Chapter 1

Mysterious Monk

A/N: This is the first part to a two part story in honor of Minekura-sama. She is very ill and worrying about her put me back in line with my favorite anime of all time, Saiyuki. This was actually one of my first stories ever I just never published it. So here it is, The Beginning.

"…Say, do you think he's a monk?"

"He looks rather dirty."

"I caught a glimpse of his face, he's still young."

The woman behind the bar tucked her dark chocolate hair behind her ear and glanced towards the door. She hated that about this town, just because they were home to the biggest temple in China everyone had the nerve to be snotty.

"If you're only gonna whisper, grow some balls and speak up or get the hell out of my bar!"

A few offended patrons stood and left as the monk approached a stool, "Water." His voice was raspy and deep.

"Do you want something to eat too?" the woman stuffed the cloth she had into the back pocket of her ripped shorts.

"No. Just water."

She set the glass in front of him and he nodded in thanks before lifting it to his lips. She rubbed her neck as she turned away from him to serve someone else. A sudden pain had set in on her body and she wasn't exactly sure why.

She turned back to the monk in time to see him rub his neck too; "I have some pain killers in the back if you want some.

He looked up at her, his hollow violet gaze almost freezing her to the bone. All she could do was look back with bright hazel orbs. He nodded again and she moved to the back.

When she placed the two small pills on the table his hand brushed hers in his rush. She felt intense and uncomfortable heat rush over her, almost like she was burning for less than a second.

He finished with his water and reached into his tattered robes, "Don't. You don't have to pay me. My name is Nai by the way. You can come down whenever you get tired of those monks at the temple."

His nod was his thanks and dismissal as she guessed, and she had to tear her eyes away from watching him leave when a customer shouted rather rudely for his beer.

"Keep your fucking panties on!"

Sanzo looked over his shoulder at the bar as he continued up the road. That woman was slightly tolerable, a little odd, but tolerable. He heard a commotion behind him and looked over his shoulder again.

A man hit the ground outside the bar and Nai poured a beer over his head. Sanzo couldn't keep back an amused chuckle; yup, she was definitely odd.

The staircase to the temple was ridiculous and the size was even worse, it was almost like it's own little city.

An eager, bald, monk ran from the gates and positioned himself at the blonde monk's side, "Sanzo-sama! Right this way!"

He was lead down a long hall of chanting monks. All of it was nothing but a farce, they didn't really want him there and he knew it. A small smile appeared on his face, nothing but a bunch of hypocrites.

Nai was running. Her feet hitting the harsh, forest, ground. She could hear other people behind her, running just as hard but she didn't want to look over her shoulder.

Where this dream came from completely baffled her. Something like this never happened to her that she knew of, but it happened to somebody, and they were involuntarily letting her in on it.

"Shit!"

She sat bolt upright and clambered from her bed and threw open the window. Positioning herself in the frame so she could let the cool night air rush over her. It had to be at least one in the morning and she knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.

She found her eyes on the temple on the hill and she noticed the small light, the only light, in one of the windows. She was prepared to bet any amount of money that her new monk friend was wide-awake right now, and that the dream she just had was his.

Sanzo wiped the sweat from his face and stared up at the ceiling. He whispered silently to himself then stood to walk to the bathroom. The cool water felt good as he ran it over his face but then a familiar scent filled his nose, "Tobacco? Here?"

He followed it down the hall and around the corner where he saw an old man smoking in an open window. The old man turned to him, "Well if it isn't a moon demon."

Sanzo didn't answer so the man continued, "This is the first time I've seen such beautiful golden hair. Most demons like to come out during a lunar eclipse, but that isn't the case tonight I guess."

The blonde scowled, "I think you look more like a demon than I do old man."

His baldhead only made you more attentive to the extremely long whiskers running down the corners of his mouth and the unusually thick patches of hair above his eyes. He was hunched over in the sill and he expertly balanced a cigarette between two, long, spidery fingers.

He laughed and put his cigarette back between his lips; he held out the pack of cancer sticks to Sanzo in silent offering.

"I don't smoke."

"Do you prefer alcohol?"

"I prefer neither. Besides, we are in a temple."

The old man laughed again, "A demon who doesn't drink or smoke. What an odd creature. But then we are all odd."

"We?"

"There are more like us, in this town to be exact. Those that seem like normal human beings, but deep down, we are demons too."

Sanzo's thoughts flashed to the female bartender, Nai, for just a fleeting moment. "Ah, so you've met her? The feisty woman who runs the bar." The old man chuckled, "She brings me these." He said, holding up the pack of smokes. "She feels what others feel. An interesting gift."

"What do you mean?"

"That's a conversation for another night."

The old man stood and gathered his things, "By the way Sanzo-sama, my name is Jikaku, and I'm the abbot at this temple. I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Go in, put it away, and get out. And don't disturb his holiness."

The doors to the prayer hall slammed closed and the cloaked figure put down the great jug it was carrying to mock the door, "Hurry up, put it away, don't disturb him. Grouchy monks just mad cuz they never been laid."

Sanzo cracked open one eye in irritation and glanced over his shoulder in time to see the figure pick up the jug.

Nai hefted the big pot onto her shoulder and moved to the ornate jugs in the corner of the room. "I didn't know you were a Sanzo. How old are you?"

He looked at her, giving up on meditating in peace, "Why do you need to know?"

She smirked and took off the hood of her robe, "I don't."

It was quiet except for the clanking of jugs as she passed over the temple's rice wine for the next two weeks.

"Nineteen."

"We're the same age. Both running life like we're adults."

Sanzo stood and approached her, "Aren't you a bit young to run a bar?"

"Aren't you a bit young to be a Sanzo?" she questioned back. She smirked again and continued her task; "My parents died and left the bar to me, plain and simple."

He thought about his master for a fleeting moment, "How?"

Nai continued in silence for a few minutes before she felt that he genuinely wanted to know, "My father killed himself six months and my mother died years ago."

Sanzo returned to his spot on the floor and started to chant. Nai finished and approached him, dropping something in his lap, "If you see the abbot, gives those to him will ya?"

He didn't open his eyes and look at the Marlboro's until the young woman was long gone. At least she got to have her parents for as long as she did. He went back to chanting, a different one this time, one for all the spirits who passed on far too soon.