--Author's Note-- Hey! SSR here with a brand new story! Well, it's brand new, KIND OF, since this is actually just a continuation from the first half, Saiyuki: An Unlikely Story. For everyone who has read it, thank you, thank you so much for the kind end of story reviews! They made me grin from ear to ear for a few hours at least, and offered incentive to keep on writing. Which, as you can see, I most certainly have done. I only hope that this new, second half proves to be as interesting as the first one for all of you, if not more so. Right now, I'm going to keep the rating at PG-13, however, this is more than likely going to change because of content in future content. I'm very sorry if this disappoints any readers I have, but as time wears on, things are going to get darker, and bloodier, and well…ha, ha, if nobody's noticed any potential pairings yet, they're also bound to get a little more romantic (and slightly smutty, ne?). Cry and whine all you want about that, but remember, it's my fan fiction and I can do that –nods- I won't respond to flames, so go ahead if you want to, but it's just a waste of time. Oh yes- there will also be some Japanese words and phrases integrated into speaking roles. I'll have a key at the bottom to clear up any confusion you might have whilst reading, but only expect it for the next few chapters. By then you should know what the words mean.
Disclaimer(s)- I don't own Saiyuki nor am I affiliated and so am not making any profit from this story whatsoever. Saiyuki belongs solely to Kazuya Minekura and all other respective creators/owners. (Even though I often like to claim Hakkai's sexiness because…well haha, just LOOK at him!).
Claimer- Original characters belong to their respective owner(s) and may not be borrowed or reproduced without explicit permission from the author (that'd be me, yo). Fan art would be greatly appreciated, however hehehe.
Saiyuki: An Unlikely Destiny
Part II to Saiyuki: An Unlikely Story
Chapter One
Other World
A dream. Had it all been one big dream? There couldn't possibly be any other explanation for something so bizarre happening, right? No way could a portal tear into the air and create passage from one world to another, especially from a place so fictitious to one that breathed reality.
Yes, a dream was all it was.
A figment of their imagination even now, as the three young women floated amidst a plane of bright nothingness. The light consumed their forms, carrying them on to an unknown destination, but that didn't matter because they had to have dreamt the entire misadventure.
The Sanzo-ikkou from Saiyuki didn't one day almost run them over.
It'd been another Jeep, just a regular Jeep, and the man inside had apologized and went on his way.
There never was a harrowing yet exciting two-week stay at Mandi's grandparents' house with four young men from Shangri La.
The mall trip never happened.
An answering machine had not been blown to bits by Sanzo's banishing gun.
There were no backyard talks, kitchen water fights, a picnic, or magical DVDs, nothing like that happened in real life.
Real life was far too boring, much too dull, and certainly it'd all been some elaborately concocted tale told by a group of four young women who just needed some thrill to break away from every day monotony.
Four girls.
Four young women…had there been four?
Perhaps it was only three.
Wasn't it supposed to only be three females? Three avatars. Three hosts.
Not four.
But a fourth had arrived.
The fourth had been forgotten.
At an anime convention, there'd been a quartet not a trio, of young women…
…and an octet staying in one room.
Eight people left from that house to the hotel, traveled in two vehicles: a Chevy Beretta and a black Jeep Wrangler.
The same Jeep Wrangler that had nearly mowed three young women down whilst making a Chinese food run.
If that hadn't happened…
…the Sanzo-ikkou would have taken too long finding the girls.
It was a twist of fate; no other rationalization could make better sense.
Yet it didn't happen because it wasn't possible. It was fanatical, obsessive, wishful, but it couldn't happen, it was impossible, improbable…and so true.
There was a mall trip. The girls bought clothes for a band of four misfit young men so they'd fit in Modern America.
There were backyard talks- two to be exact-, and there were kitchen water fights, and there was a picnic, a magical DVD, and a strange visit to an anime convention.
During that visit there had indeed attended four young women and four young men. An octet, eight people, who crammed together in one room for the duration of two days.
And on the end of the second night chaos tore into the pleasures of a dance party, ripping away all misconceptions about separate planes and paranormal phenomena.
On the eve of that second day, the girls witnessed their friend, the fourth girl, disappear; they experienced an abduction of the strangest sort and when she was gone, nothing but charred carpet lay in her stead.
Aliens would have stood a better chance. Who would believe a youkai from an anime series hopped through a space/time tear, sucked their friend into an orange-red orb, and kidnapped her?
When she was gone, the Sanzo-ikkou had gone, and then the Merciful Goddess brought her elemental avatars across as well.
This is where they still remained, trapped in their limbo, floating in a menagerie of blank spaces.
Cautiously, still clinging to each other's hands as they were when entering the silver opening, Katie, Mandi, and Ashley tried to focus on something other than white. They spoke but no sound escaped them. No noise resonated anywhere.
Their feet touched solid ground, even if it remained invisible, and as though the simple motion of one step drained all energy, their forms collapsed into a heap.
Exhaustion set in quickly, filling every limb, nerve, neuron, until all they longed for was sweet, sweet slumber. Sleep brought rejuvenation and rested vexing tension, which they'd very well had more than enough of.
Their journey had taken half of a lifetime, but now…
…they'd be able to sleep…
…and in the end of it, would wake up to what life truly had to offer.
"Katie? Ashley? Hey…wake up you two!" Mandi shook the shoulders of the two young women lying on either side of her, taking a moment to free their clothing of leaves and debris that had collected.
The brunette young woman sighed, shaking them once more before tilting her chin upward, resting her almond hued gaze on the sky. Evening had fallen here; just where was here?
"Come on, wake up already!" She cried before getting her hand slapped away by Ashley's own.
Mandi grinned, holding her wrist as the honey blond young woman groggily sat up, rubbing her hazel eyes.
"Good morning sleepy head."
"Morning?" Ashley inquired, quirking a brow as she too noticed the blue shading of night kissing their surroundings. "You're strange in the head if this is morning to you."
"She's strange in the head anyway." Katie grumbled, stiffly making an attempt to wake up and stretch her arms out. "How long was I asleep for? Gods, I feel like I've been out for ages."
The other two admitted they felt similarly before all three stood, dusting dirt and crumbled flakes of leaf off their clothing- the same clothing they'd worn to the Soap Bubble Rave at ACEN.
"Whoa…alright, so I've got a question…" Mandi raised her hand as a student in a classroom.
"You're not the only one, dear." The eldest turned full circle slowly, sifting a hand through the hair that hung over her eyes. "Where the hell are we?"
"That about sums it up." Ashley stated warily, stepping out away from them. "My head hurts like a bitch."
Nodding, Mandi and Katie followed the youngest of their group, coming to stop on either side of her. In the silence afterward, as they raked every ion of memory, the wind played across their forms, the leaves rustled in the trees above their heads, and remnants of fresh rain drops showered down.
"Oh shit, I remember now!" Mandi cried out, slapping her forehead, spinning quickly in her Mary Jane's to face her friends. "But jeez, I thought it was just a freaking dream. Anyhow, all things considering, like not being at ACEN anymore, I guess it really happened."
Bewildered, Ash and Katie stared at her before the realization hit them both simultaneously.
"Shangri La…we're in Shangri La." Katie began to pace in her spot. "So we're here, but where in the hell is here exactly?"
"Got me," Ashley shrugged, tugging at the hem of her shirt before giving up and crossing her arms. "My question is, if we're in Shangri La, then where is everyone we followed here?"
"The Sanzo Party." Mandi frowned, tapping her chin. "We went in right after them…because Kougaji and Yaone took…they took Erin. We have to find her, you know, we can't leave her with them!"
"Calm down, Mandi. We can't do anything if we can't first figure out where we are. Besides, I'm willing to bet she's safer than we think. Kougaji isn't exactly your typical villain." Katie attempted to reassure the younger brunette even though her nerves were suddenly frayed over the matter. "It'd probably be best to try and find someone who can help us."
"Excuse me, but who here is going to help us when we're dressed like this?" Waving a hand the length of her torso, Ashley shook her head. "Compared to everyone else, we're going to look like circus folks or twenty dollar hookers."
"Or two hundred yen hookers." Mandi joked mildly, attempting a half smile. "Ok, so we obviously can't stand here like morons forever, why don't we pick a direction and…walk that way? We're bound to run into someone sooner or later."
"I'd suggest going to the right." Ash offered.
"Why to the right?" Curiously, Katie gazed to the hazel-eyed girl.
"Because I see light to the right. It's probably a camp fire."
Chuckling, Mandi smoothed out her skirt. "Reasonable enough. We might as well, it's a start anyhow."
With the issue resolved, the three began walking with nonchalant attitudes, each somewhat curious as to what lay ahead, mindful at least of their immediate environment, but didn't take the situation far too seriously.
This was their adventure.
This played out what they'd hoped and wished could happen for the longest time.
A break from reality, some wonderful tale to live at last…
As they strode among tall trees with proud branches holding thousands of wind-dancing leaves, their morale rose despite some mild apprehension.
Apprehension that should have been heeded but wasn't.
A screeching cry broke through casual chatter and soon the three girls discovered the leaves hadn't danced because of the wind. The foliage shook because they obstructed the view of an unruly band of the most hideous creatures they'd ever lay eyes upon.
"Um, I think we forgot one little factor about this great adventure." Mandi squeaked, falling close against her two friends, eyebrows knitting together.
Ashley pressed her back to Katie's, gaze quickly flitting over each of the eleven beings surrounding them. "That one little factor wouldn't have been youkai, would it?"
"Bingo was his name-o." Katie breathed. "Now what do we do?"
The brunette absently toyed with her hair ribbons. "I'd suggest running but I think we're completely surrounded."
"How observant."
"Don't hate, appreciate." Mandi yelped, wincing as a youkai took a menacing step toward the smaller group. "Ugh, I feel like such a girly girl!"
"It's understandable- we're not exactly equipped to handle these guys." Ashley observed, her breathing becoming slightly constricted. "Maybe making a break for it is a good idea, I'm not about to become supper for these things."
Whilst the young women quickly and quietly attempted finding a solution, the youkai pack sneered and snarled and made a tighter circle around their soon-to-be prey.
How stupid were these humans?
They didn't even have the sense to try and fight for their lives, did they?
Their clothing appeared odd and out of place, but that didn't matter. Nobody would miss them, not if they were all the way out in the middle of nowhere.
The youkai were hungry; travelers hardly passed through, their clan had dwindled down to only eleven. Starvation drove them mad and unable to wait any longer, they leapt upon the girls.
Letting out a shrill cry, Katie lashed a foot out, kicking away one of the demons that had landed on her, falling to the ground from her own momentum. As she made to kick at a second, she noticed Ashley tumble down some feet away, fending herself from three offenders, and Mandi struggling to keep standing, shaking a leg to get away from a youkai that clung desperately.
"Damnit, this is not working!" Katie shouted irksomely, whacking a demon in the cheek with her fist. It hardly fazed him, if not encouraged. "So much for making a break for it!"
"Rule one- don't talk, just do, ne?" Mandi responded, grunting as she at last gave way and landed hard on her backside. She clamped her hands onto the forearms of the demon attempting to take a chunk out of her shoulder. "I am not food! Get off of me!"
Ashley somehow managed to roll to her knees, shoving away two of the three attackers on her, her hair now hanging wildly in her face, as it'd come free of the ponytail. "I'm still choosing to run, you know, but these guys do not want to give in!"
And then, quite suddenly, three shots cracked through the air and a matching amount of youkai fell lifelessly to the ground.
Startled, the girls and the enemy turned to see just what had happened, and as in place as they should have been, the Sanzo-ikkou stood in a strictly straight line just some yards ahead, and quite oddly were wearing their normal traveling attire.
"Well, it's about damn time." Katie grunted, pushing off the slain youkai that had inadvertently died on top of her. "Where the hell were you guys?"
The four men didn't answer; rather, they went to work straight away. Hakuryuu swooped from the sky, claws stretching out as he let out a shrill squawk, becoming a bothersome pest in the face of one youkai. The distraction allowed for both Mandi and Ashley to avoid victimization as they scrambled away, pressing up against a tree. Hakkai pivoted sharply, drawing his arms back, eyes narrowing as he released a ferocious amount of chi at the youkai that the white dragon kept at bay, watching the energy sphere sweep across to wipe out another on right behind the first.
Whether she chose to or not, somehow Katie hadn't yet escaped the throng of battle, flailing an arm out to stun an attacker, ducking next to avoid being skewered by Gojyo's Shakujo. At last she faced no obstacle and joined her friends at the large tree, turning as youkai after youkai fell into bloody heaps on the forest floor.
"How many are left?"
Mandi kept vigil, smiling lightly, not knowing what other expression to really show, "It looks like there are still eleven of them, but if you mean how many are left alive, then it looks to be about…oh…five."
"Smart ass." Ashley pointed out though smirked all the same. "They don't disappear into little particles after all, eh?"
"Nope, guess not. That must've been for anime sake." Katie concluded, ducking then dispersing in synchronized motion with her two friends as Goku batted a demon in their direction.
The offending monster wailed then silenced as its back cracked hard against rough tree bark, the body falling soundly to the ground, barely twitching.
For good measure, Mandi gave it a swift kick in the head, which more or less ceased all movement whatsoever.
"Now nobody can say I didn't help," she grinned, dusting off her hands, yelping as a bullet whizzed above her and then past Ash and Katie to slay another demon.
"How many now?" Katie asked shrilly as lead-packed capsules flurried by, her arms wrapping tightly around her torso to avoid being punched through like paper.
The hazel-eyed blond dropped down, crawling behind the tree, motioning for the two girls to follow. "Three- ah, no two now; Goku just killed another one. Make that one more!"
"Who killed that one?" Mandi craned her neck to see past the wide tree in front of them.
"It killed itself, moronic thing." Katie snorted. "It ran right into Gojyo's attack. Oh! There, that's all of them! Hakkai pitched it and Goku swung away, so to speak."
"Can we get up now? I think I tore my skirt…great." Light brown eyes fluttered down to check the black fabric only to confirm the assumption and Mandi groaned lightly, pushing up to her feet. "I loved this skirt."
"I agree with what you said before about sounding like a girly girl." Ashley snickered, accepting the hand to help pull her to standing position. "Where's Katie?"
Turning, the female duo found the oldest woman storming toward the Sanzo-ikkou with some vigor so they decided to go after her.
"I'm glad you guys came when you did. I don't think we could have held them off without your help!" Katie vocalized gratuitously, pulling the bobby pins from her hair. It'd been mussed during the skirmish anyhow, no use in trying to still look pretty. In doing so, she hadn't noticed the bewildered expressions reading on the young men's faces.
As Mandi stepped up beside the elder brunette, attempting to keep her skirt together with one hand, she grinned sheepishly as Hakkai greeted her with a soft "Mandi-san", not realizing the term he'd never used before with her.
"Hey Hakkai…you guys have impeccable timing, have you ever realized that? We'd have been mincemeat if not for you."
Ashley crossed her arms, cocking one eyebrow above the other, observing the still rather bemused visages of the Sanzo-ikkou. "What's up with you guys? Why are you looking at us like that?"
After a short period of silenced seconds, Goku tilted his glittering golden gaze to his comrades, adjusting the diadem that apparently restored itself upon reentry to Shangri la.
"Nani? What did they say? How come we can't understand them?"
Whilst Sanzo merely stood unresponsive, Gojyo and Hakkai shrugged in unison, shaking their heads.
"No idea." Hakkai narrowed his emerald gaze, stepping up to the girls. "Daijoubu?"
"Uh…what'd he say?" Katie glanced to her friends, perplexed. "That wasn't English, was it?"
"I'm thinking that's a big ten-four." Mandi scratched her cheek with her free hand. "I have to say my Japanese is really limited, but I think 'daijoubu' means basically, 'are you okay?' which, I think we are."
Ashley nodded slowly. "I hope you're right. What else do you know?"
"Um. 'Hai', 'Iie', 'Arigatou' and some other random phrases that probably won't help us out too much at the moment. Sorry."
Sighing collectively, the girls shrugged and nodded in confirmation to Hakkai that they were indeed alright, however, the language barrier was quite baffling.
When visiting the girls' world, the guys could speak perfect English, however, here, it seemed that the situation was just the opposite for the girls.
Sanzo turned his back, muttering to his group. "Let's go back to camp. There's no use sticking around here."
"Ne, Sanzo-sama, they're coming with us, aren't they?" Goku inquired, jumping beside the monk.
"I don't think so. I'd rather leave them behind to be honest." The reply came gruffly enough for the young women to tell Sanzo's grumpy mood.
At this, Gojyo spun on his heels, propping his Shakujo onto his shoulder. "Now just a minute, Buddha, ya don't mean to tell me that after all they did for us we're just supposed to leave them out here to fend for themselves, do ya?"
"Gee, aren't you the perceptive one?" Sanzo quipped dryly, lighting a cigarette as his steps slowed. "As far as I'm concerned, all they did was play dress-up with us and lead us on wild goose chases all over town. I don't call that helping, I call that poking fun and self-entertainment."
Hakkai's brow furrowed, and after holding up his hands to the girls in indication to just sit tight, he turned to speak to Sanzo as well.
"Sanzo, with all due respect, they did offer to help us search, but it was you who continued to turn them down. Not to mention they did give us shelter, beds to sleep in, and all that food. They gave us hospitality when they didn't have to. I'd say that was more than enough. Besides, the Merciful Goddess says they're the Elementals we were sent to find, so it's not like the trip was fruitless."
Turning sharply, Sanzo glowered to his three companions. "You three are too damn incorrigible, you're giving me a headache. I don't believe that they're these Elemental Avatars, or whatever the hell they are, and I sure as hell don't need or want extra baggage."
"Extra baggage?!" Goku cried out. "They have every right to be here now whether or not they're the elementals, which that lady said they were, Sanzo-sama! Their friend is missing! Erin is gone because Kougaji took her! We should help them find her!"
Exhaling loudly, the monk swept his fan across the heretic's head. "Urusai, baka-saru! They can find their friend on their own time! We have a different mission that's more important."
"Aw, come on Sanzo, please?" Hakkai smiled broadly, set on getting the girls at least one night's lenience. "How about a compromise?"
"Yeah man, coz there's no way I'm camping out in the woods without a woman by my side, monk. Hear Hakkai out." Gojyo stood his ground too, sending a wink in the female trio's direction. The three returned the gesture with weak smiles, their curiosity beginning to eat away at them.
Wavering, Sanzo huffed, taking a drag from his cigarette. "Fine. What are you suggesting then, Hakkai? It'd better not be stupid or I'm not going to hesitate in shooting you."
"Maa, maa, Sanzo-sama." The dark haired young man raised his hands palms out in defense. "My proposal is simply this: to at least repay them for taking us in while we were in their world, why don't we have them come along with us to the next town and see what happens there? From there we can decide whether or not they continue with us or stay behind."
"Sounds reasonable, man, c'mon." The hanyou persisted along with Goku who about looked ready to burst into a fit if Sanzo didn't cave.
Rolling his violet eyes, the blond monk waved a hand, walking back toward the glow of a campfire. "Whatever. Do what you want, I don't care anymore."
"Alright!" Goku pumped a fist into the air rambunctiously, waving to the three girls, gesturing for them to follow.
"So I guess that means we go." Ashley murmured, resuming her steps to follow after the group.
"I bet we have Hakkai, Gojyo, and Goku to thank for wearing Sanzo down, eh?" Mandi chimed, still clutching the side of her skirt together, finding it increasingly difficult to walk without losing her grip. "Katie, what's wrong? You seem worried."
"I am." The eldest admitted, frowning. "Erin's gone, for one thing, and we don't know how to find her. We're the elementals that these four dorks were looking for all along and we don't know the first thing about what we're supposed to do yet. Not to mention there's a language barrier, so we'll have to rely solely on body language and Mandi's limited knowledge of the Japanese language, plus if we're going anywhere with them, just where in the hell are we going to get transportation?"
"Ah, right…I don't imagine Hakuryuu can hold all seven of us, that'd be a tight squeeze." The younger brunette tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"I'm also not happy about another fact." Katie crossed her arms as they entered the clearing where the guys set up camp.
"What's that?" Ashley glanced toward the blue-eyed young woman.
"Our animals have been left behind. Our horses would've really been perfect for following them with, but we have nothing. Those animals were our lives, Ash, and now they're stuck in that shit-hole world while we're here frolicking in adventure!"
Mandi gingerly placed a hand on Katie's shoulder. "We don't know what's going to happen yet. You're worried, I understand that, but for right now, we've got to figure out what we're going to do if Sanzo decides to dump us off at the next town. It's not going to do us much good to worry over the animals while we should first try and figure out what to do about our situation."
"Please don't lecture me, Mandi. It's a little different for you. You don't have to worry about leaving animals behind that you've put your heart and soul into taking care of." Katie snapped, blue eyes cold. "If I don't know how they are, I can't help but worry about it."
Withdrawing her hand, the younger girl nodded, turning her head away, gazing at the fire. From her peripheral vision, she saw the party of four had taken their seats, three staring at the rise of heated discussion.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…but you're not the only one who's left something behind." Without much more to say, Mandi departed from Katie and Ashley to stand near the fire. Her insides felt cold and twisted as fear and apprehension vied to overwhelm her.
Ashley cleared her throat, feeling some sympathy but chose not to take sides. "I'm sure we'll figure something out, Katie. You'll worry, but try not to let it really take over everything else. We'll find transportation somehow, and as for the animals…worrying is all we can do at the moment, so I guess for now we should just trust they're going to be fine."
"I suppose." Katie muttered, taking a short step to the campfire's warmth. "I'm just still tired, and I'm hungry, and suddenly very frustrated that we can't communicate with these guys as well as we could before."
"Understandable. It'll be hard for us all." The honey blond agreed, coming to sit on the springy grass where Gojyo had motioned for her to, albeit she kept some fair distance from the hanyou.
Immediately, Goku stuck a bowl of rice beneath Ashley's nose, grinning to her. "Eat it go ahead. You three are probably really hungry. You were asleep for a long time!"
Ash accepted the rice. She couldn't understand a single word that Goku had just spoken, but assumed it'd been friendly, and holding up the bowl, nodded in appreciation. The youth beamed, taking up another bowl to offer to Katie who declined politely. Nonetheless, the chestnut haired youth left the rice next to the young woman's seated form. Usually he'd eat it, however, he felt rather generous and decided sharing was the proper thing to do.
Scooping the last of the rice into a third bowl, Hakkai stood, taking a tentative step toward Mandi who appeared now to examine her torn skirt.
"What happened there?"
The brunette looked up quickly, arching an eyebrow at Hakkai. She hadn't the slightest what he just asked her, but at least could determine it'd been a question.
At the young woman's confusion, the green eyed young man chuckled, adjusting his monocle. That's right, there was that issue of a language barrier now to remember. He sighed, smiling lightly, and with his free hand gestured to the skirt being held together by her hand.
"I tore it, obviously." She muttered, though didn't want to push her sudden foul mood onto him. Searching her mind, Mandi could only come up with one answer to sum it all up. "Youkai."
"Ah, sou desu ne?" Hakkai understood the reply well enough, turning to glance at his supply pack. Perhaps he had a bit of string and a needle for sewing in there. How many times he'd repaired everyone's clothing remained countless, so he surely could mend the skirt, especially since it had torn straight along the stitch line. "Here, take this, eat it- you're probably hungry, and maybe I can fix that for you."
Mandi took the bowl he held out to her, but couldn't eat just yet as her other hand's fingers still clutched tightly at the fabric, holding it together. Her knuckles were beginning to turn white smattered with pink, hand aching.
"Arigatou." She murmured softly, to which the young man smiled before dropping to dig through the supply pack.
Goku sat promptly beside Katie, gazing at her curiously, every now and again inching the bowl of rice toward her some more.
"C'mon, eat it! Dozou…"
Gojyo scoffed, rolling his crimson gaze, lighting a cigarette off of the fire blazing in the middle of camp. "Baka. It doesn't matter how many times you try to talk to them, they're just not gonna understand it monkey. Apparently while we could speak their language in their world, they can't do it here."
Sanzo snorted, sliding violet eyes to the hanyou. "I wonder why that is. If they were the Elementals, don't you think they'd be able to communicate with us? They have no need to because they don't belong here."
"Can ya be so sure about that, monk?" Gojyo retorted, leaning forward in challenge. The reflection of flames played in his eyes, causing their crimson hue to truly appear as though they burned. "Why else would they be here then?"
"Yeah, Sanzo, that just doesn't make sense. If they didn't belong here, then that lady wouldn't have told them to come with us, ne?" Goku argued, peering between Ashley and Katie, who both seemed mildly interested in the chatter.
Huffing, Sanzo turned his face from the fire to stare forest-direction. "So maybe they're here just to find their friend and then they'll leave. They're not who we were supposed to find, and I'm sticking to that. If you'll excuse me, I'm turning in for the night."
He stood haughtily, tossing a cigarette butt flame-ward, and then ducked into the pitched tent.
Noticing Ashley's stare, Gojyo grinned crookedly, winking at her showily. "Don't worry about that, ya know how Sanzo can be, ne?"
Assuming the hanyou man made fun of the priest, the young blond woman shrugged before looking to Katie. "Where do you think we're going to sleep?"
"I don't know, though it hardly seems like we're equipped to bunk outside."
"And I doubt the tent will hold us all, no matter how much Gojyo might try to fit us," Mandi piped up, going for some light heartedness.
The young women laughed softly, casting suspicious eyes to whom they spoke of and Gojyo arched a brow at them.
What did he do?
Nothing yet that he knew of- key word being 'yet'.
Stifling a yawn, Goku scooted closer to the fire, cautious not to get too near, and pulling his pack along to rest his head upon, was content to curl up in the warmth emitted. His golden eyes' lids weighted down until closing completely, falling deep into slumber within moments.
"Is it really that late?" Katie questioned, peering skyward once again where the moon shone dimly behind a curtain of misty gray.
"Must be so." Ash stated simply, making a face at Gojyo who had stood, offering a hand to her. "If you think I'm following you, Red, you have another think coming. I'm satisfied to sleep out here, thank you."
"Ch, I don't know what ya said, honey, but I know what that tone means. You're gonna make me bed down alone aren't ya? I can't believe you're turning down my comfort for grass and trees. Ah well…I should've known, ne?" Gojyo chuckled, flicking his cigarette into the fire, lifting his shoulders, hands out. "Suit yourself, but don't complain in the morning that ya have a stiff neck."
"Save your breath, Gojyo; it's not as though you've really got room to talk about stiff anything." Hakkai mused, straightening from his supply pack at last, withdrawing a sewing needle and black spool of thread. He smirked lightly in his comrade's direction as the hanyou man vanished into the tent.
Chortling, the oldest brunette young woman teased her junior friend. "Aw, poor Gojyo! Come on Ash, it's not like you didn't want to go in there with him."
Playing along, Ashley staged a wistful sigh. "Ah, I know, it's just that Sanzo is in there and three's a crowd."
"Well, I'm still tired, and I don't feel like sleeping outside. I just might try and milk the monk of some hospitality for once." Katie hoisted up to her feet, forgetting about the bowl of rice still waiting to be eaten, and padded off toward the tent.
Mandi and Ashley watched wordlessly as their friend disappeared inside, waiting all of three seconds before hearing a solid 'thwack', and not long after did Katie return outside, dejected.
"So much for that, eh?" Ashley giggled, stretching to lie on her back groggily, taking after Goku's idea. "It's a nice night and the ground isn't too bad to sleep on."
Crossly, Katie sat at the fire once more. "The tent is too cramped anyhow. Eh, this'll have to do. Good night then." She lay down, back to the fire, facing the line of thick trees surrounding camp.
If she fell asleep, would she wake up to see everything gone?
When she woke up, would she be in her bed, in her room, disappointed to discover it'd all been a dream after all?
While she worried over her beloved pets, Katie also didn't want to chance returning to the world she and her friends grew up in.
Silently praying to wake up in the place she fell asleep in, the young woman drifted off.
Mandi watched her two friends fall asleep, standing with a bowl of rice in one hand and pinching her skirt closed with the other, wondering how long she'd remain there looking like an idiot.
When Hakkai tapped her shoulder, she turned, seeing him hold up the needle and thread.
"You can sew? Heh, I guess it's not that hard to believe, being the effeminate one and all…not to mention, I imagine you've had to provide for yourself quite a bit."
The youth detected only a friendly tone, smiling outwardly, though inside was infuriated that he couldn't even remember any of the words he'd spoken and comprehended in English. Kneeling down, Hakkai gently took Mandi's hand away from the fabric, replacing it with his own, focusing merely on the task at hand.
Blushing furiously, the brunette girl averted her eyes to drown in the depths of her rice bowl, eating mechanically if only to take her mind off of the quick hands mending her clothes. T Hakkai too fought heated cheeks as he worked quietly, slightly embarrassed about having to keep his hands near the young woman's thigh, sewing quickly and efficiently. His green gaze stayed unblinking, fingers nimbly pulling a thin silver needle in and out of black fabric in a simple stitch. When he finished, knotting it off at the bottom neatly, Hakkai stood up, offering to take the empty bowl from Mandi.
"That'll do it, Mandi-san. It should hold together at least until the next town, which isn't too far off now, I believe. If I had to guess, I'd say we could even walk there within a few hours and then perhaps you'll be able to get someone to mend that far better than I did."
"This is going to be the death of me. I have no clue what you said." Sighing, she ran her fingers along the trim stitches and smiled, at last sitting down, mindful not to pop the threads, and leaned back against a stump. "I feel like a dope because I can't say anything else that you understand…but…thank you, Hakkai."
"Do itashimashite, Mandi-san. I'm turning in now. We'll be up early…sleep well." Shaking his head inwardly, wondering why anyone was bothering any conversation, Hakkai slipped inside the tent as well.
As night wore on, dwindling into early gray dawn laced by hazy golden blue and pink, the trio of young women would indeed find themselves awakening once again to Shangri la, their Other World.
Japanese word/phrase Key:
Maa, maa- usually translates into "Now, now"
Sou desu ne?- Is that so?
Daijoubu?- Are you alright? (Can also translate into "I'm ok/alright" or "It's alright." Without the ? )
Urusai- Be quiet, silence, shut-up
Baka- Stupid/Fool/Moron/Idiot…ect.
Saru- Monkey/Ape/Chimp
Hai- Yes
Iie- No
Arigatou – Thank you (also can be written as Domo Arigatou)
Dozo- Please
Gomen – I'm sorry, excuse me, pardon me (apologetic)
Do itashimashite- You're welcome
Yare yare – Man, oh man