Title : Fever
Genre : Angst/General
Disclaimer : My new year's resolution: I DON'T OWN SAIYUKI!!
Summary : Sanzo falls ill, so the worried Goku goes out into the rain despite his concerning condition. He collapses on the street due to high fever and is found by a certain doctor. NiiXGoku. Shounen-ai warning. No smut though.

Beta by: Warrior Nun

A/N: This, everybody, is my new year's gift for all of you. And special thanks to Warrior Nun, for the beta. Hope you'll enjoy!

Chapter One

Out in the Rain

"How's he, Hakkai?"

The healer turned slowly to face the worried teen standing behind the door. The youthful face of Son Goku was laced with worry instead of his usual cheerfulness; his golden eyes were a bit glassy. Hakkai closed the door soundlessly, leaning his back against it and exhaled in clear exhaustion.

"Nothing I offered could convince him to eat. He even insisted me to leave him alone, or else I would be nothing but a bloody puddle on his floor." He chuckled awkwardly, before his expression changed more seriously. "But his body said otherwise…his temperature is rising, and he's still coughing. In no moment he'll be having quite a nasty fever." He could see Goku visibly tense and grimaced. "I've given him a drug so that he could rest, but…" He cast worried green eyes to the dark clouds outside, watching the rain pound the window's fragile glass. "We can't purchase the medicine before this storm lets up. With Sanzo ill, there's high possibility we might get infected if our immune goes down."

Hakkai tried to smile to assure the boy, only to let it falter a bit as he noticed obvious concern coloring his companion's expression. He took a forced smile as he patted the unruly chestnut hair gently.

"But no need take it to that extend; it's not that dangerous. Sanzo will eventually heal… nothing to worry about."

Hakkai ruffled Goku's hair in a comforting manner, before moving his hand to touch his cheek to assure him. His dark brows met as he realized something was wrong. He let his hand trail across Goku's rounded cheek, and then moved to feel his neck. His expression quickly changed to one of concern as he placed his hand on Goku's forehead, carefully positioning it beneath the diadem. In contrary of the cold metal, he felt the skin underneath it burn.

"You're having a fever, Goku?" He asked. His voice was raised a bit.

Goku quickly pulled away, his cheeks were flushed either from fever or embarrassment. He stuttered, evading Hakkai's hand that was about to touch his face again.

"I-it's nothing, I'm fine. Just… just a bit of dizzy, that's all." Goku tried to reason, backing away more as Hakkai tried to feel him again.

"That's exactly the sign. Why didn't you tell me before?" The healer scolded, his brows met once again as he once again took Goku's face in his palm, half-angry at himself for not realizing it sooner. Goku bowed his head, avoiding Hakkai's eyes as the healer continued.

"Now, I advise you to go back to your room, I don't like the idea of having to nurse two sick people."

Goku nodded, keeping his head bowed to hide his expression.

"Yes…" He muttered an almost apologetic look on his face.

Hakkai let out a sigh, now slightly regretting for scolding the boy too harshly. "Very well, now what about something warm like… porridge?" He smiled; only to falter once again as he noticed the young heretic showed nothing but a faint smile even at the mention of food.

"Thanks, Hakkai. I'll see you in at dinner." With that, Goku drew himself away from the older man, making his way to his room without even looking back.

Hakkai stood there in silence, suppressing a sad smile. It was when he heard a faint sound of a door being closed did he moved to search for a certain red head.

Goku threw his head onto the pillow; his gold eyes gazed at the ceiling in frustration. His body was uncomfortably hot, and his head felt oddly light. The room seemed spinning, and he was not even sure if he could stand right. Groaning, he brought his hand up to massage his aching temples, closing his eyes to ease the feeling of nausea. Then he felt his throat burn, and without warning he was granted by a series of coughing. He waited until it eased up, placing his other hand on his chest.

"Am I really sick?" He wondered. His brown brows met as he rubbed his chest to ease the coughing. Maybe accompanying Sanzo without Hakkai knowing the whole night yesterday did it. But he couldn't help it. There was no way he would be able to sleep peacefully knowing Sanzo was suffering, even though he knew he might get infected afterwards.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Goku set his gaze outside the window, pondering at the droplets moistening the glass. The sky was still dark and he could still notice flashes of lighting ran among the dark clouds. The rain had not eased up at all…it only seemed to get even harder.

His mind raced back to his fallen guardian. Hakkai said they wouldn't be able to get the medicine unless the rain stopped. But the thing is that they had no clue when it would stop. It might stop in hours, or maybe in days. There was no way he'd let Sanzo wait that long.

With determination in his eyes, Goku got up from his bed, though slightly stumbled on the way to his door, as he peeked on the corridor between his room and the front door to make sure there was no sight of Hakkai or Gojyo. As soundlessly as possible, he tiptoed his way to the front door, peeking behind his shoulder occasionally to reassure himself. He tried to ignore the way his head felt swaying as he bowed down to wear his shoes. He stumbled again and had to reach the shoes closet to support. Breathing heavily, he put his brown cloak on and pulled its hood to cover his head. He glanced behind him for the last time, smiling apologetically.

"Gomen, Hakkai. I'm going to get the medicine. Sanzo can't wait."

With that, he opened the door and made his way onto the pouring rain.

"Oi, Hakkai, do you know where the saru is? Is it just me or he has gone missing?" The half breed of the group muttered as he leaned against the kitchen door, observing a certain brunette preparing a meal. Hakkai answered without averting his eyes from the vegetables he was chopping.

"Now, now, Gojyo, that can't be possible. I told Goku to rest in his room, since he appears to be catching cold from Sanzo. He looked about to pass out anytime when the last time I saw him, there's no way he would be gone."

Gojyo's red brows met. "Is that so? I've checked his room and he wasn't there. That's why I went and asked you instead. I want to borrow his cloak to go out and buy cigarettes, since mine is still on laundry. But now I think I'll borrow yours instead…"

The sound of Hakkai's knife hitting the floor snapped Gojyo almost immediately. Hakkai turned from his half-done cooking; his emerald eyes were laced with horror, much to the red head's confusion.

"'Kai, what are you…"

Before Gojyo could muster another question, Hakkai moved past him so quickly, and Gojyo could swear he heard a faint "Fuck!" from the supposed-to-be-well-mannered guy. His jaw hanging open as he followed the healer half-running towards the boy in question's room.

Gojyo could feel goose bumps riding the arms as he felt the darker side of his companion emerged at the sight of the deserted room.

"Hak…"

His calling once again fell on deaf ears as Hakkai turned and dashed for the front door. When he reached it, his eyes widened as he saw only three pairs of shoes there. Goku's were missing. On top of that, the door was slightly opened; a clear sign of someone just left the inn.

Hakkai slammed his fist to the wooden wall as he cursed. "Shimatta…"(1)

Gojyo arrived behind Hakkai, still utterly confused by his companion's behavior. It was only when he realized the door was left open did he finally understood. Cursing under his breath, he decided to ask the silent healer.

"What are we going to do, Hakkai?"

"We have to go after him." Hakkai answered, almost immediately grabbing his own cloak and swung it around his shoulders. "In Goku's current condition, staying too long in the rain may be dangerous. He could collapse, or worse." He bowed down to wear the boots, not bothering to re-wear even when he realized he was wearing Gojyo's.

Gojyo just stared at him with widening eyes. "Wait… who should watch over the sick monk then??"

Hakkai stood up before turning to Gojyo and stared at him in the eye, an apologetic smile on his face. "Sumimasen, I'll leave everything up to you, Gojyo."

Without waiting for response, Hakkai opened the door and burst out onto the rain, leaving the astonished Gojyo screaming desperately.

"Hakkai!!!"

His feet fell on muddy puddles, splashing mud and dirty water everywhere, staining his already tainted cloak. Goku pulled the thin cloak tighter around him, trying to grasp for its frail protection against the pouring rain. Breathing was getting more difficult to him and he could barely maintain his balance. He didn't even realize his whole body was shuddering uncontrollably if it's not for his teeth chattering. His frozen mind kept repeating one word:

Sanzo.

It was the very reason why he was willing to go out in the rain despite his current condition. Even though he had to disobey Hakkai's advice…even though he might get even sicker, for Sanzo's sake, he was willing to do anything…for Sanzo's sake…

Goku let out a sigh of relief as his barely focused eyes caught sight of an apothecary sign. There was a clinic nearby. He made his way there, stumbling a few steps, and knocked the door weakly. After a few moments, there was a soft click as the door opened, revealing a girl about a few years older than him. She looked sleepy, rubbing her eyes as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"Sorry, but the clinic is closed as of now…" She stopped as she saw the boy soaked to the bone, noticing his ragged breath and flushed cheeks. "Oh dear, what are you doing out in the rain like this? Come in before you catch cold!"

She put her arm around Goku's shoulders and gently guiding him into the warm and dry clinic. Even through the boy's clothing and cloak, she could practically feel his concerning temperature. She took his soaked cloak off and had him sit at the sofa, before placing her hand on the boy's forehead. She winced at the overwhelming heat.

"Oh my, I'm afraid you've already caught one. What were you thinking, going out in this condition?? You look about to pass out anytime!"

The boy didn't respond. He bowed his head, his drenched bangs hiding his expression, his body was shivering uncontrollably. She could feel her dismay waver as she placed her hand on his shoulder sympathetically.

"Sorry about that. Now, you should rest. I'll bring you some hot drink…"

"No need, please." Goku answered weakly, for the first time gazed up at her; his gold eyes met the girl's pale violet ones. Almost similar to his guardian's…

"I need to get medicine for… for cough." He voiced out hoarsely, it seemed that his throat had started giving up as well.

The girl frowned. "If I may advice, a cough syrup won't do much in your condition, boy. You don't seem to cough a lot. I think you'll need a medicine for sore throat or even influenza."

Goku shook his head. "It's not for me, it's for my companion. He has been bedridden for two days now, and he coughed a lot. I'm here to get his medicine." He explained.

The girl stunned.

This boy… he went all the way in the rain to get a medicine for his companion, even though he is sick himself?

"Nee-san (2), can I have the medicine?" The boy's voice snapped her mind back.

"Ah, s-sure…" She hurried to the shelf, her trained eyes scanned the bottles lining there until she found what she was searching for. She took the bottles off the shelf and gave it to Goku after putting them in a plastic bag.

"There you go. This one is for cough, and this one is for influenza."

Goku stared at her with widening eyes. "But nee-san…"

"No buts." She cut off, gently ruffling the boy's chestnut hair. Goku couldn't help but feel her touch was almost similar with Hakkai's... "Consider this as a gift. As a healer, I can't stand seeing sick people."

The gold eyes stared back at her, its luminous orbs reflected gratefulness. "Thank you, nee-san…"

"Don't mention it." She smiled kindly as she stopped patting his hair and moved her hand on his shoulder instead. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here until the rain lets up?"

Goku shook his head. "No thanks. I can't trouble nee-san more than this. Besides, Sanzo can't wait."

With a fleeting grateful smile, Goku made his way out from the clinic, leaving the girl fingering her chin, deep in thought.

"Sanzo? I wonder if he refers to that dark-haired man with glasses who came here just a few moments ago."

"GOKUUUUU!!!!"

Hakkai's voice was lost in the pouring rain, as he strode past the damp town. He had been shouting for hours, his green eyes scanned the area around him in search of a glimpse of gold or brown in the middle of the rain. Most unfortunate to him, the storm was clouding his senses. He could barely see anything through the curtain of water, and could barely hear anything with the sound of rain pounding his ears.

"Gokuuuuu!!!"

Where could he be? Going out in condition like this… If I don't find him soon enough…

Then his trained eyes caught a familiar sight. It was a clinic. He felt hope rise inside him as he quickened his steps. There is a high possibility Goku might have stopped there…or maybe he was still there. He could only wish that he wouldn't be too late.

Goku had to struggle to keep his breath steady. He could feel his head spin, and now he's seeing as if the ground and the sky had switched places. His knees gave up underneath him and he had to reach steel bars in front of a house for support. He leaned against the cold bars, trying to catch his uneven breath. His head felt oddly light, and he found it was very hard to keep his eyes open. He could no longer feel his fingers, which were now swollen and pale from cold. He couldn't even muster enough energy to rub them to restore their warmth. It would be much easier to just lean there forever, to put his freezing and tired body to a rest…

An image of Sanzo suddenly flashed onto his mind, and he tensed up at once. Sanzo was waiting for him. He couldn't waste his time. With that though alone, Goku forced his shivering body to stand up and once again continued his way onto the rain.

He had lost count how many trembling steps he had taken until he could no longer feel the wind slapping his face nor the rain pounding his whole body. He clutched the bag containing the medicine with his remaining strength as his feet gave up under him and he collapsed onto the cold, wet street.

Before losing consciousness completely, Goku could barely sense a presence approaching, a figure with a familiar but yet so strange aura.

He forced his eyes to open and saw a man wearing robes, similar to Sanzo's. He didn't have enough energy to raise his head high enough to see the face but the scripture on the shoulders was no mistake.

"San…?" He barely voiced out hoarsely before his eyesight faded away and he fell onto the deep, warm darkness.

He didn't even notice a smirk curved its way upon the dark-haired man's face as he knelt beside the fainted boy, slowly removing the head cover the reveal the golden diadem among the drenched brown hair.

"Oh my, looks like I've found a lost monkey…"

To be continued...

A/N: I need not tell you who the dark-haired man is, right? ;p

(1) Shimatta means 'my bad' or 'oh no'. I think in this case 'oh no' is more fitting
(2) Nee-san means 'big sis', usually used to call older girls

Sneak Peek:

"W-What are you doing to me? Who are you??"
"Now now, just relax, dear boy. You can trust me, I am a doctor."