Books. And words.
Jan. 27th, 2007 10:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
keire_keI managed to track the Serenity novelisation finally. It disappointed. I probably shouldn't be all that surprised, but Revenge of the Sith got my hopes up, and the first two were quite decent as well. The original trilogy books had their moments ("What's a duck?" for instance), whereas Serenity is not quite an example of how not to write, but definitely of how to make awesome dialogue suck. Way to go, Keith DeCandido!
On the other hand, read Anansi Boys, and really, really liked it. Didn't think I would, after the first half, but the running from birds scene won me over (in the same way SPN won me over, lol). It was awesome, overall. Go Charlie! Go Spider!
In other news: Bill wins. Yay for Shakespeare: Return of the Author!
Riiiight. The fic. Hm. There's this, there's quite possibly the next two(?) parts planned, possibly three, a rough sketch of the ending and great big nothing in between. That's what I get for not including Reavers. *sulks* We'll see how it plays out.
They barely saw Goku over the next few days. It got on Sanzo’s nerves. Hakkai, as much as he seemed not to care usually, was making an effort to keep him apart from the crew. This basically meant that Goku spent most of the time sleeping, or locked in Hakkai’s cabin, playing with Kouryuu. Sanzo’s nerves were frayed, but the others were at least pleased with the cat from hell being removed from their immediate presence. Woe to the unfortunate individual who’d point that out to the captain, however.
They were steadily approaching Persephone, a planet which was, for all intents and purposes, another Bob, except the intellect of an average official was a smidge higher – the spaceports were built by experienced professionals. All in all, she was far too civilised for Hakkai’s tastes. Preparation for touchdown proceeded as usually, meaning Sanzo was busy being a pain in the ass, while the crew worked stowing away anything that could potentially get them in trouble in case of an unwanted inspection.
The captain was surveying the cargo hold from the walkway, but his attention was very obviously not on Jien’s struggles with the heavy crates.
“You stay out of sight. I’m up to here with fucking trouble. We won’t be long,” Sanzo told the miraculously present Goku. He would not admit to bribing (or threatening, as it were) Yaone to discuss the possible drawbacks of a pregnancy with the doctor. He was the goddamned captain, he would not be caught dead actively pursuing anyone’s company, after all. “There’d better not be anyone snooping about the ship, but just in case, stay in the cabin.”
Goku nodded. “Okay.” He was leaning against the railing, mimicking Sanzo’s position. It’s been five days since the incident on Zao Jun. The elaborate plot Sanzo cooked up to get him away from Hakkai for five minutes revealed quite plainly that the cut might as well had been imaginary, if Sanzo didn’t remember exactly how the blood seeped along the length of his palm. He was not overreacting either, thank you very much.
“Yeah, stay in the captain’s bunk, we wouldn’t want any trespassers to get the wrong idea. Besides, Kouryuu will protect you,” Gojyo said grinning. He made his way down the steps and leaned against the railing on Sanzo’s other side. “We ought to put a warning sign somewhere: beware the cat. Bring own supplies to tape legs back together.”
“Kouryuu is not dangerous, you cockroach!” Goku said, as if the slight was offending him personally.
“What did you call me, you little monkey?”
“I’m not a monkey!” Somehow, despite the division that was Sanzo, they managed to get in each other’s faces.
“Monkey!”
“Cockroach!”
The infantile discussion progressed, to the point where everyone paused what they were doing (in Sanzo’s case, nothing) and started staring. Goku was glowering, while Gojyo’s face held nothing but a wide grin. He was about to continue, when a loud meow switched his mental flips from “amused” to “fearing for his life”. He looked around wildly, but there was no feline in sight. His brows furrowed. “You fucker,” he said to Sanzo, who smirked. “So I can meow, sue me,” he said lazily.
Gojyo switched targets for insult exchange, which resulted in everyone else going back to work – Gojyo fighting the kid, that was new. Gojyo fighting Sanzo, that was yesterday’s news. Yesterday morning, noon and evening’s. Also tomorrow’s most likely.
“I so would,” Gojyo was saying, only, as they both knew, he wouldn’t. Drawing legal attention to Sanzo would see him imprisoned for a rather long time, faster than anyone could say ‘by the powers vested in me by the Allied Earths’ Government. Gojyo, for all his taunts, would never allow that. Who else would provide him with an adrenaline rush just by staring?
“Hey captain, how about you come on over and give us a hand down here?” Jien called, wrestling with a crate.
“Work, it’s good for you!”
“Bastard,” Jien muttered to himself.
“I heard that.”
“It’s not like it’s news anyway,” Gojyo said.
“Who the hell invited you?”
“Hey, I go where the excitement is. How long are we staying here?”
“We’re making the delivery and leaving.”
“With of without shooting?”
“Without.”
“I’ll go dust my bullet-proofs then. Might be needing those.”
“I said there’ll be no shooting.”
“You said the will be no problems with Zao Jun.”
“There were no problems!”
“Oh, so the warrant on your head Can issued was just a friendly joke?” Gojyo asked, looking at Sanzo with his brows raised. “Call me silly, but usually when people say things like ‘alive or dead, I don’t bloody care which, but I want his head on my desk, if he ever gets back here’ usually isn’t synonymous with an invitation for dinner.”
Sanzo didn’t answer, save for an indignant snort, which in his case was often an answer.
“You know, my career will suffer if you keep taking off as soon as you land,” Gojyo said, leaning back to stare at the hold. He grinned at Jien, who rolled his eyes, but laughed all the same.
“Your whoring ain’t my business.”
“Hey, whoring is how I got the money to pay you, which means you can’t afford to dis it.”
“I can do whatever I damn well please.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, and eventually you might end up having to whore yourself.”
“I’d sooner shoot myself.”
“That’s not a bad idea either.” Gojyo paused. And grinned. “I know a couple of places on Persephone that cater to the blond and brooding.”
“What?”
“I’m just saying, that I know a couple of places that could get you laid. Probably. I mean, miracles have been known to happen, and most brothels are willing to cater to all kinks, for a suitable price. As long as you don’t actually shoot anyone…” Gojyo shut up. He was reasonably sure Sanzo wouldn’t actually shoot him, but having the muzzle of a handgun pressed into his Adam’s apple wasn’t what could be deemed comfortable. Especially when the wielder of the gun had been known to beat up people for wearing the wrong kind of shirt.
“Do go on. I am interested now,” Sanzo growled, thumbing the safety.
“That’s exactly why people say you need to get laid.”
“Violence tends to be an acceptable alternative, I find.” Sanzo holstered the gun. Gojyo stared at him in sheer disbelief.
“You’d rather beat someone up than screw them?”
In every bar on every single one of the forty spinning worlds the heated up-and-down look Sanzo shot Gojyo would have culminated, later in the evening, in bed. Or on the table. Some flat surface, anyway. “Do you want to find out?”
Considering that Sanzo was cracking his knuckles, Gojyo wisely decided to withdraw for the moment. Just in time too, since the moment he left cargo hold Yaone’s voice came through the speakers, announcing their impending landing. Sanzo didn’t move from his spot.
“Goku. Out.” When he turned his head the kid was looking at him, unblinking. Sanzo knew that kind of look – Kouryuu looked at him like that, back before he developed the typical feline god complex. The looks lasted from the moment the dirty lump of wet fur, later identified as a kitten, latched itself onto his shoe, until he got over being forcibly washed, dried, fed, kicked out, found, fed, sent to the vet, returned, fed, yelled at and finally curled up on Sanzo’s pillow. Altogether, three days. With the monkey it’d been almost two weeks, and Goku was still looking at him like that.
Sanzo found that unnerving, on every possible level.
For starters – all he did was open the goddamned box. Hakkai took credit for saving him, keeping him safe throughout the escape and delivering them both to West in one piece.
And yet Goku stared at him.
“Out,” he repeated and the kid listened, not without a pout. Sanzo watched him go through narrowed eyes. He didn’t like stuff he couldn’t deal with by shooting, repeatedly.
“That kid,” Jien said appearing behind Sanzo, “Creeps me out.”
“He’s harmless.” Unlike our esteemed doctor, Sanzo almost wanted to add. He still felt like shuddering when he thought back to the incident. Perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised that Hakkai was so proficient with a knife. His – and Goku’s, for that matter – clothes were of a quality that easily translated to very wealthy. Now, Sanzo had little experience with wealth, but as far as he knew, wealthy people only worked when they were really good. Alternatively, they only got wealthy if they were very good, but everything about Hakkai screamed respectable upbringing and decorum, so he was willing to bet on the first theory. It didn’t matter. Bottom line was, the doctor was more than proficient at his trade.
“He makes no sound when he move,” Jien continued. “Nothing that’s harmless moves like that.”
“Kouryuu does.”
“Arguing both sides of an argument is not healthy.”
Sanzo shot Jien a look that was half irritation and half “what the hell are you yapping about?”
“Finish with the crates, we’re landing,” he said and pushed away from the railing. The kid was just a kid, he kept insisting, long after he left the cargo hold.
xxx.XXX.xxx
This time Sanzo managed to keep his tongue in check, even if it took considerable effort on his part. Especially when Kougaji threatened to gag him.
Their contact was slimy, sleazy and altogether not someone Sanzo would ever chose to associate with. Except he often had no choice. Fortunately, their contract didn’t require much more than handing over the crates and collecting the fee, which should have limited the interaction to hellos and goodbyes.
Very few things around Sanzo went as planned.
“So I’m hearing you’ve got yourselves passengers,” Hutt said, smiling obnoxiously.
Sanzo twitched. “We hired a medic.”
“One you haven’t yet driven away?”
“I’m working on it, day and night.”
“He must be some character, then. You’ve even made a preacher run, from what I’ve heard.”
“Good riddance, I say.”
“I hope you didn’t kill the poor bastard.”
“What, did he owe you money?”
A twitch. Then “I hope you killed the bastard.”
“You owed him money?” Sanzo raised a brow. “The stupidity astounds.”
“Even I make mistakes, sometimes,” Hutt replied defensively.
“I’m surprised anyone would be stupid enough to lend you money.” The disdain in Sanzo’s voice was oozing down from every word and forming a puddle on the floor. Hutt growled low in his throat.
Kougaji rolled his eyes. Honestly, he would follow Sanzo to Hell if need be, but why did the man had to make it such a predictable future? “Captain, we’re in a hurry,” he said, adjusting his posture to project the image of a subordinate soldier for everyone to see. Mostly to see the soldier part. And the “I’m with him to the end, even if he is a total asshole”. Hutt might have been an idiot, but he wasn’t stupid. He always had thugs around.
Sanzo snorted and walked out without so much as a goodbye.
“Goodbye,” Kougaji said, nodding formally. Hutt was still bristling when they walked out, but it was the usual, non-threatening bristling everyone around Sanzo sooner or later acquired. Something of an allergic reaction, really.
Kougaji managed to squash his, a long while ago. He still got the urges to ask whether Sanzo really had to be such an unbelievable bastard, but he managed to keep them for the sleepless nights. Yaone was good at answering them, yes she was. “Where do we go from here?” he asked instead, hopping onto the carrier and taking the wheel.
“Chi You.”
“Why the hell do we want to go there?”
“We have a job to do.” Sanzo found his pack of cigarettes and lighted one.
“Brilliant.”
“Deal.”
Kougaji sighed. They made their way back to the rather isolated docking bay in silence, pausing from time to time to let the pedestrians through. Judging by Sanzo’s snorts, unnecessarily.
“Yaone, get everyone on board, we’re leaving now,” the captain called as soon as he stepped onto the ship. He didn’t exactly surprise anybody, yet it did earn him three disbelieving looks.
“What! Sanzo, we just got here!” Lirin said, her mouth twisting into a pout. She could pout like a champion too. Hardly anyone could say no to her, when her bottom lip quivered just so and her eyes watered.
“And now we’re leaving, get over it.” Unless one was Sanzo, of course. He dropped a small bag into Lirin’s hands as he brushed past. “Make sure we don’t blow up on the way.” She blinked at him and poked at the bag carefully. When it failed to explode, she looked inside and laughed in delight. Carefully, she probed the insides, finding a something that appeared to be satisfactory and popping it in her mouth. No further complaints were issued.
“Wonderful,” Kougaji grumbled.
“What, you’re mad Lirin is on his side?” Yaone asked. Her eyes were sparkling.
“I’m astounded that of all the times to act like a civilised human being he chooses to do so in front of my sister, whom he can order into submission. You don’t see him giving Hutt candy.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m rather happy about that.”
“Well, if he did, maybe there would be a little less people after our heads.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth when the distinct click of multiple guns being cocked filled the hold. “Do not move,” a muffled voice ordered. “Keep your hands where I can see them.”
Sanzo froze, three steps away from the doorway, and turned around slowly.
“Cào nĭ,” someone breathed in the otherwise silent hold. It might have been Jien, Sanzo wasn’t sure. It might have been him. There was a squad of soldiers on his ship. A squad of motherfucking Special Operatives, if the shoulder plates were any indication, with state of the art guns at the ready.
“You, forward. And stand here.” The leader of the soldiers barked at him. Sanzo walked to the indicated spot reluctantly. Shit. Hakkai always left him with an impression that it was bad, but bad enough to warrant ten SOs on the job? Then again, if he was to send people after the good doctor, he would suggest as much. The man was scaring even him, that counted for something. But what exactly was Goku doing in this mess? He was no more dangerous than Kouryuu, whatever his dim witted crew thought of the cat. And unless his special talent was to wrap scary monsters around his little finger, Sanzo could see no reason for the manhunt.
Unless of course the good doctor was lying, and Goku was just an excuse.
Regardless of the reasons, which he could beat out of Hakkai later, if need be, Sanzo watched the soldiers through narrowed eyes. He watched the leader, without turning to his men, flicker his fingers in the air and suddenly felt like screaming. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kougaji start.
“Search the ship,” the fingers said. “Find the target. Eliminate if necessary.”
Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it all to hell!
On the other hand, read Anansi Boys, and really, really liked it. Didn't think I would, after the first half, but the running from birds scene won me over (in the same way SPN won me over, lol). It was awesome, overall. Go Charlie! Go Spider!
In other news: Bill wins. Yay for Shakespeare: Return of the Author!
Riiiight. The fic. Hm. There's this, there's quite possibly the next two(?) parts planned, possibly three, a rough sketch of the ending and great big nothing in between. That's what I get for not including Reavers. *sulks* We'll see how it plays out.
They barely saw Goku over the next few days. It got on Sanzo’s nerves. Hakkai, as much as he seemed not to care usually, was making an effort to keep him apart from the crew. This basically meant that Goku spent most of the time sleeping, or locked in Hakkai’s cabin, playing with Kouryuu. Sanzo’s nerves were frayed, but the others were at least pleased with the cat from hell being removed from their immediate presence. Woe to the unfortunate individual who’d point that out to the captain, however.
They were steadily approaching Persephone, a planet which was, for all intents and purposes, another Bob, except the intellect of an average official was a smidge higher – the spaceports were built by experienced professionals. All in all, she was far too civilised for Hakkai’s tastes. Preparation for touchdown proceeded as usually, meaning Sanzo was busy being a pain in the ass, while the crew worked stowing away anything that could potentially get them in trouble in case of an unwanted inspection.
The captain was surveying the cargo hold from the walkway, but his attention was very obviously not on Jien’s struggles with the heavy crates.
“You stay out of sight. I’m up to here with fucking trouble. We won’t be long,” Sanzo told the miraculously present Goku. He would not admit to bribing (or threatening, as it were) Yaone to discuss the possible drawbacks of a pregnancy with the doctor. He was the goddamned captain, he would not be caught dead actively pursuing anyone’s company, after all. “There’d better not be anyone snooping about the ship, but just in case, stay in the cabin.”
Goku nodded. “Okay.” He was leaning against the railing, mimicking Sanzo’s position. It’s been five days since the incident on Zao Jun. The elaborate plot Sanzo cooked up to get him away from Hakkai for five minutes revealed quite plainly that the cut might as well had been imaginary, if Sanzo didn’t remember exactly how the blood seeped along the length of his palm. He was not overreacting either, thank you very much.
“Yeah, stay in the captain’s bunk, we wouldn’t want any trespassers to get the wrong idea. Besides, Kouryuu will protect you,” Gojyo said grinning. He made his way down the steps and leaned against the railing on Sanzo’s other side. “We ought to put a warning sign somewhere: beware the cat. Bring own supplies to tape legs back together.”
“Kouryuu is not dangerous, you cockroach!” Goku said, as if the slight was offending him personally.
“What did you call me, you little monkey?”
“I’m not a monkey!” Somehow, despite the division that was Sanzo, they managed to get in each other’s faces.
“Monkey!”
“Cockroach!”
The infantile discussion progressed, to the point where everyone paused what they were doing (in Sanzo’s case, nothing) and started staring. Goku was glowering, while Gojyo’s face held nothing but a wide grin. He was about to continue, when a loud meow switched his mental flips from “amused” to “fearing for his life”. He looked around wildly, but there was no feline in sight. His brows furrowed. “You fucker,” he said to Sanzo, who smirked. “So I can meow, sue me,” he said lazily.
Gojyo switched targets for insult exchange, which resulted in everyone else going back to work – Gojyo fighting the kid, that was new. Gojyo fighting Sanzo, that was yesterday’s news. Yesterday morning, noon and evening’s. Also tomorrow’s most likely.
“I so would,” Gojyo was saying, only, as they both knew, he wouldn’t. Drawing legal attention to Sanzo would see him imprisoned for a rather long time, faster than anyone could say ‘by the powers vested in me by the Allied Earths’ Government. Gojyo, for all his taunts, would never allow that. Who else would provide him with an adrenaline rush just by staring?
“Hey captain, how about you come on over and give us a hand down here?” Jien called, wrestling with a crate.
“Work, it’s good for you!”
“Bastard,” Jien muttered to himself.
“I heard that.”
“It’s not like it’s news anyway,” Gojyo said.
“Who the hell invited you?”
“Hey, I go where the excitement is. How long are we staying here?”
“We’re making the delivery and leaving.”
“With of without shooting?”
“Without.”
“I’ll go dust my bullet-proofs then. Might be needing those.”
“I said there’ll be no shooting.”
“You said the will be no problems with Zao Jun.”
“There were no problems!”
“Oh, so the warrant on your head Can issued was just a friendly joke?” Gojyo asked, looking at Sanzo with his brows raised. “Call me silly, but usually when people say things like ‘alive or dead, I don’t bloody care which, but I want his head on my desk, if he ever gets back here’ usually isn’t synonymous with an invitation for dinner.”
Sanzo didn’t answer, save for an indignant snort, which in his case was often an answer.
“You know, my career will suffer if you keep taking off as soon as you land,” Gojyo said, leaning back to stare at the hold. He grinned at Jien, who rolled his eyes, but laughed all the same.
“Your whoring ain’t my business.”
“Hey, whoring is how I got the money to pay you, which means you can’t afford to dis it.”
“I can do whatever I damn well please.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, and eventually you might end up having to whore yourself.”
“I’d sooner shoot myself.”
“That’s not a bad idea either.” Gojyo paused. And grinned. “I know a couple of places on Persephone that cater to the blond and brooding.”
“What?”
“I’m just saying, that I know a couple of places that could get you laid. Probably. I mean, miracles have been known to happen, and most brothels are willing to cater to all kinks, for a suitable price. As long as you don’t actually shoot anyone…” Gojyo shut up. He was reasonably sure Sanzo wouldn’t actually shoot him, but having the muzzle of a handgun pressed into his Adam’s apple wasn’t what could be deemed comfortable. Especially when the wielder of the gun had been known to beat up people for wearing the wrong kind of shirt.
“Do go on. I am interested now,” Sanzo growled, thumbing the safety.
“That’s exactly why people say you need to get laid.”
“Violence tends to be an acceptable alternative, I find.” Sanzo holstered the gun. Gojyo stared at him in sheer disbelief.
“You’d rather beat someone up than screw them?”
In every bar on every single one of the forty spinning worlds the heated up-and-down look Sanzo shot Gojyo would have culminated, later in the evening, in bed. Or on the table. Some flat surface, anyway. “Do you want to find out?”
Considering that Sanzo was cracking his knuckles, Gojyo wisely decided to withdraw for the moment. Just in time too, since the moment he left cargo hold Yaone’s voice came through the speakers, announcing their impending landing. Sanzo didn’t move from his spot.
“Goku. Out.” When he turned his head the kid was looking at him, unblinking. Sanzo knew that kind of look – Kouryuu looked at him like that, back before he developed the typical feline god complex. The looks lasted from the moment the dirty lump of wet fur, later identified as a kitten, latched itself onto his shoe, until he got over being forcibly washed, dried, fed, kicked out, found, fed, sent to the vet, returned, fed, yelled at and finally curled up on Sanzo’s pillow. Altogether, three days. With the monkey it’d been almost two weeks, and Goku was still looking at him like that.
Sanzo found that unnerving, on every possible level.
For starters – all he did was open the goddamned box. Hakkai took credit for saving him, keeping him safe throughout the escape and delivering them both to West in one piece.
And yet Goku stared at him.
“Out,” he repeated and the kid listened, not without a pout. Sanzo watched him go through narrowed eyes. He didn’t like stuff he couldn’t deal with by shooting, repeatedly.
“That kid,” Jien said appearing behind Sanzo, “Creeps me out.”
“He’s harmless.” Unlike our esteemed doctor, Sanzo almost wanted to add. He still felt like shuddering when he thought back to the incident. Perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised that Hakkai was so proficient with a knife. His – and Goku’s, for that matter – clothes were of a quality that easily translated to very wealthy. Now, Sanzo had little experience with wealth, but as far as he knew, wealthy people only worked when they were really good. Alternatively, they only got wealthy if they were very good, but everything about Hakkai screamed respectable upbringing and decorum, so he was willing to bet on the first theory. It didn’t matter. Bottom line was, the doctor was more than proficient at his trade.
“He makes no sound when he move,” Jien continued. “Nothing that’s harmless moves like that.”
“Kouryuu does.”
“Arguing both sides of an argument is not healthy.”
Sanzo shot Jien a look that was half irritation and half “what the hell are you yapping about?”
“Finish with the crates, we’re landing,” he said and pushed away from the railing. The kid was just a kid, he kept insisting, long after he left the cargo hold.
xxx.XXX.xxx
This time Sanzo managed to keep his tongue in check, even if it took considerable effort on his part. Especially when Kougaji threatened to gag him.
Their contact was slimy, sleazy and altogether not someone Sanzo would ever chose to associate with. Except he often had no choice. Fortunately, their contract didn’t require much more than handing over the crates and collecting the fee, which should have limited the interaction to hellos and goodbyes.
Very few things around Sanzo went as planned.
“So I’m hearing you’ve got yourselves passengers,” Hutt said, smiling obnoxiously.
Sanzo twitched. “We hired a medic.”
“One you haven’t yet driven away?”
“I’m working on it, day and night.”
“He must be some character, then. You’ve even made a preacher run, from what I’ve heard.”
“Good riddance, I say.”
“I hope you didn’t kill the poor bastard.”
“What, did he owe you money?”
A twitch. Then “I hope you killed the bastard.”
“You owed him money?” Sanzo raised a brow. “The stupidity astounds.”
“Even I make mistakes, sometimes,” Hutt replied defensively.
“I’m surprised anyone would be stupid enough to lend you money.” The disdain in Sanzo’s voice was oozing down from every word and forming a puddle on the floor. Hutt growled low in his throat.
Kougaji rolled his eyes. Honestly, he would follow Sanzo to Hell if need be, but why did the man had to make it such a predictable future? “Captain, we’re in a hurry,” he said, adjusting his posture to project the image of a subordinate soldier for everyone to see. Mostly to see the soldier part. And the “I’m with him to the end, even if he is a total asshole”. Hutt might have been an idiot, but he wasn’t stupid. He always had thugs around.
Sanzo snorted and walked out without so much as a goodbye.
“Goodbye,” Kougaji said, nodding formally. Hutt was still bristling when they walked out, but it was the usual, non-threatening bristling everyone around Sanzo sooner or later acquired. Something of an allergic reaction, really.
Kougaji managed to squash his, a long while ago. He still got the urges to ask whether Sanzo really had to be such an unbelievable bastard, but he managed to keep them for the sleepless nights. Yaone was good at answering them, yes she was. “Where do we go from here?” he asked instead, hopping onto the carrier and taking the wheel.
“Chi You.”
“Why the hell do we want to go there?”
“We have a job to do.” Sanzo found his pack of cigarettes and lighted one.
“Brilliant.”
“Deal.”
Kougaji sighed. They made their way back to the rather isolated docking bay in silence, pausing from time to time to let the pedestrians through. Judging by Sanzo’s snorts, unnecessarily.
“Yaone, get everyone on board, we’re leaving now,” the captain called as soon as he stepped onto the ship. He didn’t exactly surprise anybody, yet it did earn him three disbelieving looks.
“What! Sanzo, we just got here!” Lirin said, her mouth twisting into a pout. She could pout like a champion too. Hardly anyone could say no to her, when her bottom lip quivered just so and her eyes watered.
“And now we’re leaving, get over it.” Unless one was Sanzo, of course. He dropped a small bag into Lirin’s hands as he brushed past. “Make sure we don’t blow up on the way.” She blinked at him and poked at the bag carefully. When it failed to explode, she looked inside and laughed in delight. Carefully, she probed the insides, finding a something that appeared to be satisfactory and popping it in her mouth. No further complaints were issued.
“Wonderful,” Kougaji grumbled.
“What, you’re mad Lirin is on his side?” Yaone asked. Her eyes were sparkling.
“I’m astounded that of all the times to act like a civilised human being he chooses to do so in front of my sister, whom he can order into submission. You don’t see him giving Hutt candy.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m rather happy about that.”
“Well, if he did, maybe there would be a little less people after our heads.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth when the distinct click of multiple guns being cocked filled the hold. “Do not move,” a muffled voice ordered. “Keep your hands where I can see them.”
Sanzo froze, three steps away from the doorway, and turned around slowly.
“Cào nĭ,” someone breathed in the otherwise silent hold. It might have been Jien, Sanzo wasn’t sure. It might have been him. There was a squad of soldiers on his ship. A squad of motherfucking Special Operatives, if the shoulder plates were any indication, with state of the art guns at the ready.
“You, forward. And stand here.” The leader of the soldiers barked at him. Sanzo walked to the indicated spot reluctantly. Shit. Hakkai always left him with an impression that it was bad, but bad enough to warrant ten SOs on the job? Then again, if he was to send people after the good doctor, he would suggest as much. The man was scaring even him, that counted for something. But what exactly was Goku doing in this mess? He was no more dangerous than Kouryuu, whatever his dim witted crew thought of the cat. And unless his special talent was to wrap scary monsters around his little finger, Sanzo could see no reason for the manhunt.
Unless of course the good doctor was lying, and Goku was just an excuse.
Regardless of the reasons, which he could beat out of Hakkai later, if need be, Sanzo watched the soldiers through narrowed eyes. He watched the leader, without turning to his men, flicker his fingers in the air and suddenly felt like screaming. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kougaji start.
“Search the ship,” the fingers said. “Find the target. Eliminate if necessary.”
Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it all to hell!
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Date: 2007-01-27 11:14 pm (UTC)I was the same way with that book. I almost stopped reading halfway through but then I thought to myself, "But this is Neil Gaiman. When have I read something of his that I didn't like?" and I was thankfully not disappointed. The end amused me. =D
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Date: 2007-01-27 11:22 pm (UTC)It was hilarious to see such a romance!novel ending. Yay, everyone got a job, a girl and settled down!
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Date: 2007-01-29 07:06 pm (UTC)That's a shame :-( ! You know I saw a Firefly graphic novel the other day, it looked really good ^_^!
I keep meaning to read Neil Gaiman's solo books but somehow haven't gotten around to it yet ^^;!
I liked the fic ^_~!
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Date: 2007-01-29 09:24 pm (UTC)I'm pretty sure you'll love them. *grins* Neil Gaiman loves his fangirls.
Hey, why fangirl over one series, when you can fangirl over two at the same time? *wide grin*
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Date: 2007-02-08 05:36 pm (UTC)Erm, I can't remember O.o! I'll have another look when I'm next in Blackwell's and tell you ... Fray sounds good too!
Neil Gaiman loves his fangirls.
He does seem very down-to-earth from what I've read of his blog, for someone so famous ^_^!
Hey, why fangirl over one series, when you can fangirl over two at the same time? *wide grin*
*laughs* You've got no arguments from me on that one, hun!
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Date: 2007-07-17 10:58 pm (UTC)Fray was great. I've seen the first half of season one of Buffy and a handful of other episodes, so I knew vaguely what was going on. I really enjoyed the book.
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Date: 2007-07-18 07:30 am (UTC)canon incest, FTWno subject
Date: 2007-07-18 12:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-17 10:55 pm (UTC)I enjoyed the tale of how Kouryuu came to live with Sanzo. Very entertaining. *grin*
Goku and Kouryuu aren't dangerous. Sanzo has a bit of a blind spot there, doesn't he?
*snicker* Yes. Find the target, eliminate if necessary. As if you'd even get close.
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Date: 2007-07-18 07:23 am (UTC)You know Sanzo is helpless against fuzzy critters who give him the puppy eyes. As for the blindspot, well. *He* was never on the business end of kitty!claws.
They are allowed to hope, aren't they? What was it that PTerry said in foreword to Guards! Guards! ? This book is dedicated to the peope whose role in the movie is to run into the room at appropriate intervals and meet their doom at the hands of the Hero ten seconds later.
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Date: 2007-07-18 12:08 pm (UTC)And if Sanzo ever was, he glared Kouryuu into retracting them. They have an understanding.
...I never noticed that before. I had to go check my book.
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Date: 2008-01-26 01:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-26 07:35 pm (UTC)