Introduction/Disclaimer

So lately I've been falling in love over again with Saiyuuki. I've always loved Hakkai to death but lately I've become more and more fond of Gojou too. So whilst I love Sanzou and Gokuu (especially in the manga), these two remain my favourites and their friendship is something I really like. They're such different guys brought together by tragedy and a chance meeting…which is why this oneshot happened. It's something I'm sure gets written a lot, but even so, I wanted to do it. It's a oneshot, from Gojou's perspective, of the night after the night he found Hakkai.

Disclaimer: Saiyuuki's characters belong to the wonderful Minekura-sensei, and this fanfic oneshot is written with all the best wishes for her health.

~That Night~

The moon was bright and clear that evening.

In the run down suburbs of an insignificant local town, a cloaked figure hurried from one of the small shacks on the corner of the high road, glancing up at the sky as if in anticipation of further downpours of heavy rain. It had been an unsettled few days, with storms and downpours coming out of nothing, and as the physician dodged the puddles left behind from the last deluge, he slowly became a blur with the lights of the town itself, little more than a ghost disappearing into the mist.

From the doorway of the shack, a lean individual watched him go, putting the cigarette to his lips and fumbling in his pocket for the lighter that was his most trusty companion. Leaning up against the doorpost, he lit the cigarette, inhaling smoke into his lungs and holding it there for a brief moment before exhaling. The cloud drifted lazily on the night air, in no hurry to disperse, and the youth sighed, tossing the lighter up in the air and catching it before sliding it back into his pocket. With a groan, he ran his fingers through his messy hair, knocking free its uneven tie and causing the thick red waves to fall loose over his shoulders. A soft stream of curses dropped from his lips into the silence that surrounded the small, squat building that he called home. Across the street, a drunk was sprawled against the wall, snoring gently as the alcohol worked through his system, but there was nobody else abroad at that time of night and the expletives fell on deaf ears. Nobody had seen the doctor come, nor watched him go.

"You shouldn't smoke around him, not until he's settled a little better. It's quite a deep wound."

The doctor's words echoed in his head, and Gojou glanced at the lit cigarette, murmuring more unrepeatable words before putting it back to his lips and inhaling a second time. It was not a cool night, but smoking outside was a hassle and besides, it was his home. He could smoke where and when he liked, and there was nobody to notice if he ignored the medic's advice. Yet here he was, on his own front step like a pariah, tiptoing around his own home for the benefit of a man who, twenty four hours earlier, he had not even known existed.

Well, he barely knew more than that now.

Gojou's crimson gaze flitted back into the house, snorting with derision at his own soft-heartedness.

"Picking up a strange woman would be one thing, but lumping bloody males about ain't exactly my style," he muttered, flicking ash from the cigarette before putting it to his lips again. "What the hell am I doing, anyway? Running around some complete stranger…using the last of my poker winnings to pay that bent quack to check him over? Fridge is empty, and I'm almost out of cigarettes…yet now I'm playing frigging nursemaid? A month, he said. A month, before this guy's likely to be up on his feet."

He let out another heavy sigh, taking one last drag on the cigarette before stubbing it out with force against the outside of the doorpost and dropping the crushed butt into a nearby puddle.

Picking up half dead guys in the tipping rain, wrecking my shirt, spending my money…and it ain't like I slept any last night, either. I must be crazy. What do I care if a strange guy dies in the forest? Ain't like it doesn't happen. Round here, getting stiffed out in fights isn't uncommon. More so if it's a human who picks a fight with the wrong kind. You don't come this way if you can't take care of yourself.

His gaze flitted beyond the trees to the shadowy grove where, to those in the know, lay the lair of one of the most notorious local youkai 'families' – that led by the demon Hyakugan-maou. Gojou had never been there himself, nor did he have any interest in what went on in those parts, but he'd heard the stories. Women from human villages taken as sacrifices…well, it was a shame on the women, especially if they were cute, but Gojou wasn't so much of a fool as to jump into a fight for the sake of people he 'd never met.

And yet I picked up some guy anyway. Maybe it was just the blood…

Gojou's eyes clouded at this thought, and he turned his back on the outside scenery, retreating back into the small shack and closing the door behind him.

Maybe all that blood made me think of other things. Sins committed. Taboos. Or maybe it was the way he looked at me. Those eyes…looking through me…as though somehow…satisfied with what he saw.

His lips thinned.

Almost like…he was like me. Except he ain't like me. Can see it at first glance…tsch.

He pushed open the door to the small bedroom, lounging against the doorpost as he took in the sleeping form of his unexpected houseguest. He lay motionless, his face pale against the pillow, and Gojou remembered that the physician had said he'd lost a lot of blood – probably more than had been present at the scene where he had collapsed. Gojou had not thought to consider whether the red staining the man's clothes had been from his own wounds until the doctor had asked. In that moment he had felt certain that it had been another's blood that had seeped through the fabric to the skin below, and, as the doctor's examination had progressed, it had become clear that what had at first seemed like a fatal amount of blood loss was actually not a life threatening injury.

For a human, he's pretty tough.

Gojou crossed the room slowly, standing over the man and gazing down at his features pensively. The stranger did not stir, but Gojou remembered once again those green eyes, boring into his.

If he is human. He sure looks it, but he's not like me. Dark hair, green eyes…but then…

He extended a hesitant finger, pushing the man's head over slightly to the side so that the light glinted off the silver cuffs that adorned the stranger's ear.

Those look like limiters. I can't sense much in the way of youki, and I'm no expert, so maybe they're just some fashion statement but if they're really what I think they are…I guess…maybe he also has a face he doesn't want the world to see.

He stepped back, fingering a lock of his own wine red hair, and laughing at his own thought processes.

Nice I guess, if you can hide it. Some of us don't get that option. Though I don't really care whether you're a human or a youkai. Right now I picked you up, so I guess I'm gonna not let you die. It would be a pain if I wasted my money and you snuffed it, so you better be prepared to heal up. A month, the doctor said. Fine then. A month it is. Let's gamble on it, stranger. You live, I win. You die, you win. Those eyes sure looked like the eyes of a man who wanted to die, but I'm pretty good when it comes to gambling.

He sank down on the floor beneath the window, reaching for his cigarettes before remembering the doctor's warning, and he groaned, tossing them across the room and burying his head in his hands.

Dammit, no smoking around the patient. Shit. I already almost forgot. Goddammit, this is my home. Why do I feel frigging guilty?

He glared at the oblivious man, suddenly resentful of his presence.

"It's not like I asked you to come…although I guess I did, since I dragged you here," he amended his thoughts in mid-sentence, a rueful smile touching his features. "I guess I'm the idiot after all. Just don't you die on me. I'll be pissed at you if you do."

There was no response, but somehow Gojou was reassured by the gentle rise and fall of the other's chest beneath the thin blanket.

Hell, maybe I was just looking for the company.

He glanced at his hands, absently rubbing his fingers against his knuckles.

Not that I miss Banri dragging me into shit…and having some other guy lurking around this place is gonna get in the way of my picking up girls…but…but…

He glanced at the sleeping man again.

It was odd, he realised with some consternation, but it had been a while since he had cared so much about the welfare of another individual. Or…in fact…since he had cared much about anything. Life was there to be got through – gambled through and flirted over. It was easier that way, and getting involved with other people generally ended badly, so he rarely if ever initiated any contact beyond the women who sometimes warmed his bed on a cold night or the fools he took advantage of when gaming in order to scrape together enough coin to live. Money was precious, and he sure didn't share it, but despite that he had shelled out the doctor's demand without even thinking about it. It sat at odds with him, and no matter how he thought about it, he didn't understand. He didn't get involved with other people…not to the point he cared, not since Jien…

An image of a woman crying flickered into his mind, but before it could take hold, he cut off the recollection, pushing it back to the recesses of his mind before it could affect him. He was better off on his own, that was what life had taught him. Being on your own was less complicated in all regards.

So why, then, did I bother spending two hours last evening cleaning up your wounds? Why the hell did I stop up all night to make sure you kept breathing? Why did I damn well spend half my day today hunting round the town for that cheapass quack doctor to come look you over, and spend the last of my coins on paying his fee? Why did I bring you here? If I'd left you, doubtless someone else would've picked you up…it's not like me to get involved, but…this time…why did I?

A rueful smile crossed his scarred features.

Well. Who knows, pretty boy. Maybe I fell for your looks. Heh.

He glanced out of the window at the gleaming moon, then,

If I can't smoke, and you're not about to shuffle on, I'm going to sleep. I'm tired as hell. But don't think I've any intention of losing the bet, whoever you are. You be alive when I wake up in the morning, else I'll be cross. Got it? This is my house. You're damn well not going to stiff out on me here!