"The last star left in heaven is falling down to earth, and..."

eye of heaven
by Bethany Ten

“The ceiling,” Hakkai says.

It rains. It always rains. Sometimes it’s blood, sometimes it’s rain, sometimes (now-times) it’s stone. It always rains.

“The ceiling,” Hakkai says insistently, and remembers.

● ● ●

The story of Goldilocks, somewhere near the end but not quite, goes like this: she waits. Her organza is a shade of blue eclipsed by the sky-tones; it’s a crisp, brisk, utterly simplistic summer day, cloudless, and she spends it folding in on herself, tilting at the waist like orphanage seesaws and watching the ceiling pass her by. If she watches long enough, it will escape her completely, so quickly she’ll have to close her eyes; she’ll reopen them when the bears come knocking.

Hakkai—he curls his fingers on Gojyo’s shoulders, on the stone-and-bone arc of muscle, on fleshy poems he has memorized but never recited, and he warns him. When he says “ceiling,” he means “bears”.

Green means go. Go, go, go.

And Hakkai burns.

He burns quietly, burns like Gojyo’s hair in Goku’s eyes, to think of green meaning go and gold meaning stay.

“Come on!”

The shock was ephemeral. The fear was forever; it chewed Hakkai’s heels raw. And he knew all the answers, because that was the thing to do; he foresaw Kami-sama’s hands palming Gojyo’s collarbone, lingering a shade longer than necessary, he mouthed the “sorry” alongside Kami-sama, he tasted the word and painted it on his tongue and lips and teeth. Kami-sama was going to die. He groped for the taste again, and found it, and held it there, on the purgatory on the underside of his tongue. It tasted sweet.

● ● ●

“I should cut my hair,” Gojyo says later, because he’s thinking with his heart.

An empty carton of cigarettes lay misshapen and crumpled, a mass of cardboard at the edge of a flat-paneled desk.

He thinks with his heart, and his heart beats slow and languid, except when it doesn’t, and Hakkai—Hakkai drops the groceries.

“But you’d help me,” Gojyo says as he balances a wayward orange on the toe of his boot, “wouldn’t you?”

He puts the paper bag on the desk and smooths the creases.

Hakkai lifts his head from his hands.

“When was the last time you cut your hair on your own?”

Sunlight crept closer, and jaundiced roses announced themselves at the windowsill, looming over the wood. If Hakkai uprooted them, they would still face the sun, open, home-going; he had seen those flowers before. The petals would vanish beneath Gojyo’s headband, and Gojyo would smell like sex and booze and rose petals. Yellow roses for friendship, loop the ribbons twice about three-quarters of the way up the stem. Thornless roses mean love-at-first-sight, and Hakkai does not read love stories.

“This is different,” Gojyo says with what is either conviction or simplicity, and Hakkai is never sure what to believe.

I wanted loads of things in this piece--metaphors, references, poetic devices, and I think I achieved a good 83% by degree of success in that particular area.

quintessentially, eye of heaven is a half-assed portrayal of hakkai's "omgwtfbbq" reaction towards kami-sama and gojyo and the chemistry that could've/shouldn't've existed at all. we all saw that...thing, right? the "wow u so niec" and "g thx ur a right bastard but I still feel like saving your sorry yet glorious ass". as a rabid 85 fan, I couldn't help but wonder if hakkai noticed that as well, and I figured--of course he did. he's hakkai, supposedly the most perceptive member of the ikkou (though I might say differently). I stuck my artistic lincense in his ear and probed his brain. (it's better than probing his butt.)

gojyo is an ass who doesn't do anything people tell him to. a particular plot bunny itch of mine goes as follows: he dragged gonou out from the mud and shoved his guts back in. what, exactly, was stopping him from pulling kami-sama out of the rubble aside from kami-sama himself? it continually occurs to me, the more I set my fingers to this keyboard and type "kamisamagojyo" in those brackets I like so much, that gojyo is an amazing person and very quick to make friends--it's just that he doesn't go about it in a civilized manner. so what would've happened if he'd managed to save kami-sama? a repeat of the gonou incident?

I can't imagine hakkai taking that lightly.

if gojyo did save kami-sama, kami-sama would have nowhere to go anyway, and I don't know how gojyo would convince his comrades to permit kami-sama to stay. he'd probably plead and beg and reason, and sanzo might or might not relent on the promise that kami-sama won't interfere with the westward journey, and goku forgives and forgets, and hakkai...

...hakkai...

that's either food for thought or a plot bunny, and if you're beautiful, you won't snatch it from me just yet. ^_~

whew.

anyway, now for a thorough commentary on the fic.

    “The ceiling,” Hakkai says.

    It rains. It always rains. Sometimes it’s blood, sometimes it’s rain, sometimes (now-times) it’s stone. It always rains.

    “The ceiling,” Hakkai says insistently, and remembers.

● ● ●

    The story of Goldilocks, somewhere near the end but not quite, goes like this: she waits. Her organza is a shade of blue eclipsed by the sky-tones; it’s a crisp, brisk, utterly simplistic summer day, cloudless, and she spends it folding in on herself, tilting at the waist like orphanage seesaws and watching the ceiling pass her by. If she watches long enough, it will escape her completely, so quickly she’ll have to close her eyes; she’ll reopen them when the bears come knocking.

kami-sama : goldilocks :: ni/castle/yeaheverythingwutevar : bears. I think I was particularly proud of this paragraph because it made me sound like such an emo poem-happy snot. XD

    Hakkai—he curls his fingers on Gojyo’s shoulders, on the stone-and-bone arc of muscle, on fleshy poems he has memorized but never recited, and he warns him. When he says “ceiling,” he means “bears”.

I subscribe to the theory that hakkai really does try to know everything about gojyo--tries, and fails, perhaps. remember, in hakkai's eyes, gojyo is the smart and confident one who knows all the secrets the world has to offer.

do you disagree?

    Green means go. Go, go, go.

    And Hakkai burns.

    He burns quietly, burns like Gojyo’s hair in Goku’s eyes, to think of green meaning go and gold meaning stay.

as a sidenote, has anyone ever looked at the colour wheel? red complements green; purple complements yellow. minekura, you so crazy. ^_~

    “Come on!”

    The shock was ephemeral. The fear was forever; it chewed Hakkai’s heels raw. And he knew all the answers, because that was the thing to do; he foresaw Kami-sama’s hands palming Gojyo’s collarbone, lingering a shade longer than necessary, he mouthed the “sorry” alongside Kami-sama, he tasted the word and painted it on his tongue and lips and teeth. Kami-sama was going to die. He groped for the taste again, and found it, and held it there, on the purgatory on the underside of his tongue. It tasted sweet.

there's something utterly gonou about this particular paragraph, something dark. the "knew all the answers" part is basically derived off of hakkai's ability to read movement. no, hakkai doesn't mind when his opponents die, but what about his enemies?

● ● ●

    “I should cut my hair,” Gojyo says later, because he’s thinking with his heart.

    An empty carton of cigarettes lay misshapen and crumpled, a mass of cardboard at the edge of a flat-paneled desk.

    He thinks with his heart, and his heart beats slow and languid, except when it doesn’t, and Hakkai—Hakkai drops the groceries.

gojyo thinks with his heart, not with his head, which gets him into all sorts of trouble. I'm always surprised at how he can be the most moral and yet the least moral member of the ikkou. can you tell just how much I love him? ^_~ I mean, I made him into a bicycle, for crying out loud. hakkai is usually the fandom bicycle. ^_~

    “But you’d help me,” Gojyo says as he balances a wayward orange on the toe of his boot, “wouldn’t you?”

I like to think that gojyo is just being oblivious here, with no ulterior motive. help me cut my hair; I sucked really badly at it last time, remember? at first, he doesn't recognize the significance of his request, even if he does. hakkai is his best friend, and a haircut shouldn't be a big deal, except it is.

    He puts the paper bag on the desk and smooths the creases.

    Hakkai lifts his head from his hands.

    “When was the last time you cut your hair on your own?”

the last and only time gojyo cut his hair was when gonou died.

I really, really, really, as of late, want to emphasize the possible gojyo-forged comparison between kami-sama and gonou. if gojyo cuts his hair, something's apparently changed, in his mind, in his eyes, in his heart. hakkai knows this. gojyo knows this, but he seems to have momentarily forgotten.

and wouldn't it be a little bit strange, to feel like you're being forced to share your place in your best friend's life? hakkai's place is really supposed to be one-of-a-kind. cherish the man who made you afraid of death. their situation is painfully unique, but somewhere out there, it isn't; somewhere out there, gojyo puts his left arm around hakkai's shoulder and the right arm around kami-sama's. somewhere, kami-sama wakes up and thinks he's in hell, but the resident demon is mediocre and pleasantly familiar. somewhere, gojyo buys kami-sama nikuman, and somewhere, hakkai's head stays in his hands.

    Sunlight crept closer, and jaundiced roses announced themselves at the windowsill, looming over the wood. If Hakkai uprooted them, they would still face the sun, open, home-going; he had seen those flowers before. The petals would vanish beneath Gojyo’s headband, and Gojyo would smell like sex and booze and rose petals. Yellow roses for friendship, loop the ribbons twice about three-quarters of the way up the stem. Thornless roses mean love-at-first-sight, and Hakkai does not read love stories.

in the author's note at ff.net (reviewplz ;D), I informed you that yellow roses meant friendship. they also mean jealousy. this paragraph was thrown in--prose for the sake of prose. I'm a fool. ^_^

really, though, I just wanted to throw you and hakkai off-track. as for that bit about thornless roses--interpret as you wish.