fdg hi didn't take too long- a peranent frown etched to perfect white arble that ade the snow around hi hide sha his eyes were closed, pafully so, as if he were forcg hiself farther and farther to his ditation like it was so closet to hide as he stepped closer, a ig broke beneath tenpou's feet he froze the other flched, then stilled hiself, a urur barely audible on his lips "e back"

tenpou dared to speak "sanzo" one violet eye cracked open to give a well-aid gre tailored perfectly for the arshal, aopanied by a well aid gun

"i thought i said that i wanted to be alone"

tenpou didn't flch, but held out a at bun his right hand "you've been alone for five hours you've been fastg for fifteen not sokg for ten i' surprised you're still alive"

his hand was gracioly swatted away "don't try to be y fuckg nurseaid"

but tenpou wasn't at all ready to leave as if he had expected the itial rejection, his left hand offered an opened packet of cigarettes sanzo was about to repeat the gesture, aopanyg it with ore lorful epithets, then rensidered so he took a cigarette, evokg a light sile fro the other an who tapped the botto of the pack with the fort only a well practiced soker would have until a cigarette popped up neatly fro the rest

sanzo wasn't at all surprised as he lit up and threw the lighter at tenpou's feet "y thanks" the arshal said, as picked it up and brought burng life to end of his cigarette it felt good, that first drag a good long tihis d liked it, but his body began to ugh and choke like the begner it was it took a few shorter puffs for hi to get atod, but when it felt ore fortable, tenpou leaned hiself agast a tree, closg his eyes "jt this once, so he won't get addicted"

"so you decided to cut the crap"

"yes, well, we both have eyes for bad actg, h?" he grned aga then flicked his ashes onto the snow, blown ld by the northern ds before it even reached the ground the ds haven't sped sce that first attack they both knew it "that's the, you know, and they're still hungry"

"there's no food here"

"so vilgers have decided to stay"

"then that's their proble, not ours" sanzo said tersely, not lookg at the stranger front of hi "and defitely not yours all you do is cae trouble with your selfish little wantsnot carg who gets trapled along the way you and the rest of you, all the sa- whether its for this heaven or that heaven, all the crap got thron here"

"like goku, perhaps?" tenpou said, wryly proddg the onk to defend his ward

sanzo only snarled, puttg out his cigarette with ore violence then necessary, the iet hissg addg a greater dinsion of irritation to his ood "and i should hope that you weren't responsible for chag hi up that fuckg cave, alone, for five hundred fuckg years so that five hundred fuckg years after he got put there, i had to fuckg take care of hi"

tenpou opened his outh to disagree, then silenced hiself, his face grog still and his eyes narrog subtle ntept- ore for hiself than anythg else as gokuhe didn't know this nobody had told hi, but it was a gnce to an evitable fate he didn't want to aeptstill uldn't aeptbut he had to now: he was gog to lose everythg regardless of what he did and everythg he had so wished for heaven would neverand it would be nothg glorio no renaissance that's what he wanted, a true renaissance, like the ones he'd read about- a golden age of true change stead of a rottg, tepid onehe had so wished

but it was a huan desire patible with a nonhuan world- like tryg to light a atch the vacuu of space

lookg past the end of his cigarette, he saw the iage of konzen at his desk, superiposed on this unruly, sokg onk had tenpou been konzen's office this very ute stead of so freezg ith sanzo, he absently and futilly ed, konzen would have said sothg like, "go back to your books and it distractg " if he really didn't want to be disturbed but if he really didn't d tenpou's presence, it would be sothg the range of, "you're still here"

"you're still here" sanzo said, dully

"yes i a" he agreed, a better ood returng to hi "the youkai"

"it's not your proble"

but otivated by a grog sense of vanity, tenpou decided not to scuttle aith his tail beeen his legs like a kicked dog on so dirty sidestreet nobody had the rightno, not even a sanzo becae he wasand he wasis

"it's not for you to decide which probles are e, genjo sanzo, eissary of the gods " tenpou retorted, rubbg it , delightg that look of abject shock that fshed across sanzo's apathetic face jt then, and feelg ore like hiself and decidg that he was hiself, only different sk- huan, youkai, or not- and that he was still arshal