"shut up, saru. you just ate the last of our reserves. if you want more, scrounge around the village. i'm sure there's some edible trash around here. might have to fight the dogs for it."

goku kicked himself up. "what kinda animal do you think i am?"

"what a memory you've got, saru."

"why you-"

the sound of a creaking door cut him off as hakkai walked through, smiling. "don't tell me you've started arguing already. i've only been gone...about five minutes."

"ten." gojyo corrected morosely, turning away from the two of them to stare into the fire. it was ridiculous. completely ridiculous. he bit into his cigarette. fucking asshole.

"hakkai? is sanzo coming back now?" the boy was looking out the glassless window again in the direction the surly priest had gone. before homura, goku was never this anxious whenever sanzo just wanted to go off alone to meditate. but ever since homura...well...everything that had happened with him just proved how frail sanzo really was. a mere human with the resilience of a twig when compared to a god. that's why he hated it whenever sanzo was alone because that would make goku feel alone. and then there was always that threat that the aloness would last forever if sanzo never came back.

"eh. soon. after he calms down a bit." tenpou replied, amusedly as he sat himself down by gojyo's feet and leaned his chin upon the other's knee. gojyo froze. "i think i angered him. don't you think so, gojyo?"

the redhead ed. "how the hell would i know?"

"be it of friend or foe." tenpou recited with a twinkle in his eye. "one cannot help but see, a third set of footprints in the snow."

"damn you!" he lifted his hand to angrily strike him away, "maybe one good knock on the head'll send you back!" but it was caught by goku's fierce grip.

"stop! gojyo don't! not ten-chan!" he held on harder as he repeated the name.

he didn't know how he knew. he just did. all the questions that were asked of him...

who taught you how to read, goku?

it wasn't sanzo, was it?

then who?

...and so he began to think really hard about it. who? who? who? for three nights, he'd been asking himself, finally resorting to asking the goddess of mercy (wherever she...he was)...who?

and so that night he dreamed about a library, a comforting hand upon his shoulder as another one pointed out the les laid out on the paper before him. "read it out loud with me, goku..." faceless, but in the shiny reflection of the book, he saw someone he thought he recognized.

"i won't let you hurt ten-chan! it's probably not his fault that he's here. i don't know what happened, but you can't hurt him! i won't let you! never!" goku was starting to sound like a small child.