Hey, edited the Chapter to include a disclaimer and all- so yeah, yay for me.

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Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own Saiyuki, Sanzo, Goku, Gojyo, Hakkai or anything else I happen to mention. These are copyright Kazuya Minekura and anybody else who has a copyright on them. BUT NOT ME! D.

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The candle light cast everything into a frenzy of autumn's colour. At such a late hour, the temple was completely silent, and only the rustle of dry leaves in the court yard could be heard.

In an innermost room, there sat a young girl with short blonde hair and odd coloured, drooping eyes; one eye was a deep violet, and the other was the colour of a river in the fall. She sat at the bedside of a man who looked more than twenty years older than she. As she held onto the hand of the blonde man in the bed, her body trembled slightly and tears rolled down her cheeks. The man on the bed was breathing as if there was a great weight on his chest and perspired profusely on his forehead. He opened his eyes and looked around.

It didn't seem like he saw anything at first, but then his deep violet eyes focused on the girl. From the way she looked, he could tell she had been sitting there for a few days.

"Jae," the man whispered. The girl looked at him and gave a shaky smile.

"Jae," the man tried again.

"Yes father?" Jae inquired.

"You're…You are…You are my only child, and the only disciple who is with me now," the man said, his voice getting stronger and his eyes focusing more, " I know that some of them wait by the door instead of coming in here for fear of catching this illness."

Jae smiled warmly and nodded her head. She reached her hand out to her father's forehead and felt for a fever. His forehead was warm, but it seemed like his fever had broken.

"I saw the Sanbutsushin in a dream. They told me about the future, about what's best for Shangri-La. The told me about my successor. I have made my decision," the girl's father said placing his hand on Jae's forehead. He smiled, and then his body was overcome with fits of choking. He sat up and Jae put her hand on her father's back. Her brow furrowed with worry. Her father stopped coughing and looked at her. Jae took the sleeve of her yukata and wiped a trickle of blood off of the corner of her father's mouth.

"Otou-Sama…You have to be strong. I'll help you get better; I'll find a cure. Please, people depend of you, Genjyo Sanzo, to give them hope and something to believe in. You have to get better," Jae pleaded. Sanzo lay back down and stared at the ceiling.

"How I wish I knew what caused this. Is this Buddha's retribution for the things I have done? I guess it matters not," He began, laying his hand on his daughter's forehead again, "In my dream, I was shown the one who was to succeed me; in my dream, I was shown you."

Jae sat there speechless. This was an honor she could never have imagined to have. She stared at her father around his hand, and saw him looking at her very seriously.

"Otou-Sama…" Jae whispered, tears forming in her eyes. Sanzo smiled, laughing a little bit and removed his hand from her forehead. He sat up and looked over to some shelves and asked Jae to help him stand. Jae didn't seem to hear him and Sanzo sighed. He stood up with some difficulty and ambled over to the shelves, removing a box from them.

"It took me quite the while to figure out a name for you, even in my unconscious state. I did recall though, when you were born, I did not want to name you Jae. But, your mother though, was so set on the name I couldn't refuse her. I wanted to name you Seira," He declared, carrying over the box towards Jae. He sat down and placed the box in between them and opened it. Jae still in her stunned state looked to the box. When her father opened it, she couldn't even breathe. Inside were her father's two most prized possessions: The gold crown he inherited from his master, and the Maten Sutra. Jae looked to her father in total disbelief. To become a Sanzo was something she did not dare even dream of. Wiping away a tear from her eyes she took in a shaky breath.

"Father…why bestow this on me? I don't deserve it," Jae chuckled. Sanzo sat back down on his bed and took out the golden crown, examining it.

"It is only partially my decision who I make my successor. Remember: the Sanbutsushin told me that this would be the best for Shangri-La. But to tell the truth, I would have chosen you even if I had not had that vision. You're the only one who has proven faithful," he said. Jae nodded her head slowly. Sanzo smiled and set the crown on Jae's head. Jae bowed her head down and closed her eyes.

"I, Genjyo Sanzo, thirty-first successor of the Seiten and Maten Sutras, recognize you as Seira Sanzo, thirty-second successor."

Seira looked up at her father unsure of how to react. Sanzo placed his index finger in the middle of her forehead and smiled.

"I think there's some advice I should give you," Sanzo began, "the others will not be happy I chose you as Sanzo. If ever you have to leave this place without me and you need help, I know people that will help you."

Seira blinked and looked from her father to the door and back again. For being raised by a father such as him, it was amazing how feminine and humble she still was.

Her mother had died when she was not even a year old, so she had never known her. Her father had raised her, and because of that, there was a deep connection betwixt them. Even now, and she sat there, only sixteen years old and given a most adult position, she still felt that fascia that a child feels for her father. Seira and Sanzo stared at one another for a moment, then Seira cleared her throat.

"Well," Sanzo said, realizing he'd not said what he meant to, "if ever you need help with anything outside the temple, find Cho Hakkai, Sha Gojyo, or Son Goku. They'll help you without hesitation. At least, they'd better or I'll kick their asses."

Seira nodded her head and barely caught the crown as it began sliding off the back of her head. She held the crown in her hands and set it in her lap. Sanzo stared at the crown and sighed. He looked at his daughter whose sight lingered on the crown. Her eyes held pity and fondness in them. Her father had told her how he became Sanzo, and every time she dwelled on it, she always felt empty and lost. Staring at the crown in her hands now, she could almost hear the sorrow. She heaved a sigh and looked up to her father who smiled understandingly. For a moment, his eyes caught glimpse of the blood on Seira's yukata and his smile faltered; he knew her position would mean she'd have to see more blood than she needed to. He caught her eyes and smiled again. Seira smiled back at him, and Sanzo reached over and brushed some hair out of her face. Seira stood up and her gazed returned to the golden crown.

"Father, I don't think it's even remotely possible," Seira began handing the crown back to her father with both hands, "Thank you immensely to consider me…yet I don't think I'm worthy to take this position."

Sanzo laughed out right at Seira's comment, so much it began to pain him. Seira stood there, holding out the crown, confused.

"What's so funny?" Seira inquired. Sanzo took in a few breaths and looked at her.

"That's exactly what I said when my master asked me to be his successor. I guess now the only thing I can tell you is this: there's never been a prerequisite to become a Sanzo, yet it seems that a Sanzo needs to be strong in body and spirit," he said standing up. He grinned at Seira and reached out his hand to pat her on the shoulder.

"It's time for you to be strong, Priestess Seira Sanzo."

Seira stood there looking at her father. She stared at him in an almost adoration and smiled, still holding out the crown to him.

"Perhaps you'd better hold on to this," Seira offered. Sanzo took the crown from her thin hands and leaned over, kissing her on the forehead.

"Good night, Otou-Sama," Seira said with a bow.

"Good night Seira," he bid her, smiling warmly. He walked her to the door and watched as she stood outside of it bowing. He shut the door. Seira stood outside of it for a while and watched her father blow out his candle. She turned her gaze from her father's door to the courtyard.

The red and brown leaves looked black with the full moon shining on them. She walked out to the sakura tree and was bathed in blue light. She stood there looking at her yukata sleeve and sighed. The blood she'd wiped from her father's mouth looked as black as calligraphy ink. Ink, she thought, would be much easier for a man to bleed, because there was plenty of ink in the land. So it could be replenished if there was a physician skilled enough to perform the operation. A sigh danced past her lips and became a cloud in the night air.

Seira closed her eyes and sat at the base of the tree, the leaves casting a pattern on her face. She thought back to the day her father first fell ill. It had been the first day of summer. She and her father were walking along a path in the forest watching birds fly by and she had been examining flowers. She was only thirteen then.

Seira opened her eyes and virgin tears made their painful trail down her cheek. She wiped at them angrily and looked into the sky. She saw the sun rising and took in her first breath of morning air.

'I must've fallen asleep,' she thought. She stood up and dusted off the back of her yukata. She looked around and hurried off to her room.

A few hours later, Seira knocked on the wall near her father's door.

"Come in please," her father called. Seira balanced the tray of tea in her right hand and opened the door with her left.

"Good morning!" Seira exclaimed cheerfully, closing the door behind her. Sanzo greeted her and smiled kindly. Seira walked in and set the tray down in front of her father, careful to keep her cream kimono clean. She kneeled down before the tray and began to pour the tea.

"Are you feeling well this morning Otou-Sama?" She inquired, offering him a cup.

"Yes, much better, thank you," he replied, taking the cup from her. He took a slow drink and smiled.

"You couldn't smuggle me out some beer for once?" he asked.

"Not with the other monks so closely watching me," Seira stated matter-of-factly. She took a sip of her tea and looked to her father.

"So…when is it official?" She asked.

"Tonight," Sanzo said, "after the first twenty-four hours."

Seira looked at her reflection in the cup of tea. She moved her bangs out of her face and examined her forehead with the utmost care.

"Father, I still don't think it fits me. I'm not sure of myself. What if I mess up?" she questioned. Sanzo sighed and set his cup down.

"Seira, you have to be sure of yourself. You have to be humble and be in charge at the same time. Live for no one…and die for no one—"

"Be like you," Seira interrupted. She wanted to be like her father; she wanted to be strong. If she didn't doubt herself…if she wasn't raised as a shrine miko…if she wasn't…

"Not like me…but a mix of your purity and my acid I guess," Sanzo sighed. Seira looked at him, feeling minute, and weak against his prowess. He always seemed like some great lion to her and she was a mere kitten.

"If ever you loose something important to you…you will become like me. I fear that may happen tonight. Your innocence might be lost," Sanzo sighed. Seira reached over to her father and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I'll be fine," she promised, "No matter what happens."

Sanzo looked into his daughter's strange eyes, and believed what she was saying to be true. Seira was hoping she could make herself believe it too.

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