damned_institute | Nightshift 36: M21-M30 Hallway

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Nightshift 36: M21-M30 Hallway

((Specifically M22))

Pain. Adelheid suddenly felt a stab of agony radiating from his right eye, where that ghostly woman had brushed up against him. He could feel the lines of the tattoo starting to spread across his skin, the pain extending until he nearly couldn't think straight.

And he had things to do, people to meet and weapons to make. Adelheid gritted his teeth and swore he would make it through. It was just pain, right? Just pain... he could endure that. He had to endure it.

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"If this is how you help people, you'd be doing me a favor then." Sanzo retorted. He smoothed out the robes. They really didn't do much in helping control the hot and cold flashes; his bare chest felt about the same as his hips and legs - equally shitty, but at least the robes were something familiar.

He glanced back at Kenren out of the corner of his eye. Surprisingly enough, the asshole was actually showing some decency. Sanzo wasn't one to get squeamish over nudity (maybe because unlike Gojyo, he had some fucking maturity), but he also didn't like being leered at either. He had enough of that already.

Unfortunately for Kenren, Sanzo wasn't quite ready to let him off the hook for causing him to pass out like that. Single moment of decency or not.

The monk made his way back to his bed, and hunched over, digging around under the mattress. After that night in the coliseum, there wasn't telling what happened to the Smith & Wesson. Would it vanish, like the sutra? Or would it have returned back here, like his robes?

Sanzo's fingers closed on the butt of the pistol. He drew it out.

He didn't intend to outright kill Kenren; that was reserved for Homura, but right now he wasn't about to let Kenren think that manhandling was alright.
Nothing spelled something out like a near hit, or a shot to somewhere nonvital. When yelling and the fan didn't work, Sanzo could always rely on the gun to settle things.

The moron wasn't even paying attention.

Sanzo turned, and took aim at the edge of the Kenren shadow. He pulled the trigger.

Kenren decided, for once, to be the bigger man in the argument and just flat out ignored Sanzo's words. If he'd have preferred death to being helped, then fine. Kenren would remember it the next time. And then probably just help him anyway because he was obviously masochostic like that and just didn't learn. And also because there was that little part of his mind that told him that both Hakkai and Tenpou would look at him disapprovingly if he didn't help and those disapproving looks were damn scary.

He didn't pay much attention to Sanzo's rooting around, letting him do what he wanted if he needed the distraction so much. Considering what it seemed like he'd gone through, Kenren couldn't really blame him for wanting a distraction.

It was only his long experience with guns which tipped him off. He recognised the sound of the gun being cocked and turned quickly, just in time to see Sanzo pull the trigged. He felt a burning flare of pain on his shoulder, but he ignored it, instead moving forward quickly and grabbing Sanzo's wrist hard, preventing him from using the gun again. "What the fuck?" he snarled, anger finally appearing in his expression. "The hell are you doing?"

Sanzo had a hand clapped to his forehead, trying to still the renewed throbbing in his temple. That gunshot was far louder than usual, ringing in his head, the flash from the barrel making his eyes water again. Son of a bitch--

Kenren had crossed the room startlingly fast, especially considering the monk had just sent a warning shot at him. Usually Gojyo or Goku had the sense to back down, not go right for him.

"Evening the score, you fucking prick," Sanzo glared at him - or tried to; there were a lot of sparks swimming across his vision from the flash. Kenren's grip was surprisingly strong too. The monk tried to wrest his hand out anyway. "That was for knocking me out."

He could feel blood trickling from the wound on his shoulder, but thankfully he didn't think that it was too deep to be dangerous. Still, it was painful, and especially unwelcome considering he'd just spent the first part of the night getting his other arm healed! He noted the way that the monk's eyes weren't quite focusing on him, but he didn't really care at the moment. Being shot tended to kill any feelings of sympathy pretty damn well. He tightened his grip on Sanzo's wrist, not allowing him to move away, his expression hard and dangerous, a far cry from the usually jovial expression that he habitually wore.

"If this is how you repay people, you're really making me fucking regret ever trying to save you or even Konzen back then, you arsehole. Get over your fucking suicidal pride because if you keep on, then it will get you killed."

Sanzo was getting pretty fucking tired of hearing about Konzen constantly. The name didn't mean anything to him, just that it was connected to Homura and Kenren. That was reason enough to get annoyed by it.

He gave another violent jerk of his arm, but Kenren's fingers weren't budging. Sanzo straightened, refusing to back down in front of the god's anger.

"Like I give a shit what you think," he sneered. "I've survived this long without your help or your 'advice'. I don't need a fucking babysitter."

He'd only lived this long because of how he'd operated. Sanzo didn't put up with others' shit, period, and he looked after himself and the scripture foremost. Everyone else was on their own, he couldn't be bothered to look after them.

....Except that scarring on his stomach and back was a permanent reminder otherwise.

Sanzo shifted uncomfortably, at both that and his wrist. His chilled skin felt like it was burning under Kenren's body heat from his hand, raw like a sunburn. To his credit, he managed to keep his face emotionless, and his eyes in Kenren's direction.

He couldn't afford to be distracted. Not when he wanted to shut down Kenren's bullshit before he got any further. The idiot was hitting too close for Sanzo's comfort. He had no business talking to him like that.

Sanzo dropped his free hand from his head.

As options went, his were pretty limited. He could just punch or knee the bastard in the stomach, he was close enough to go for it. Kenren's attention was on restraining his gun arm and bitching at him. It would be a pretty clear shot, even with his eyes like this right now, unless....

Unless Kenren had Homura's reflexes. Wasn't he supposedly a god too? Maybe there was some dampening affect here, but Homura was still stronger and faster than an average man. Even without that, Sanzo was painfully aware of how open he'd be to a retaliation, if Kenren blocked or if he didn't let go. He wasn't eager for a repeat of earlier. If it hurt that much to get grabbed like that, Sanzo didn't even want to think how it'd feel to get actually punched there.

Sanzo settled on the surest fire option. He managed to angle his wrist awkwardly, the gun barrel suddenly pointing straight at the side of Kenren's head. There was an ominious click.

"Let go. Before I actually shoot you for real," Sanzo said softly.

As much of a pain in the ass Kenren was, Sanzo didn't particularly want to kill him. It was a waste of bullets for one. He actually needed some left for Homura. And as people went, Kenren wasn't the absolute worst of the lot. Irritating enough, far too similar to the kappa for his liking, but he had his rare moments where he wasn't a complete idiot. Where he was actually tolerable. And if they ever managed to track down Hakkai, Sanzo didn't want to have to deal with a lecture or dissapproving looks. Hakkai could make things hell on earth if he wanted to.

"And how many times would you have got your ass kicked without the other three?" Kenren asked coldly. "How many times would you have died from your wounds or been overwhelmed by numbers because you had no-one else there to help?" He could remember enough of Gojyo's memories to be able to know that at least. "There's always something bigger and stronger and faster that will get you in the end, no matter how fucking self-reliant you think you are." Hadn't he had this conversation with Tenpou once? Testing to destruction, seriously.

He heard the click and just turned his head slightly to stare at the barrel of the gun before he began to laugh. Maybe it was hysteria or tiredness, or maybe he just found it fucking hilarious that one of the highest ranked Buddhist monks in the world, a man who Kenren had known as unable to even use a weapon, was holding a gun to his head. Ah, irony. You had to love it otherwise it would just kill you. "It's entirely unfair that you get a gun and I don't. Konzen probably would have shot himself with mine if he'd tried to use it." He smirked and slowly let go of Sanzo's wrists, but didn't move away, just stayed there, staring at the barrel with no hint of fear.

"Kill or be killed," Sanzo replied. There wasn't any knowing what would've happened without them there. "I didn't need them before, I don't need to rely on them now."

Not that Hakkai's chi or calm mind wouldn't have helped. Gojyo even had his uses as a meat shield every now and then, and a source of cigarettes and booze. Goku...

There wasn't any time to think that over. Kenren began to laugh. Sanzo frowned. What the hell was so funny? Had he gone fucking insane?

Kenren, after a moment, let go of his arm, although there was none of Gojyo's nervousness at the presence of the gun pointed right at him. Sanzo kept the gun trained on Kenren a little longer, other hand rubbing at his wrist.

The skin there was still tingling.

Sanzo scowled and gingerly sank down onto the bed. Lowering the gun, he just stared up wearily at Kenren. It seemed like neither Homura or Kenren could let go of the Konzen thing, except Homura did it to piss him off. Kenren, he couldn't figure out.

Whatever the reason, he was too drained to wonder on that too much. "I'm not Konzen."

With a wince, he lifted his legs back onto the bed, and turned around. The gun vanished under the the pillow. Slowly, Sanzo lay down on his side; he wasn't about to lie on his front or back, not if either way put too much pressure on the wounds on his stomach and spine. Each inch hurt like a bitch, but he finally managed to lower himself onto the bed, his back to Kenren.

He took a deep breath, then another. "...Why're you still here?

Kenren snorted in response to that. He had a life, why was he so damn eager to throw it away? Or at least, it seemed that way to Kenren. "And what use are you to anyone if you're dead?" he asked scornfully. "You die when there's no other choice and you go out the same way that you lived and with pride in your heart." Live and bloom until you scatter with all of your pride. "Or are you really so keen to die on Goku so soon?" And leave him without his sun once more.

He watched impassively as Sanzo lowered the gun, sticking his hands into his pockets and looking utterly nonchalant, as though he was just having a nice, casual conversation with a friend. He shrugged one shoulder. "No, you're not Konzen. You're harder than he was, but you have the same stubbornness." And same temper, although Sanzo's was probably worse, something that he'd never thought possible.

He was lying down now at least which was a good start if he wanted to recover some of his strength. "Well, I'm kind of unconvinced that if I leave you won't be out of bed as soon as I'm round the corner and going to prove how big your cock is by picking a fight with a monster."

'Pride in your heart', what the hell was Kenren rambling about? It hadn't ever been about pride itself, it'd been about survival. There wasn't any trusting anyone, in Sanzo's opinion. The only person you could rely on was yourself. Of course, Kenren was actually putting some measure of trust in scum like Homura in the first place. It said alot about their differences in what trust was.

And the asshole just had to bring up Goku like that. Sanzo's shoulders stiffened, ever so slightly. Even if he didn't know it, he'd hit a nerve. There wasn't any forgetting that look on Goku's face that night.

"Shut the hell up," the monk's voice was muffled against the wall. "You don't have a clue what you're talking about, so just shut up."

It was almost irritatingly predictable that Kenren didn't get the hint. The roach did the same damn thing.

Sanzo closed his eyes. Kenren's pigheadedness about watching over him reminded him far too much when Gojyo used to do the same thing. Although he'd usually done so because of Hakkai. The idiot didn't have anything to worry about. Exhaustion was creeping up at the edge of his senses.

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Nightshift 36: M21-M30 Hallway

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