In Heaven Everything is Fine

By Rroselavy, written for Theskywasblue

The one weakness in his grand scheme had been that he'd never planned it out to the end.

Nihilist.

I should have killed Kouryuu's monkey when I had the chance.

Too late now.

Nii Jianyi's eyes opened wide, only to screw shut tightly against the blinding light. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the glare then chanced them open again.

"You've got to be kidding me," he murmured, almost in awe, as he gazed about him. Vista after vista was presented to him of pastoral settings under a brilliant azure sky. The sun warmed his skin pleasantly, and the breeze that tickled his skin had not a hint of winter in it.

"Where the hell am I?"

"Heaven. I suppose you were expecting fire and brimstone?"

"I was expecting nothing!" he snapped, trying to focus his eyes on this latest tormenter, then blinked them a few times in rapid succession as he tried to make sense of the familiar countenance that greeted him. There stood Koumyou Sanzo, not looking a day over ...

Of course, Koumyou hadn't aged! Koumyou was dead. Nii took in the billowing, snowy white robes that sheathed, no, obscured Koumyou's sinful body.

He must be dreaming. The stupid ape had managed to knock him out. It probably was a tactical error to rile Son Goku up to the point that his limiter shattered. But he'd already been calling forth the power of the Muten sutra to trap the Seiten Taisei, had already felt its nothingness encroaching on the edges of his vision. But certainly nothing like this had ever happened when he'd evoked the sutra before.

"Nice outfit," he sneered, deciding it was far more game to play along than to protest and ruin the moment. Besides, he wasn't going to let dream-Koumyou get the upper hand, much as the man had in real life.

"A-haha," Koumyou chuckled. "Heavenly issued. You should get a load of yourself in them," he winked.

Nii glanced down to see that he was dressed identically. As robes, they were dreadfully uninspired -- nothing at all like the black ones he'd donned when he began his mourning. Though, his uniform of lab coat and bunny slippers had been his favorite fashion statement -- nothing screamed 'mad scientist' better.

He rolled his eyes, then his neck to alleviate the persistent crick in it, only to discover he could rotate his head freely. He glanced down at his right hand, the one he'd seen the Great Sage crumple like a piece of paper and flexed his fingers and balled them into a fist a few times. How odd.

"Come walk with me, Ukoku-houshi." Koumyou held out his hand. Nii hesitated for a second before succumbing. God-damned, if he was going to wake up in Gyokumen's embrace, or being tended to by the coldly efficient Dr Huang, the least he could have was some real affection, if only in his dream-state. Perhaps the good doctor had given him some of the good painkillers this time. He'd have to think of a special way to thank her.

Koumyou's hand was surprisingly light, but then Nii realized that he felt light – unencumbered by his corporal being. But its carnal desires had not deserted him. He tightened his grip on Koumyou's hand, his fingers pressing against Koumyou's, the all too familiar ache of longing stirring his insides.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Koumyou remarked lightly. The path he'd chosen was carpeted with blush pink cherry blossoms. They drifted from the branches arching over their heads, catching in his hair. Nii turned his head and watched Koumyou's long braid sway in rhythm to his gait.

"Is Kouryuu here?"

Koumyou stopped and turned toward Nii. "Of course not, he's finishing his mission."

It wasn't the answer he'd expected, and Nii's mood soured now that it was apparent that this Koumyou had somehow become entangled with the present day. It was a much better dream when it was in the past.

"God, what a mood-killer!"

Koumyou merely chuckled. "I wasn't the one to bring that nasty little affair up."

"Now I know I'm dreaming. My Koumyou would never say something like that," Nii grimaced.

"You never were very good at listening, were you?" Koumyou tapped lightly on Nii's forehead with a folded knuckle, "Always so much noise up here, drowning out the rest of the world. How much did you miss because you were so caught up in your own thoughts?"

"Koumyou—"

"Let me see if I can make this clear for you, Ukoku. You're dead."

"That can't ..." Nii frowned. "Can it?" He grabbed Koumyou's bicep with his free hand and stared at him searchingly.

"It can't?" He offered Nii a winsome smile. "I'm afraid to break it to you, but you lost the bet."

Nii's frown deepened. He really should have killed Son Goku when he'd had the chance.

The backs of Koumyou's fingers traced over his jaw, pulling Nii from his dark thoughts.

"But, can I interest you in a consolation prize?" Koumyou asked softly before he brushed their lips together.