A Twist In Fate

"There will be a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning." – Louis L'Amour

Chapter One:

The Oddest of Places

Sanzo cursed wildly under his breath as he dodged the vehicles that zipped about on the blacktop, wincing at the horns blaring in his direction as the drivers of said vehicles expressed their extreme displeasure at his actions. How in the hell had he ended up here?! The last thing he remembered was stopping their journey West yet again to deal with a bunch of demonic idiots out after the Maten sutra, and…

Oh, fuck.

The monk growled out a series of expletives as he tried to avoid becoming roadkill, a scowl marring his face as he remembered what had taken place mere seconds before he found himself stranded on this God-forsaken stretch of blacktop populated by drivers worse than Hakkai. One of the demons had managed to get past his guard while he was exterminating one of its friends, and had blasted him full-force with a spell while using an amulet of some kind.

Whatever he had been hit with certainly wasn't exactly benign, seeing as his entire body hurt like hell, not to mention the fact that it had transported him into some long-forgotten hellhole where people drove like maniacs. If he ever got the little youkai bastard responsible for this in his sights, the snot would rue the day that his father had popped into existence.

Sanzo let out a low growl of annoyance as he managed to avoid yet another incoming car before it hit him that something was horribly wrong with his perspective. Everything seemed to be bigger, and something about his body in general didn't feel quite right…

Just as the priest was about to check himself to see just what the hell was going on, one of the oncoming cars let its horn loose, blaring loudly at the confused man. Sanzo cursed colorfully as he stumbled out of the way into a different lane of traffic, and turned around in time to see a large truck bearing down on him.

This was not good.

--

Kristen Fargo was not having a good day.

Not only had her roommate decided that 'The Ring' was a good movie to watch out in the living room at two in the morning while the twenty-one year old was trying to sleep, leaving the young woman haunted by disturbing dreams for the remainder of the night until she had to get up at six, but her section manager at work had tried to get her in trouble by sabotaging her preliminary sketches for the new video game that her group was working on. Unfortunately for the offending individual, he had learned the hard way that hot coffee (what he had used to destroy the copies of her character sketches) was a double-edged weapon when one of her partners had 'accidentally' spilled the remainder of the pot of fresh coffee on the man.

Add in the photo copier practically exploding, and her partner's computer crashing while re-creating the sketches into a more refined media, and Kristen was dangerously close to killing someone. And now, as though to top off what had already been a really crappy day, she was stuck on the freeway in rush hour traffic.

Apparently the Irony Gods loved screwing with her.

"I can't believe this," she growled as she glared daggers at the back bumper of the car in front of her, gripping her truck's steering wheel tightly in her hands. "I worked for a week on those damn sketches, and that smug little bastard has the gall to try and ruin them just for the hell of it. Thank god for jump drives and scanners though, otherwise I would have been screwed."

The young woman let out a world-weary sigh as she brushed several strands of her long brown hair out of her face, the renegade strands having slipped out of the low ponytail at the nape of her neck, before tucking them behind her ear. All she really wanted to do right now was go home, take a shower, heat up some of that soup left over from the huge pot she had made on Sunday, maybe watch a little TV, and go to sleep.

Not being woken up in the middle of the night by her horror-movie/anime obsessed roommate, who was also still in college, would only be an added bonus.

Kristen mused a little bit on the wonderful mess that had been her day before she shook her head and pushed away all thoughts on the subject, frowning slightly as she reached over and fiddled with her CD player on her dashboard. If she was going to be stuck in traffic, she might as well have something to entertain her.

As the wonderful sounds of Nickleback filled the car, Kristen slowly felt herself begin to relax as she idly watched the traffic in front of her. Just when she was about to put the truck into park, the rest of the cars ahead of her began to pick up the pace, and soon everyone was moving at a somewhat normal speed once again.

"Finally," the young woman muttered as she gently accelerated up to the speed limit. She was approaching her exit, and about to move over into the off-ramp lane when her headlights lit up something gold and white bolting right out in front of her. Kristen instinctively slammed on the brakes, her eyes widening in horror as she heard the tell-tale 'thump' of her front bumper hitting something right before she jerked to a stop.

"Shit," she hissed as she immediately put the truck into park, flicking on her hazard lights before she managed to untangle herself from her seatbelt. "Shit shit shit shit shit."

Pointedly ignoring the other cars that were currently zipping past her at highway speeds, the twenty-one-year old got out of her car and hesitantly approached the front of her truck, silently praying that whatever she had hit hadn't been alive.

That one slim hope plummeted straight down into her shoes when she saw the massive collie that was currently stretched out in front of her truck, its body resting limply on the road.

"Oh my god, I just hit someone's dog," Kristen moaned as she covered her mouth with her hands, trying not to freak out as a wave of nausea tried to well up from her stomach. "I'm going to hell."

She had never hit anything with her car before, and now she felt like a murderer for killing someone's pet. Knowing her luck at the moment, it probably belonged to some little kid who was worried sick about their missing dog, and hoping that it would come back home.

Just as the young woman was about to break down into the worst level of panic she had ever known, she noticed that the massive animal's chest was still moving. Relief flooded through her system as she crouched down next to the collie and gently reached out to touch the injured canine's head, flinching slightly when it whimpered at her touch.

"Okay Kit, just calm down," she whispered to herself as she took a deep breath and stared shakily at the animal. "Freaking out right now will not help things at all. Just calm down, and figure something out."

The brunette knew that she couldn't leave the animal here, but she needed to do something since she didn't know how badly injured the dog was. A slight frown crossed her face before an idea came to her, and her blue eyes widened in realization as she bolted to her feet and hurried over to the passenger door, flinging it open and digging about in the back seat for a few seconds before she found what she was looking for; a very worn but clean blanket.

Snatching the blanket out of the back seat, the young woman hurried back over to where the dog lay and spread the blanket out on the pavement next to prone canine.

"Please don't bite me," she muttered to the collie as she managed to gently slide the animal onto the blanket, and then picked it up, gasping slightly at the sudden weight as she cradled the massive dog in her arms. "I'm just trying to help you."

Somehow, Kit managed to get the Collie into the back seat without any major mishaps, except for almost giving herself a hernia in the process. The young woman made sure that the dog was safely placed on the seat before she closed the door, and then went back over to the driver's side and got in, belting herself into the seat the moment she had locked the door. With slightly shaking hands, she pulled her cell-phone out of her jacket pocket and dialed the number to her apartment, hoping that her roommate was actually home when she needed her for a change.

"Y'lo?" Alice asked as she picked up the phone, and Kit almost collapsed in relief as she put her truck into drive and headed onto the off ramp, immediately switching her phone to speaker and setting it down on the console between the front seats.

"Hey Alice, I need you to do a huge favor for me," the brunette stated seriously as she pulled up to the stoplight at the exit to the freeway. "I need you to look up the closest vet between the freeway and home, preferably one that's still open right now."

"Why, what did you do?" the other woman asked lazily, and Kit scowled slightly when she heard the sounds of some horror movie going on in the background.

"I hit someone's dog on the freeway, and now I'm trying to make sure it doesn't die on me," she growled. "Now just go on the Internet and tell me where the closest damn vet is."

"Alright, alright, no need to get all bitchy on me. Sheesh, you need to loosen up one and a while."

"Lecture me after you give me the address, okay?"

"Sounds to me like someone needs to get laid. It might help with all that stress."

"Alice!"

"Okay, okay, geeze, no need to take my head off," the college student grumbled as she did as the other woman had requested, although without her unwanted input this time. "The closest vet office open right now is the Emergency Animal Hospital down on Dungarven and Longfellow, and the-"

Kit didn't even wait for the older woman to finish her statement as she promptly hung up and headed off towards the cross-streets that Alice had mentioned, silently fuming under her breath as she made the appropriate turns. The twenty-five-year old woman had absolutely no right to make comments about what she did or didn't do in her spare time. What she did with her life was her business, and her business alone. She didn't need her roommate trying to get her into a relationship on any kind… especially considering Alice's horrible taste in men.

"Okay… where's the vet's office?" the brunette muttered slowly as she scanned the street, a slight frown twitching across her lips as she searched for a sign. Just when she was about to say 'screw it' and start driving about aimlessly, the young woman caught sight of the sign for the animal hospital and pulled into the driveway.

Any and all thoughts of getting the dog currently lying in her backseat into the animal hospital flew out the window at light speed when the dog suddenly sat up and started barking at her, acting for all the world like it had not just been hit by a car. Kit cursed loudly as she slammed on the brakes for the second time that day, sending the offended dog that had been barking in her ear flying up against the back of her seat.

"Jesus Christ!" she growled, silently thanking any and all divine beings that might on the off chance be in the area that she was in a parking lot, before she turned around to glare at the animal that was the cause for her emotional turmoil. "Don't fucking do that to me!"

The collie let out a low growl as it gave her a classic 'F-you' look while scrabbling back up onto the back seat, and Kit stared back at it for a few seconds before she started laughing and slumped back into her seat, running a hand through her bangs as she chuckled with relief.

"Thank god," she sighed as she took the precaution of shifting the gear to 'park' before she allowed herself to relax, a relieved giggle coming out of her as she sat in her seat. "Man, I thought I'd killed you or something for a while there. I would never have forgiven myself if I had."

Even if dogs couldn't give people looks that said 'just exactly how stoned are you?', this one definitely managed to as it glared at her from the back seat. Kit finally managed to stop laughing after a few seconds, and turned around to get a better look at her passenger, a slight smile still twitching about her lips. The collie was covered with long golden fur, as well as a white ruff and underbelly, and he somehow managed to look aloof and aristocratic while sitting there glaring at her, even though he was covered from head to toe in dirt and burrs.

However, the thing that caught her attention the most was the dog's eyes. Kit had never seen a dog with violet eyes, especially ones this expressive.

"You have pretty eyes," she commented with a slight laugh as she reached out and gently ruffled the fur on top of the canine's head, giving him cause to let out a low growl. The young woman arched an eyebrow as she slowly pulled her hand away, not wanting to get bitten just in case the dog wasn't as friendly as she had hoped.

"Hey, don't you get pissy at me," she scolded. "I'm not the one who decided to go play in traffic, pup. You're damned lucky that I've got good reflexes, and good brakes."

The growling stopped suddenly, giving the twenty-one-year old a chance to turn around and look over her shoulder at the front entrance to the animal hospital as she absent-mindedly started petting the dog again.

"Well, you're awake now, so that's good," she mused quietly before turning back around to face the collie, who looked far less than enthused to have her petting him. "I should probably take you in just to be sure that nothing's wrong with you though, just in case. I'd feel horrible if I found your owners, and you ended up dying because I was careless… aaand I'm babbling random crap to a dog because I'm so damn freaked out."

Kit let out a sigh as she looked back towards the animal hospital, and then over at her passenger.

"So, how are we going to do this?"

--

Kougaiji was going to pay through the teeth for this, of that much Sanzo was sure, even if he had to drag the demon prince down to the gates of Hell himself. If it hadn't been for the prince's little assassin friends, Sanzo was almost certain that he wouldn't be in this little mess.

When he had woken up, the first thing Sanzo had noticed was that he was in the backseat of a strange car, with someone other than Hakkai driving said vehicle. That being said, he automatically jumped straight to his first instinct: ranting and cussing up a storm.

Having the girl let out a curse that would have put a sailor to shame as she slammed on the brakes wasn't what caused the priest to stop yelling, even though hitting the back of her seat at full speed wasn't exactly what he would ever call 'fun'. Rather it was what he heard when he started hurling obscenities at the brown-haired girl that got to him.

It sounded like a dog barking.

Sanzo had immediately pushed away the thought, telling himself that he was hearing things as he scrambled back up onto the seat so he could easily glare at the bitch who had hit him with her truck. The girl didn't even look fazed at his murderous gaze as she started to babble random nonsense before she let out a relieved laugh and slumped down in her seat. After a few moments she seemed to calm down, and she turned back around to face him. Sanzo opened his mouth to demand just what the hell was going on, only to be shocked speechless when the girl reached out and started petting him on the head.

"I am not a goddamn pet!" he snapped angrily as he glared at the girl. "Don't fucking treat me like one, you little brat! Now tell what the hell is going on before I decide to kick your ass!"

The girl immediately withdrew her hand as she stared at him in surprise, as well as a little annoyance, before she said something that stunned him to the very core.

"Hey, don't you get pissy at me. I'm not the one who decided to go play in traffic, pup. You're damned lucky that I've got good reflexes, and good brakes."

The priest fell silent as he gaped at the girl, who couldn't have been any older than Goku… well, figuratively at least, as she turned around and looked over her shoulder at the building that she was parked in front of. What had she just called him?!

"Listen here, you little brat…" Sanzo began before he listened to what he actually sounded like, and felt himself go pale when he realized that all that was coming out of his mouth was nothing more than a low, angry growl. "What in the hell?"

The man immediately looked up at the rear-view mirror that hung above the girls' head, and almost passed out when he caught sight of his reflection. Instead of reflecting an angry, blonde-haired man, the mirror showed nothing more than a large dog covered in gold and white fur sitting in the back seat.

"Oh you have got to be shitting me," Sanzo whispered as he gawked incredulously at his reflection. The gods must utterly despise him, to pull something like this. Actually, knowing Kannon and her views on the world, she was probably seeing his current situation as nothing more than a highly amusing footnote in his journey west.

He was still staring up his reflection, trying to find a way to disprove what he was seeing, when the girl started petting him again. Sanzo didn't even bother yelling at her, although he did send a very dirty look in her direction before he looked down where his hands should have been, and promptly cursed colorfully when he saw the pair of white paws that was in their place.

Dammit, he needed a cigarette to deal with shit…

Grumbling death threats under his breath due to the deprivation of his precious nicotine, the priest glared daggers over at the girl who was responsible for his misery, silently wishing that he could get his hands on the young woman who was currently fiddling with something up in the front seat. Even if she wasn't the one who had gotten him into this whole mess, she was still the one who had hit him with her car.

"I hate my life," Sanzo grumbled as he flopped down on the seat, wishing he had his banishing gun with him, and was capable of actually using it.

Unfortunately, he had a feeling that things were going to get worse before they actually got better.

--

Kit stared at what had been the shoulder strap to her laptop case, checking the clip on the loop at the end that she had created to make sure that it would be able to adequately serve as a makeshift collar and leash for the time being.

"Okay, let's do this," she said firmly as she turned around to face her passenger, and was rewarded with Sanzo growling slightly when he spotted the makeshift leash in her hands before he scooted back away from her. The young woman sighed as she rolled her eyes upwards before she darted forward and snagged the dog by the scruff of his neck, slipping the end of the improvised leash over his head before she immediately backed away, not wanting to get bitten for her pains.

"Bitch," the priest growled as he looked down at the fabric loop now around his neck before glaring at the young woman that was holding the other end of the leash. "If you even think that I'm going to just let you lead me around like some stupid-"

Any further insults were cut off by Kit opening the front door and tugging experimentally on the crude leash, giving Sanzo the option of either being stubborn and refusing to move… and get choked as a result, or jumping out of the backseat and making a break for it. However, before he could put the most favorable option into play, the brunette suddenly came up to him and held his head between her hands, looking him right in the eyes.

"Listen, I know you probably don't like any of this, but all I want to do is make sure that I didn't hurt you. Please, don't make this any more difficult for me than it already is," she pleaded. "I already feel like the worst person in the world for hitting you."

Kit stared into the 'dog's' eyes for a few seconds before she felt a thrill of fear run down her spine when she caught sight of the intelligence in the animal's gaze. There was something about that look that made her feel as though she had done something wrong, even though she had no idea what. The twenty-one-year old released the canine's head as she looked at him oddly, a slight frown twitching about her lips as she took a step back.

The young woman looked at Sanzo before she shook her head and immediately shoved the thoughts out of her mind; why would a dog be glaring at her anyways?

"C'mon, let's get going before the vet decides that it's time to close up for the night," she said as she turned around and headed towards the front door, tugging gently on the leash so she could encourage her reluctant companion to follow her.

"And what a tragedy that would be," the priest growled venomously under his breath as he hopped out of the back seat, allowing the young woman to close and lock the car door before she set out for the animal clinic, and trailed after the brunette. Great, out of all the people to have possibly hit him, he had to get the one who was an animal lover.

Sanzo frowned at the thought before he shook his head. Right now he didn't even want to think about how he had ended up in this mess, much less the personal idiosyncrasies of the brat that had picked him up.

First of all he needed to find out where the hell he was, and then he could think about escaping from the girl and undoing whatever kind of spell that moron of a demon had used on him. Once he'd done that, he'd go hunt down Hakkai, the stupid kappa and monkey, and then he could get back to the journey west.

And he'd find a way to violently murder the little S.O.B. who was responsible for this humiliation, even if it killed him.

--

Ummmm… not much to say, except for the fact that this is my first Saiyuki fanfic. I know the first chapter's a little less… action packed than some of my other stories, but it'll get better as it goes on.

Sanzo's probably one of the most entertaining characters in Saiyuki, mainly because he has such a short fuse, and has absolutely no problem in letting most people know what he thinks of them. Not to mention the results of his little arguments when dealing with Gojyo and Goku, combined with his bad temper and twitchy trigger finger, are absolutely hysterical. I must be a horrible person if I like seeing grown men cry like that.

Although, watching Sanzo try and drown Gojyo in a river in episode four by holding his head underwater was pretty funny.

I do own Kit and her roommate Alice, but Sanzo and the others all belong to their respective owners. I'm nothing more than a college student with a hobby.

Sanzo: Yeah, a hobby for being a truly spectacular pain in my ass.

Wandering Hitokiri: (Sighs and rolls eyes upwards) I'm not even going to go there. Anyways, see you all next chapter.