A Bite from Life

Chapter 1: The Beginning to Heaven...or Hell.


"Sanzo..." Goku mumbled. "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry..." Sanzo said irritably, fingering his gun.

"I think we have some more dried squid, Goku." Hakkai declared helpfully.

"No, not anymore---the perverted kappa ate it all!" Goku glared at the smug red-haired half-breed.

"Heh! First come, first served," Gojyo remarked, stating the ever-so famous quote with a smirk. "Baka-saru."

"What do you mean 'first come, first served'?!" Goku snapped angrily. "You stole it me! Right from my hands!!"

"Will you two SHUT UP?!!" Sanzo smacked them both with his fan.

"Itai yo!!" Goku rubbed his head.

"That feels like steel than paper!!" Gojyo mumbled, rubbing his head as well.

*sniff sniff* Suddenly Goku sniffed the air.

"HAKKAI!!" Goku grabbed Hakkai behind the neck, semi-choking the poor youkai. "STOP!!!"

Hakkai stopped to a skidding halt. Everyone lurched forward by the force.

"Kyyyuuu!!!" Hakuryuu whined from being stopped so suddenly and forcefully.

"Gomen nasai, Hakuryuu." Hakkai apologized with a smile.

"What's the matter, Goku?" Gojyo curled his fists, wondering if there were any enemies around.

"Did you sense something?" Sanzo pulled out his gun, a careful eye searched the area.

"*sniff sniff* ...iie!" Goku answered. "I smell food!"

"... ... ..." Hakkai, Gojyo, and Sanzo all stared at the starving boy. A stress mark appeared on Sanzo's and Gojyo's heads immediately.

"BAKA-SARU!!!!!" Gojyo and Sanzo both hit Goku.

"Owww!" Goku rubbed the double bumps on his head. "That's unfair! Two hits at the same time!!"

"Wanna make it a third?!" Gojyo glared.

Hakkai let out a relieved sigh, "Well, at least there are no attackers."

Goku jumped out the jeep and scurried into the forest, following the scent eagerly.

"I'll bring some food back!!!" Goku exclaimed happily as he disappeared.

"Goku!" Hakkai exclaimed. "Don't go by yourself!"

"You don't have to worry about him," Gojyo said carelessly. "he won't die or anything. He's too stupid to know how."

"Hai," Sanzo agreed as he put back his gun. "we're not lucky enough to have that baka-saru die."

"Right." Gojyo nodded his head.

"Yare, yare...you two show your concern for Goku so well..." Hakkai said with subtle sarcasm as he smiled with his eyes closed, scratching the back of his head.

A few moments later...

"Hey!" Goku jumped out of the forest, holding a small bamboo box in his hand. His wide smile and glittering gold eyes obviously meant he had found what he was searching for: FOOD.

"What's that you got there?" Gojyo leaned over as Goku jumped back into the van.

Goku lifted the bamboo lid open and...

"TA DAH!" Goku presented the food.

"...that's all?" Hakkai asked as he stared in the box.

In the middle of the fairly small box, there laid a white, powdered bun.

"The monkey proabably ate all the other food and left this for us," Gojyo sighed.

Goku glared, "I did not! This is all I got! I didn't eat anything."

"That's all you got?" Hakkai asked curiously. "Usually you get an enormous amount of food..."

"Well---this is all they had." Goku said.

"Who?" Sanzo asked.

"Some monks," Goku answered and took out the small cake. "They said it's a red-bean cake! Miracles happen if you take a bite."

"...I don't trust it." Sanzo turned away after a pause and sat forward.

Goku ignored his remark and took a bite from the cake.

"Baka." Sanzo growled.

"Mmmmm!" Goku smiled. "Tastes good!!"

"EVERYTHING tastes good to YOU." Gojyo mumbled. He took the cake and took one bite from it. He chewed slowly and swallowed.

"I don't taste or smell anything poison or bad from it...not like the mandrake seeds." Gojyo declared.

"I still don't trust it." Sanzo said.

"Stubborn monk." Gojyo shrugged his shoulders and handed Hakkai the red-bean cake.

"Oh, no, I don't think..." Hakkai started, looking at the red-bean cake with slight caution. Suddenly Hakkai's stomach growled. A sweat-drop rolled down the brown-haired youkai's head.

"Just eat it, sensei," Gojyo said. "I'm not dead---so it's not poison."

"...I suppose," Hakkai said and took a bite. "Mmm, it's very delicious!"

"There's one piece left," Goku said, looking at the small piece left. "Come on, Sanzo, eat it."

"Ch." Sanzo turned his head away, crossing his arms.

"Kyu, kyu!" Hakuryuu suddenly turned back into its dragon form. The four companions fell to the ground.

"Hey, what did you do THAT for, you little runt?" Gojyo asked the white dragon.

Hakuryuu flew over to Hakkai and ate the small piece of red-bean cake out of his hand hungrily.

"So much for Sanzo's piece..." Hakkai said with a smile.

"Kyu!" Hakuryuu smiled, satisfied with the sweet cake.

"Fools," Sanzo said, standing up and dusting off his pants. "You're all going to die." /Serves them right!/

"Is that what you're hoping for _all_ the time, Sanzo?" Gojyo asked, arching his eyebrow.

"Not all the time." was the blunt reply.



"Finally!!" Goku stretched his arms in the air and flopped onto the bed.

"Yeah--FINALLY you're done eating," Gojyo retorted. "Now we can go to sleep."

"If you all wake up dead in the morning---it's because of that cake." Sanzo remarked as he slipped under the covers of his bed.

"How comforting to know..." Hakkai said with a nervous smile.

"Don't listen to the worldly monk," Gojyo said with a smile as he turned over in bed. "he's just trying to make us feel guilty. Right, Goku?"

"Zzzzz...zzzz..." Goku softly snored.

"Baka." Gojyo smiled.

"Oyasumi nasai, minna-san..." Hakkai said and drifted into sleep.

"Kyu..." Hakuryuu curled into sleep at the foot of Hakkai's bed.

"Yeah, yeah..." Gojyo mumbled and fell into sleep.

"...fools." Sanzo said and turned over on his side.



The morning light seeped through the window...

Hakkai was half-asleep, thinking that he was holding someone very dear to him in his arms...so warm...so comforting...he remembered he woke up this way every morning with...

"Kanan..." Hakkai murmured, almost painfully, however, he was able to stuff most of his pain below his chest.

"...hai, Gonou?" was the sleepy response.

".... .... ...." Hakkai's eyes slowly widened to twice its size, his face grew pale as he realized whose voice that belonged to and whose tangible body was in his arms...

**WHAT IS THE MYSTERY OF THIS RED-BEAN CAKE, YOU ASK? Well---I'd tell you, but...sore wa himitsu desu! (Xelloss's words ^_^ )**

**Author's Note: I'll have the next chapter up very soon---I have a few things in store for those who ate the forbidden bean cake! MWA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! *f*ake thunder clashes in the backround** Ahem. Please review! Thank you! **