Fic: Some Sort of Black Belt (Saiyuki)

[daegaer]

Gojyo puts his foot in it. Then Kouryuu puts his foot in Gojyo.

"I'll see you tonight," Hakkai said, brushing his lips along Gojyo's jaw. "I'd better go –"

"Don't we have time for another coffee?" Gojyo said. He'd walked all this way and wanted a few more minutes staring at Hakkai's pretty green eyes and smooth pale skin before he had to haul ass off to the industrial sector and learn about engines some more with guys who had grime coating every available surface. Gaining a respectable trade was all very well, but it was incredibly grimy.

"Maybe a very quick one from the booth by the university entrance," Hakkai said.

It was only another minute's walk and then they were drinking possibly the most overpriced bad coffee Gojyo had ever had to endure. The students were complete idiots if they shelled out for this crap. His attention was drawn by an approaching fair-haired figure coming fast towards them, a smaller figure being pulled in its wake by the hand. A stream of childish complaints was rising up loudly.

"Looks like you don't have to walk over to the dorms," Gojyo said. "Here comes Blondie."

"Be nice," Hakkai said. "Citizen Rin! Goku! Good morning!"

"Yo," Gojyo said. "How's it hanging, Rin Sanzo?"

"Don't you fucking Rin Sanzo me," Blondie said at an impressive volume that had heads turning all around. "What the fuck did you say to my kid, you moron?"

"Let's not shout," Hakkai said.

"Shut the fuck up, Cho."

"For a start I pointed out he's not your kid," Gojyo said, outraged that anyone would speak to Hakkai in such a manner. This soft-handed idiot, with his good genes and his Cat-A ID and his luck that got him a place in the best university in the republic when Hakkai went to some fucking diploma mill. Luck, which was full-human code for My ancestors have nothing interesting lurking in their DNA -"You, what, write up your fascinating experience of looking after a half-"

"Gojyo! Hakkai yelled.

" – a Cat-B kid," Gojyo said, swallowing the slur. "Does it get you a good grade?" Oh, yeah. That was it. Blondie was about to explode.

"Gojyo, stop!" Goku said, his eyes enormous. "Why are you being mean? Hakkai, make him stop!"

"Transcend that worldly rage, man. Come on, Rin Sanzo, let's see some ethereal love and compassion."

"Don't you fucking call me that."

"You gonna get supernatural on my ass, man? You gonna show me all those special powers the films say you guys have?"

Hakkai glared at both of them. "Gojyo, what is wrong with you?"

"He yelled at you! And I don't like do-gooder full humans. He's just being Venerable Bounteous and he'll dump the kid once he stops being small and cute."

"Kouryuu! You won't, will you? . . . will you?" Goku's expression was as tragic as only a kid about to be shoved off a cliff into a meat grinder and then have the remnants shipped to some ice asteroid in another system could be. It was impressive, on such a small, round face.

"Shut it, Goku. Don't listen to this, this -" Blondie really was going to explode, and Gojyo thought he could tempt him into showing his true, bigoted colours if he just – He let his antennae fall forward to flick across Blondie's face – yeah, furious as fuck - and then ran them back into his hair, drawing attention to his overly long-fingered hands.

"Go on," he said cajolingly. "Call me a fucking insect. I know you want to."

"Gojyo!"

"Call Hakkai a pig. No? Going to hide behind good-boy manners to our faces? I guess the boy who preferred to hide in a box is just a coward."

Blondie was shifting his weight back, one shoulder going back too. The bastard really was going to throw a punch. That was some telegraphing: soft useless fool – Gojyo blinked. Rin had – vanished? Then as Hakkai and Goku both yelled, something hit him full force from behind and he careened forwards. He didn't land facedown only because Hakkai caught him. Looking around he saw Rin behind him, fists loosely curled, standing ready. How the fuck? Goku was squeaking something about how cool that had been, and plenty of other students were filming them. Shit.

"What was that display about?" Hakkai said furiously. "Why were you goading him? About his father's murder of all things? I told you that Goku said he trains!"

"I feel like he hit me with a steel bar," Gojyo wheezed.

"You were the one who asked for a demonstration of a sanzo's training," Hakkai said. "Stand up, for God's sake. Let me try to brazen this out."

He walked back to the others, smiling cheerfully, the traitor. "Goku was right," he said. "You really are back on top form, Kouryuu! I think you could easily enter competitions if you wanted."

Blondie gave him a look like, Get my name out of your fucking mouth, then shrugged.

"I train enough," he said. "Hey, Sha, nice pratfall. You almost made it look real. We should try it again until you get it perfect."

"You know me," Gojyo said, trying not to fold in half. "Anything for a joke."

The onlookers all looked a bit disappointed to be denied further entertainment as all four of them huddled together, the adults smiling as genuinely as they could. Goku held on to Blondie, looking up at all of them.

"Are you all friends again?" he said plaintively.

"We were just rough-housing," Hakkai said, very firmly, looking daggers at Blondie and at Gojyo. "Right?"

"Right," Blondie said after a second. "Sha was being an idiot and I just sort of shoved him."

"Nooo, you jumped up real high and did a real good spinny kick!"

"Nice work, Rin Sanzo," Gojyo said. "You really faked me out. What are you, some sort of black belt?"

"Yeah," Blondie said, absolutely deadpan. "Some sort. Wait until I'm really back in form."

"So, can you teleport and read people's minds too, or is that shit just in the movies?"

"I think Citizen Rin might be able to read Goku's mind," Hakkai said cheerfully, as Goku giggled.

"God, pigeons in the street could read Goku's mind," Blondie muttered. "Just fucking call me Rin, would you?"

"Sure thing, Rin Sanzo," Gojyo said.

"Cut that out."

"What, Rin Sanzo?"

"Fucking hell."

They looked at each other and away as Hakkai chatted with Goku, closing his coat up and making him look more respectable. He looked happy to have a student, and Goku looked real happy to be with him. The kid was always turned out nice, and full of stories about Kouryuu this, Kouryuu that, if Hakkai should happen to bring him by the apartment. Gojyo felt weary and ashamed.

"I guess when I was his age 'n a little older I had run ins with people who said they wanted to help me," he said. "They were full of advice on how I could make myself into one of the deserving poor. Even if they didn't think I deserved help, my mom did. She was sick. It turned out there was nothing she could have done to make herself into one of their deserving poor either. Maybe you're not that sort of guy."

"Fuck you," Rin said. "You help someone because they need it, not because you decide they've managed to deserve it. Or you just don't give a shit. I don't give a shit about you."

"Thanks, Rin Sanzo."

"I'll kick you into next week."

"Not in public you won't, Rin Sanzo."

Rin glared at him. "I'm not a fucking do-gooder. I was just brought up right. Fuck those guys who didn't help your mother."

They glared at each other some more.

"Your dad teach you whatever the hell move that was you pulled on me?" Gojyo said, by way of an olive branch.

Rin smirked, the fucker. "Him and the other monks, yeah. Did you enjoy the lesson in practical love and compassion?"

"I haven't felt so much love in a long time," Gojyo said, and Rin actually laughed. Gojyo did his best to match it, though his back was still screaming. "I practically reached enlightenment. OK. I'm gonna head. Hakkai, I'll see you later, man. Goku, be good and if you can't be good don't get caught. See you around, Rin Sanzo."

Rin rolled his eyes.

"My Grandpa's a sanzo too, just like Kouryuu!" Goku said in excitement.

"Fuck, see what you've started? I'm not a sanzo, Goku."

"Sure you are. He's Kouryuu Sanzo, right, Goku?"

"Goodbye, Gojyo," Hakkai said firmly, relieved amusement in his eyes as Rin shoved Goku towards him.

Gojyo beat a retreat, hoping he wouldn't be aching too much by the end of his training shift. As he left he scrolled through the social apps, looking to see if any of the onlookers had uploaded their footage. He really wanted to see what Rin had actually done. It seemed like it might be handy for some of the wilder weekends he and Hakkai got into.