Hey everyone!
This is my very first story and I hope you all enjoy it.
Nearly everyone is paired with an OC-type character. Hope you all don't mind.
Anyway, enjoy; I worked really hard on it.
Surviving the Impact
Chapter One: Drunks, Genies and Gypsies
"YO BARTENDER! Gimme another mugguh whiskey..." the girl slurred as she slumped against the bar counter, a rather stupid grin on her face. She has been at it for about three straight hours now, and she was only feeling more and more drunk by the second. Damn, was it a good night for Shukumei. A bundle of good looking young men, a few drinks, the pink elephants dancing in the corner--
Wait, did that pink elephant just turn into a blue squirrel? COOL!
Shukumei yawned and laid her head on the counter, hazel green eyes peering around the crowded room. The usual group of people were on the dance floor--the thugs, the whores, the entrepreneurs (yes, I know I fucked up the spelling), and the bald monk dude heading her way with an odd gleam in his eyes. Yep, this was normal...except for the monk dude. He's just making a cameo.
"Wakimora-san," he addressed her with a bow, dodging a staggering drunkard.
Shukumei yawned once more, gurgling tiredly as she slowly spun around on her stool to face him. "Mmm? Did that goddess chick sendja?" she asked, vision blurring a bit and causing her eyes to water. "She said she wouldn't be needin' my 'sistance fer awhile..."
"True," said the monk with a soft sigh. "But some trouble has stirred up in the west and your help is needed right now. It appears Gyumaoh is being reawakened by someone."
"Gyumaoh? Feh. Who gives a damn if he lives or doesn't live? Now let me finish my--"
"Lady Koshuu is the culprit, it seems," he finished.
Shukumei sobered up instantly, eyes fixed on the monk in a slightly perplexed, extremely pissed off way.
The monk only smiled at her expression. "I thought that would grab your attention. Gather two of your most valuable comrades and head off toward the West to catch up with Genjo Sanzo and his band of misfits."
"Wait a second--I don't do dirty work with just some random priests and his little playmates," she spat, glaring at him. "Why should I help /them/? Koshuu is the only one who concerns me."
"Are you familiar...with a Mr. Sha Gojyo?"
Shukumei paused again, staring at the floor for a second. "G-Gojyo? Is he...with them?" she muttered quietly.
The monk nodded softly. "I assume you have a rather intriguing history with him, yes? Perhaps if you join him and the others then a few scores can be settled between you and your old half-demon rival, hm?"
"...Fine. I'll do it."
Mari raised an eyebrow, eyeing her strawberry-blonde friend from over the edge of her glass. "So, he's back, huh?"
"Yep."
"And you require my… services?"
Shukumei nodded, silently hoping that Mari would accept her offer.
"And you would need my full power, correct? And that would mean being bound once more."
"I'm afraid so."
The other woman sat back on her stool with a small sigh and closed her eyes. "I'm finally free of bondage and now you want me to go right back in?"
"Mari… I need ya-"
"You know," Mari cut her off, opening one blue-gray eye, "You could force me if you needed my services that badly."
Shukumei jerked straight up on her stool, alarmed that Mari would think she would ever do such a thing. "Mari! I would never bind you against your will! If you really protest that much, I'll leave you in peace…" She slid off the leather stool and began walking towards the exit.
"I never said I wouldn't go."
Shukumei turned at the sound of her friend's soft voice cutting through the air. "Does that mean you'll-"
Mari held up a slender index finger. "On one condition. When this is over, you promise me you'll break the bottle, no questions asked."
Shukumei nodded emphatically.
"Well then," a small smirk graced her compatriot's face, "What are we waiting for, chica? Let's hit the road."
Shukumei grinned in response and grabbed a handy rum bottle. Gripping the brown glass tightly she whispered, "Be thou bound to my service."
Mari felt the magic begin to take hold, freezing her body in place.
"Be thou bound to my service."
As Shukumei said it the second time, Mari felt her control start to drain away.
"Be thou bound to my service."
With this final repetition, Mari felt the familiar tug and rush of energy as her being dissolved into a blue mist and vanished inside the rum bottle.
'Couldn't she have a least picked a bottle that smells better?'
"Really? You mean it? I'll meet the love of my life if I drink this?" asked an excited young girl, barely sixteen by the looks of her, as she bounced up and down.
The gypsy before her laughed in a quiet manner. "Of course. Now, mix this with your drink tomorrow morning. And not water or alcohol. Juice of some kind. Apple or orange is best."
The gypsy handed the girl a small vial that looked like a miniature heart. It was very cheesy, but it worked. "Here you go."
The girl handed over a few silver pieces and bounded out of the tent, babbling happily to her friends outside.
Kiari sighed, rolling her eyes at her antics. 'God, please tell me I was never that hyper.' She turned away from the curtain beads that served as her door to rearrange her tarot cards and her incense.
The heavy scent of rain and moonlight permeated every cloth of the dark tent, lit only by a few meager candles and a glowing crystal ball on the table.
The beads of her door jangled, and she turned to face her new customer, only to freeze.
"M-Mari? Shukumei? What are you two doing here?"
"Can we save the interrogation for later? It's boiling out there!" Mari snapped, fanning herself with a paper fan.
Kiari rolled her eyes. "Ok, Ok...I'll go get us something to drink. And no ale for you, Shukumei!"
"Damn you!" Said the drunkard.
"I'd prefer that to not happen." Kiari muttered, heading towards the back of her tent.
She reached into a small icebox and pulled out three bottles of iced tea.
"Here." she pulled up to more chairs around her small, round table, and sat down, the skirts of her gypsy robe pooling around her feet. "One second..." Kiari yanked the intricate headpiece off her head, shaking out her long, lilac hair. "Ok...what is going around this time?"
Shukumei sighed, popping the top off her tea. She took a soft swig before leaning back in her seat. "Well..." she began in a slow, somewhat wary voice. "We have a little mission from the monks. Apparently the Merciful Goddess sees it fit to give us this little mission on behalf of my screwing up a lot of her plans." A soft smirk curled across her face.
Kiari sweatdropped at her statement. "Dare I ask what you did?"
"I'll tell you both when you're older," she teased, rolling her eyes. "It seems that Gyumaoh is being resurrected. You now, that's the reason all these demons' heads are outta whack and they all are going on killing sprees, you know? The person reawakening Gyumaoh is trying to build up a nice big army of demons so they can purge Shangri-La."
"And...?" Mari asked in a slightly testy voice. "Why does this concern us? Screw the masses. We'll just skip the country and ignore it all. Shangri-La never did anything good to us from what I remember, right?"
"She is right," Kiari agreed. "Gyumaoh or anyone associated with him does not concern us, does it?"
"Not unless it's Lady Koshuu, perhaps," said Shukumei in an airy tone. "I do believe we have quite a history with the bitch, no?"
The two didn't seem to object any further after that.
Shukumei sighed, expression turning a bit sour. "They want us to follow the Sanzo party and assist them in exposing of Koshuu /and/ Gyumaoh. If you want my opinion on the whole this is a load of B.S., but anything to get the Merciful Goddess off our backs, ne?"
Mari sighed massaging her temples and closing her eyes. 'Mercy, what have you gotten us into now?' "Any idea where this 'Sanzo Party' is now?"
Shukumei nodded. "From what I've been told they are in a town called Cayann-ni. It's a small port about a week's ride out."
"Which means Mari should be able to get us there in about 10 seconds, right?" Kiari said with a grin, glancing over at the Spanish maiden.
Mari cracked open one eye and let out a soft groan. "Fine." She grabbed Kiari's left hand and Shukumei's right. "Everyone ready?" She waited as Kiari grabbed her bag of essentials and Shukumei drained her tea.
"Shukumei?" Mari said.
"Yes?"
"Make sure to track of my bottle. I don't want anyone else getting a hold of it."
Shukumei nodded. Then Mari closed her eyes and focused. The trio vanished with nothing more than a small pop and a soft breeze that blew through the stall.
A small girl poked her head in. "Hello?" There was no answer other than the curtains blowing in the wind.