospital?" Goku asked. "Why can't I come?"

"Stay there!" Sanzo yelled.

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The temple monks had finally returned to their duties, but they all paused when they saw Sanzo-sama run out of the temple like a madman, carrying a bowl. It all happened so fast that they didn't even notice the dead fish, but they did caught a glimpse at what appeared to be water in the clear bowl. What did it mean?

"Did you see that?" One of the monks asked.

"Yes, what does it mean?" Another monk inquired.

All the temple monks decided to put their bald heads together and try to figure out what this was about. Finally one of them had an idea. "I think we should all fill bowls with water and run with them just like Sanzo-sama did, then maybe we'll be enlightened!" The other monks nodded in agreement and the plan was carried out.

While Goku paced around in his room in circles so much that by the time Sanzo returned he would leave marks on the floor in his path, the monks were very busy. They had filled bowls with water and started running with them. They realized that the faster then ran the more water they spilled. Sanzo-sama however, had not spilled any water, even if he was running very fast. They thought about it, analyzing every detail. "We need to run fast without spilling the water," a monk said.

The others nodded in agreement and another added, "it takes great skill, maybe it's something to measure our level."

They thought about that statement. "Because Sanzo-sama is so skilled, he can run very fast without wasting a single drop of water." It made sense to them.

With renewed determination, the monks continued their training. As they ran around with the bowls of water, one paused and spoke, "I think I know what this is about!"

The others gasped and stared at their fellow monk. "What is it? What did you discover?"

"Running is an action, we must take action, but if we do not take action with enough care, act too hastily or attempt to take on more than we can handle, there will be a loss. That's the water, what we need to accomplish. The loss might be big or small but the goal is to improve until there is no loss, until we know how to handle the situations of life," the monk explained.

The others started talking among themselves for a few moments and then silence came, until one of them spoke to the one who had made the discovery. "I agree; it makes perfect sense. That must be what Sanzo-sama was trying to teach us. Before facing a situation, we must be prepared and when facing that situation, we must try our best and be careful."

The monks cheered happily because they had figured out Sanzo-sama's teachings. He was certainly a brilliant man.

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Meanwhile, Sanzo had run all the way to Gojyo and Hakkai's house and presented them with his dilemma. "We should, give him a proper burial at sea," Hakkai suggested.

"Right, let's go to the bathroom then," Gojyo agreed.

"Honestly Gojyo, you need to have more respect for the dead," Hakkai argued.

Gojyo shrugged, "he'll get to the sea eventually."

"That's not the point!" Sanzo insisted. "This is the chibi saru's fish and he won't shut up about it. It's your fault for giving him something so fragile in the first place!" Something so fragile and delicate, something that could so easily slip away from the world of the living, something that needed protection, yet couldn't be protected. Goku had devoted himself to that fish, but even then, the fish inevitably died.

"I didn't give him the fish, I was going to use it as bait!" Gojyo argued, though Sanzo's deadly glare told him not to dispute any further and the harisen reaffirmed that point.

"I suppose we should invite Goku to the funeral, since it was his fish," Hakkai pointed out.

"I have a feeling that if we do, that he'll plug up the bathroom throwing flowers in it," Gojyo warned.

"I'll just bring him over here and have you two will explain this, that way you'll be the ones to deal with his reaction," Sanzo decided. Hakkai and Gojyo looked at him a bit surprised.

"Such a softie," Gojyo commented, he was walking on dangerous grounds.

"What do you mean by that?" Without giving the water sprite a chance to reply, Sanzo hit him with the harisen again.

"Ow! I haven't even told you what I meant!" Gojyo complained.

"It seems that informing Goku about this is not an easy task," Hakkai stated, in the most neutral way possible. "Even so, it must be done. Very well then, bring Goku here and we'll tell him together. Don't worry, he'll be alright."

"I'm not worried," Sanzo snapped. "It's just that... You'll see for yourselves." Leaving an air of uncertainty and a dead fish at Gojyo's house, Sanzo returned to the temple.

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On the way to the temple, Sanzo got an idea and took a stop at a certain shop. He was avoiding the problem and that made him angry at himself. He had bought a new goldfish for Goku and now carried it in an identical fishbowl to the last. Eventually he, or rather Hakkai and Gojyo, would have to face the problem, but for now if, he could keep switching the fish when they died... No, that was running away from the problem and Genjo Sanzo did not run away from anything or anyone! Well, just this once since he already bought the fish...

When Sanzo arrived at the temple, he saw the monks running around with bowls of water. It didn't look like they were trying to transport the water anywhere, they were just running with it. When they saw him they stopped and surrounded him. "Sanzo-sama! Share your infinite wisdom with us, Sanzo-sama!" Sanzo backed away slowly and the monks approached. "Sanzo-sama! Sanzo-sama!" Honestly, sometimes they were like fan girls, bald male fan girls.

"Shut up!" Sanzo yelled.

The monks looked thoughtful, then their faces brightened. "Yes, Sanzo-sama!" The monks sat on the ground meditating, assuming that 'shut up' meant 'quietly reflect on what you have learned'. They were certainly happy that they were beginning to understand Sanzo-sama better. The fact that he didn't say those things directly was part of his greatness and their training. To become wise like Sanzo-sama they had to learn to interpret his words.

Sanzo didn't know what was going on with the monks, but he took the opportunity to get away. He found Goku pacing around his room and noticed the marks on the floor. "Sanzo! Where's Sanzo?" The chibi practically tackled him and pulled the harisen out of his sleeve in search of his precious goldfish.

"Baka saru!" Sanzo snatched harisen back and hit him with it. "What makes you think I would hide a fish in my robe?"

"Well you're not carrying him and you keep your paper fan in there," Goku pointed out.

"Here," Sanzo handed Goku the fish bowl. How could the chibi miss it? "There's your fish, how you managed to not see it, I'll never know."

"I saw this fish, but this isn't Sanzo," Goku replied.

Sanzo blinked, it was a goldfish like any other, how in the world was Goku able to tell the difference? "It's your fish," Sanzo insisted.

Goku shook his head. "This isn't Sanzo! Where's Sanzo? I want my Sanzo!" His eyes started to water again. How could he tell that wasn't the same fish?

"What makes you so sure that's not San-your fish?" Sanzo mentally kicked himself for almost calling the fish by his name.

"This one is a little smaller, younger, looks less annoyed, swims slower, and smell differently," Goku listed all the differences.

Sanzo didn't expect him to be that specific. "Let's go," it was inevitable, he would have to hear the truth.

"Are we going to get Sanzo?" Goku looked hopeful. Maybe it was all just a mistake, maybe Sanzo was safely back at the fish hospital. He had to be alright!

"Yes, we're going to get your fish," Sanzo replied to keep the boy quiet along the way to Gojyo's house.

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When Sanzo and Goku arrived in front of Gojyo's house, the first thing Goku did was ask, "how come we're not in the fish hospital?" The second was to notice a certain scent, "that smells good! Let's eat after we pick Sanzo up from the hospital!"

This was it, no more stalling, "There is no such a thing as a fish hospital," Sanzo confessed.

"Then were did you take Sanzo?" Goku sounded more worried.

"Let's go inside and Hakkai and Gojyo will explain everything," Sanzo went in and followed.

"Sanzo, Goku, don't you guys knock anymore?" Gojyo had a cheerful smile, obviously forced.

"Where's Sanzo?" Goku asked.

At first Gojyo was confused. "Isn't that Sanzo standing right next to you?"

"I mean fish Sanzo," Goku clarified.

Gojyo noticed that the boy with the golden eyes was holding a fishbowl containing a fish, which was very much alive. "Oh, right you mean Sanzo the fish. He's right there in the fishbowl."

"This isn't Sanzo! I don't know who this is, but he's not Sanzo!" Goku yelled. He was tired of people telling him that stranger was Sanzo. He wanted his goldfish back.

"Are you hungry, Goku? Want some food?" Gojyo tried to change the subject, but the chibi's reaction was not what he was hoping for.

"First I want to find Sanzo, then I'll eat. Sanzo must be feeling lonely and scared. He must think I abandoned him. Please tell me where he is." Goku's eyes were watering again. To see that gold drowned in tears was simply heart breaking.

"Hakkai went to pick him up," Gojyo couldn't break the news to Goku. When Sanzo first came with the problem, he thought he would be able to tell the boy the truth, even if Sanzo couldn't, but he was wrong, he too cared for Goku and didn't want the chibi to be sad.

Goku smiled relieved. "He'll be back soon, right? Let's eat while we wait for him!" Goku looked at the fish who wasn't Sanzo. "What about this fish?"

Gojyo looked at Sanzo. If he couldn't convince Goku that fish was his original goldfish, maybe it was no use that Hakkai went to get a new fish. "You can keep it, that one doesn't have anyone else to take care of it," Sanzo regretted his reply, he would eventually have another dead fish to deal with.

"Really? Now I have two fish friends!" Goku smiled brightly, it was really a pity that he would soon have to face the bad news about Sanzo the fish. "Hey little guy, sorry I wasn't very nice to you at first. I have another fish named Sanzo and he got sick, I was really worried. He had to be taken to the fish hospital, but Hakkai is bringing him back. I'm sure you two will be good friends. This human is called Sanzo too, he has golden hair and Sanzo the fish is golden too, just like you!"

"I'm back!" Hakkai's voice was heard. Goku bolted from his seat, regardless of the fact that Gojyo was serving the food, and ran towards Hakkai. "Did you bring Sanzo back?" He looked at the fishbowl Hakkai held. There were three goldfish swimming in it.

Goku looked so hopeful. Telling him what happened would not be easy. "Yes, he's right here," Hakkai gave him the fishbowl and pointed at one of the fish.

"That's not Sanzo," Goku replied.

"Oh, you're right, it's this one," Hakkai pointed at another fish.

"That's not Sanzo either," Goku's eyes began to water again.

"This one?" Hakkai pointed at the last fish.

"That one is a girl," Goku spoke as if it was the most obvious thing.

"Let's put the fish over here." Hakkai placed the bowl next to the smaller one containing the fish Sanzo had bought. "Sit down, we need to talk about this."

Goku had a bad feeling about Hakkai's sad tone. "Hakkai, please tell me, where's Sanzo?"

Hakkai opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Goku looked so sad it broke his heart. Green eyes searched for support around the room, but it looked like Gojyo and the human Sanzo were also at a loss for words.

"What is it?" Goku urged.

The room was filled with silence and the food started to get cold. Who knows what in the world that dish was supposed to be, after all, Gojyo's idea of cooking was throwing a bunch of random edible things into a pot and that's it, but they didn't always remain edible at the end of the process.

After a long moment of silence, Goku continued. "He's dead isn't he? He was already dead when I saw him. He died..." After being so close to crying so many times before, this time he couldn't stop the tears. This time he knew for sure that was he feared was true. "I'm terrible with animals; I couldn't save Sanzo! I couldn't protect him, I couldn't-"

"Shut up!" Sanzo hit him on the head with his paper fan. The 'I couldn't protect him' angst was his and it was not to be said directed towards a fish. "Sanzo died because he was old," it was the first time the blond addressed the fish by his name, rather than calling it 'your fish'. "In goldfish years, he was very old. He lived a long and happy life, then died peacefully, it's not your fault. Sanzo died a happy fish, so don't be sad." The human couldn't believe he was saying this, it was just a fish for crying out loud, yet to Goku, it was a friend.

Goku sniffled and remained quiet for a moment then asked. "What happened to the body?"

Hakkai gave Gojyo a nod and he understood. Seconds later he returned with the dead fish.

"Sanzo, may you rest in peace... I guess we should bury him," Goku concluded. There were no jokes about a burial at sea this time, as a solemn atmosphere settled in and the untouched food continued to get colder.

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The burial took place in Gojyo's backyard. The kappa was also assigned with the task of digging the hole, which thankfully didn't need to be too big. Hakkai practically turned the house upside down searching for an appropriate little box to put the fish in and Goku had given Sanzo the task of finding some flowers, while he prepared the grave. They each did their part.

Goku put the dead fish in the box and gently placed it in the hole on the ground. A stone had been place in front of it with 'RIP Sanzo' written on it in gold marker, that was obliviously the work of Goku. The tomb stone was also decorated with golden glitter, a rather elegant grave compared to what one would expect for a fish.

Gojyo covered the hole and set aside the shovel to join the others in their moment of silence. Then they each placed a flower on the grave and said a few words for the fish. After much nagging from Goku, Sanzo finally agreed to recite some mantras, but he specified just like before, that he did not pray for the dead.

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After the burial ended, they all went inside the house, reheated the food and ate, with Goku of course being the one who ate the most.

When the meal was over, it was time for Goku to pick names for the new fish. "I'll name this one Sanzo Jr., that one is Hakkai, that one is Gojyo and the girl is..." Goku pointed at each fish as he named them. The others didn't understand how he could tell them apart so easily. Goku didn't know any girls to name the female fish after, so he concentrated and tried hard to think of a name, then a name just came to him. "Her name is Kanzeon!" He wasn't sure where the name came from, but he thought it was a good name.

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High above, the Merciful Goddess, Kanzeon Bosatsu, was watching. "Aw how sweet, he named one after me! These guys make me laugh, cry and always surprise me. This is a lot better than those boring soap operas I used to watch. They're still protective of the boy, just like in the past. I guess that no matter what happens, there are some things you can always count on."

End

Disclaimer, I don't own Saiyuki.