Saiyuki

Reminiscence ~deprivation~ (3x19)

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After the flashback: we catch up with the ikkou eating at an inn, Goku cramming down the stir-fry so fast that Gojyo chides him, saying he can't possibly be able to taste the food that way. He gripes that Goku forces him to eat too fast as well, to make sure he even gets any; but Hakkai, with Hakuryu perched on his shoulder, feeds the dragon a nibble and says there's no reason for Gojyo to make such a fuss. Just as Sanzo is about to add a grumble, Hazel and Gat walk in. Hazel asks permission to sit at their table, and, taking their collective silence for agreement, lets Gato fetch him a chair--but as soon as he sits down, Hakkai, Hakuryu, Gojyo and Goku, as one, rise and very pointedly move to the next table. [Go, Team Youkai.] Hazel, in his sweetly nasty way, allows as how he's much obliged that they moved to make room for him. He settles his chair directly across from Sanzo's, remarking that it's amazing he can even eat at the same table as those demons. Sanzo snorts and focuses on his cigarette.== A little kid arriving with his mom trips and falls; Gato helps him to his feet, but the boy's terrified of the huge stranger and runs to mommy. Hazel chuckles, commenting that children do favor their mothers; and then quietly adds that he's an orphan, and never knew his parents. I have no memories of bein' cared for that way, he says. There's a shade of sympathy in Sanzo's eyes, as you can imagine. We see him remembering a day in the past: Kouryuu standing in the rain with a begging-bowl, rain dripping off his hat, softly chanting as he waited for passers-by to give coin offerings for the temple. He watched a small boy ride past on his dad's shoulders, and then the sun broke through the rainclouds, and Koumyou arrived, calling for him.== He's pulled from his reverie by the smash of a plate on the floor and a woman's scream--the restaurant is being attacked by youkai, and they've spotted Sanzo. Hazel wryly remarks that he envies Sanzo-han's popularity. The ikkou m