Apple

By Sashi Mizumoto

A/N: This used to be part of a collection of one shots. However, I've decided to separate the one shots.

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or the Sanzo-ikkou. However, I do own the plots and any original characters I decide to make.

"Come on Sanzo! Just one little meat bun!"

"No! Now shut up before I shut you up!"

"Sanzo, I think we can spare the time to buy him ONE meat bun."

"Alright Hakkai! You're awesome!"

"I said NO!"

"You tell him Sanzo! How about we go get cigarettes instead."

"No way in hell you stupid water sprite! If I can't get food, you can't get cigarettes!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Sanzo fired his Banishing Gun up into the air, and Goku and Gojyo immediately turned towards him. Hakkai did all he could just to keep a large grin off his face.

"We're only stopping by for supplies and nothing more. I'm not going to take begging into consideration."

"Aw man!" Gojyo and Goku echoed in unison. Knowing that it wouldn't work if he tried it, Gojyo leaned over and whispered into Goku's ear. Goku nodded energetically, and moved closer to Sanzo. Hakkai, knowing that something was up, started to back away until he gently hit the door of the jeep. He let out a sigh and stared at the road.

'Don't pay attention Hakkai. Don't pay attention, don't pay attention, don't pay attention…'

A sudden bang shocked Hakkai from his thoughts as he turned to the group. Sanzo had shot his gun over at Goku, who had narrowly avoided it. Well, almost avoided it. The bullet had gone through his cloak and a small hole was clearly visible. Gojyo was laughing hysterically while Sanzo twitched in anger. Goku had a look of shock on his face and Hakkai did all he could to not burst out laughing.

"What the hell was that for Sanzo?"

"That was for trying to use that idiotic puppy face on me!"

Hakkai smirked. Apparently, Goku had tried to use a "puppy face" on Sanzo to bribe him to buy food. However, he was surprised at the fact that Goku had even bothered with it at all.

"Aw, why don't we just go buy him some food? We're about to pass this town…"

"Fine! Anything to get that stupid monkey to shut the hell up."

"Hurray! Thanks Hakkai, you're so awesome!"

As they walked into town, having gotten out of the jeep, Sanzo looked towards the setting sun.

"A blood red sunset."

Hakkai looked over at Sanzo with some curiosity.

"That's an interesting statement for you to say Sanzo. What brought that up?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was just something to point out."

Goku grinned happily as he ran into the nearest restaurant.

"Wow! Everything looks so good, I don't know what to pick!"

Sanzo sighed and took out a cigarette as he sat down. Hakkai and Gojyo followed suite.

"Perhaps, sir, you would like to try our apple pie? I guarantee that it'll be the best you ever had."

Goku and the others looked up and saw a young boy. He had green eyes and brown hair, just like Hakkai. He even wore glasses as well! He seemed to be very happy though, unlike when Hakkai was a child.

"Sure! Apple pie would be great! And maybe some meat buns, onigiri, wonton soup, some chicken, and a couple of turkeys please!"

"And how about some wine for the three of us?" Gojyo grinned and gave the boy a wink.

"Sure thing. We're known for our great food." The boy bowed, his brown hair falling in front of his eyes. He moved towards the kitchen and Gojyo took a cigarette out of his pocket, lighting it. He looked over at Hakkai and smirked.

"Don't you think that kid looked a little bit like you Hakkai?"

Hakkai looked up and gave Gojyo a small smile. Goku looked over at them curiously and Sanzo raised an eye lazily.

"Well yes, he does look a bit like me doesn't he?"

Hakkai looked down at the table with a slightly melancholy look on his face. It seemed as though the environment around them had grown sadder, and everyone took this as a sign to be quiet. Before long, the food was brought up and everyone could see stars in Goku's eyes.

"Wow! This looks so good!"

He took a piece of apple pie and a meat bun. As he happily swallowed the pie and moved onto the meat bun, he noticed something peculiar about the taste.

"Hey Sanzo, this meat bun sort of tastes like…I dunno…APPLES! Yeah, these meat buns taste like apples. Do you think they accidentally put some in?"

"Maybe. Try some of the chicken."

Goku took a large chicken leg and bit into it heartily. He looked over at Gojyo and nodded.

"Yep. This tastes like apples too."

As the waiter passed by their table, Hakkai gave a little wave to him.

"Excuse me, but, um, this food all appears to taste like apples."

The boy nodded with a grin. "Yes, of course it does. Everything we make is made of apples. Have you tried the wine yet?"

Gojyo looked at the wine bottle cautiously before taking a small gulp from the bottle. He let out a gasp and started to cough.

"Ugh, goddammit! I hate apples!"

The boy's smile faded slightly. "I'm sorry you feel that way sir. Perhaps you would like to try some real chicken instead?"

Gojyo twitched angrily in anger. "Well when we order chicken, we want chicken dammit! Not some crappy substitute made of APPLES!"

Gojyo took out his shakujo and pointed it at the boy.

"Now give me some real chicken dammit!"

The boy bowed and hurried to the kitchen. "Right away sir!" As they watched his retreating figure, Goku couldn't help feeling a little bad.

"Gojyo, you didn't have to overreact like that. It's not like this isn't edible…"

"Everything is edible to you, you stupid monkey. Normal people can't eat apple chicken."

"And YOU'RE normal?"

"SHUT UP!"

Sanzo held up his gun and fired it into the air, bits of wood coming down on their heads. As the nearby visitors stared, the boy ran out from the kitchen.

"Was anyone hurt? Where those shots I heard?"

Hakkai bowed his head apologetically. "I'm so sorry. I promise that we'll pay for the damage. And your name is…?"

"My name is Hokugo. I'm so sorry about all of this, I feel terrible for everything." As he let out a sigh, Goku gave him a sympathetic smile.

"It's alright…"

"No it's not! I never do anything right!"

"Then why don't you stop complaining and do things right starting now?"

Hokugo looked up from his huddled position on the floor, fresh tears in his eyes. He looked up at Sanzo with slight admiration and confusion mixed in his eyes.

Sanzo stood up and stared down at him. He threw down his cigarette to the floor and stomped on it with his foot, letting it go out.

"Why don't you stop whining and start living right now?"

"But, I have nothing to live for now!"

"Of course you do you idiot!"

Hokugo turned his head towards Goku, who stood up with a childish grin.

"Oh and what is that?"

"You can start living for yourself!" Goku walked over to Hokugo and held out his hand. However, Sanzo pushed it away.

"Goku, this kid has two feet. He can walk."

Hokugo slowly stood up and looked at the Sanzo-ikkou with pride. With a smile, he started to speak.

"Would you four like to stay at my house tonight? I have plenty of room."

"As much as we appreciate the offer-"

"Alright. That's good." Hakkai looked over at Sanzo with surprise but kept his mouth shut.

"Great! Follow me!" He led them out of the restaurant, which was still filled with apple food and bewildered visitors.

"Wow! This place is great!"

"Thank you, I do try. It's hard to keep it all up alone, but I keep at it vigorously."

As soon as the quartet entered the "house", they had been amazed. It seemed less like a house and more like a mansion. Hakkai however, was suspicious of something.

"And you're here all alone Hokugo? Where are your parents?"

"Oh, they were killed by demons about a year ago. But it's alright, everything happens for a reason I guess."

Hakkai eyed him warily but no one else could see any danger in the boy. Especially Goku. Though he was old enough to have adult conversations, he was still somewhat naïve in the fact that he was much too trusting.

"Now, how about I show you your bedrooms?"

"Fine by me." Sanzo had already lit up another cigarette and was puffing away at it contentedly.

"Do they include free women?" Gojyo winked and Goku let out an exasperated groan.

"God, you stupid water sprite, are women the only thing you EVER think about?"

"At least I think about WOMEN, you stupid monkey!"

"Where are the bathrooms Hokugo?" Hakkai smiled innocently and Hokugo could feel exhaustion beginning to weigh down on his body.

"They are down the hall and to the right."

"Thank you."

Hakkai briskly walked away towards the bathroom and turned his head slightly. He caught a quick glimpse of a painting of an apple. He shook his head and closed the bathroom door. He looked in the mirror before splashing his face with cool water.

'I wonder. These apples are haunting. Perhaps it's because I used to eat them all the time at the orphanage…'

Gono glared darkly at the river, a large book placed squarely in his lap. His cool frown would easily scare anyone who would attempt and bother him. As he took a large bite out of the giant red apple, one of the nuns approached him cautiously.

"Gono dear, it's time to come in now. It's getting dark."

Gono looked up at the nun with a dark look.

"I'll come in when I'm good and ready."

"But Gono dear, you'll get sick if you don't come in soon."

"Who told you to come out and bother me like this? I highly doubt you would mind if I froze to death. However, I'm not about to die so easily."

The nun looked down at him with a confused look and sighed.

"Oh Gono, what are we going to do with you?" She looked down at him once more before picking an apple off the tree.

"Gono, why do you think we choose to smile? Wasn't it you who once asked why we chose to smile?"

Gono looked up at her slightly but kept the stoic expression on his face.

"I don't care what reasons you decide to choose. Is it enough to keep away from your hypocrisy?"

She gave a small laugh and sighed. "Yes, we may have our few moments of being hypocrites, but don't you think everyone is a hypocrite at one point or another in their life?"

Gono looked up at her as she continued to talk.

"For one thing, we choose to smile because we have the ability to smile. Imagine what a horrible feeling it would be to be happy and not be able to show it properly. And I guess we also smile to give others hope."

"And yet hope is a lie, which breaks rules you taught us to live by."

"Gono, remember this: live by your own rules. You are your own person, and no one can take that right from you."

Gono closed his book roughly.

"Heh. I guess I'll come inside." He took one last look up at the apple tree.

"Apples are very good, aren't they?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Goku looked in the direction of the bathroom. "I wonder what's taking Hakkai so long. Should I go check on him?"

"No need to Goku, I'm here." Goku smiled as Hakkai came back in.

As Hakkai sat down, he noticed the lack of apples in the meal.

"Hokugo, I thought you liked apples."

"I do, but I seem to be the only one here who does."

"No, I love them too. However, they're only good once in awhile. I couldn't eat them everyday."

The rest of the meal went along rather peacefully for their normal standards, with the occasional argument between Goku and Gojyo. Hokugo cleared the table and after cleaning, decided to show them to their rooms. As they climbed up the spiral staircase, Goku looked down and wanted to check to see if their was an echo.

"Hello Shangri-La!"

"Goku, stop fooling around!"

Hokugo stopped in front of a door and smiled. "Sanzo, this will be your room, unless you find something wrong with it."

Sanzo walked towards it. "I don't care where I sleep as long as I can actually sleep." He closed the door behind him and took out another cigarette.

'I guess I've been smoking a lot more recently. This place brings memories back to me though…'

"Kouryu, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting apples for Master Sanzo."

"Did you know you're not supposed to come here? This place is restricted."

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm here to get you away from this place!"

"And yet how would you know I was here unless you came here on your own to be alone?"

"Goddammit Kouryu, keep this up and we'll throw you back into the river!"

"I doubt that would be necessary. How is your teacher?"

"M-Master Sanzo!" Before Sanzo could reply, the random monk had run off back in the direction of the temple. Sanzo turned back to Kouryu and smiled.

"How about we eat some of these beautiful apples together?" Kouryu looked up at Sanzo and smiled.

"I would love to Master Sanzo."

Kouryu and Sanzo sat down in the temple, drinking tea quietly. As Sanzo bit into his apple, Kouryu looked up at him with his pure purple eyes.

"Master Sanzo, what is the meaning of life? Why are we here?"

Sanzo looked down at Kouryu with a startled look at first before calming down and smiling.

"Well Kouryu, there is no one answer to these questions. All I can tell you is that as you live your life, you'll discover your own answers."

Kouryu looked down at his tea before looking up at him again.

"Master Sanzo, why do you live? What do you have to live for?"

"Me? I don't have anything to live for but myself."

Kouryu looked at Sanzo as the moonlight reflected on his hair. He smiled.

"That's selfish Master Sanzo."

"Human beings are selfish Kouryu."

Hokugo stared up at the moon and sighed, pushing his brown hair away from his face. He could feel his heart ache with pain, as he knew what he would have to do. As he walked past the Sanzo-ikkou's rooms, he ran into Goku, who was just coming back from the bathroom.

"Hey Hokugo! You want to come to my room and play some Mahjong?"

"Sure. I have to warn you though, I've never played."

"Wow, really? I guess I'll have to teach you then!"

Goku walked back to his room, Hokugo trudging behind him. They entered the room and sat, taking out the needed Mahjong pieces. As Goku started to set them up, Hokugo started to talk.

"Goku, has anyone ever made you do something that you didn't want to do? Like, threaten you to do it?"

Goku stopped moving the pieces and stared at him for a moment before laughing. As he finished, he wiped a stray tear away.

"Oh please! I will never let anyone control me! I live for myself, remember?"

Hokugo looked at Goku for a moment before staring at his own hands.

"Well, where do you gain the courage to do that sort of thing?"

Goku blinked, confused. "What do you mean? You don't gain the courage. You figure out how much you want to live."

It was weird. For Goku, he had fond memories of Sanzo. He was the one that had saved him from his prison after all. However, there was one memory that especially sang out in his memory while he was in this place for some reason.

Goku stared up at Sanzo while they walked. They had been traveling for days, looking for this demon killer called Cho Gono. Goku did not know much about this case and decided it was probably for the best that he did not ask. After hours of walking, Goku plopped down on the ground and let out a groan.

"Sanzo, I'm too tired to walk anymore! Can't we take a break? I'm so tired!"

"No you stupid monkey. Now get up and move your ass."

"Aw, come on Sanzo! Can we PLEASE take a break?"

"If you want to take a break, stay here for all I care. I'll keep going by myself."

Before Goku could argue, Sanzo had walked away, leaving Goku alone in the middle of the forest. Goku sighed and sat down on a rock to relax. He stared up at the sun through the trees and loved how the leaves glittered with dew. He closed his eyes and listened to the breeze move the plants. As the sunset and it got darker, he was somewhat surprised that Sanzo had not come back. He sat up, discouraged, and was about to head after him when there was a rustling in a nearby bush. As Goku got up and got out his Nyoibou, he stopped when he saw the pile of blond hair. Setting his weapon down, he watched as Sanzo walked out of the trees. Before he had the chance to talk, Sanzo threw something red in his direction. Goku caught it and looked down to see it was an apple. He looked up at Sanzo, confused.

"Shut up and eat. And you better enjoy it dammit; it took a long time to find these damn things."

Goku gave Sanzo a small smile. "Thanks Sanzo."

"Whatever."

Hearing Goku talk to Hokugo in the next room over, Gojyo sat up wearily, rubbing his eyes. He crawled out of bed and quietly tiptoed out of his room down to the kitchen. He looked around before seeing a beer. Grinning, he opened it and took a big chug. As he drank steadily, he heard noises coming from upstairs. Cautious, he took out his shakujo and climbed up the stairs yet again, pissed off that he had to leave his beer behind. He turned his head and walked into a dark room, noticing an eerie glow from it as he walked closer. When he entered the room, he gasped. It was a giant apple, glowing and pulsating. Just as he was about to turn around and warn the others, he felt something hit him in the back of the head. Before he blacked out entirely, he saw the faint outline of Hokugo.

"Damn little brat…"

"Who the hell do you think you are, bringing those evil red fruit into my house? I wish you would die, you nasty cursed child!"

Gojyo could feel the fists of his mother pounding against his head repeatedly. His only hope was that he would be able to pass out soon.

Though he couldn't see straight, he could hear Jien's voice screaming out.

"Mom, stop hurting him! It's alright, just stop hurting him!"

Gojyo could feel his mother's grip loosening and he fell to the floor in a pile. Jien led their mother out of the room, her small form shaking heavily and sobbing. As he heard the door close, he gripped his head and started to let the tears fall onto his cheeks. It seemed like hours before Jien came back, looking down at his poor brother. He bent down and picked up an apple, staring at it intently.

"Brother, what's so bad about apples? And why does mommy hate me?"

Jien looked down at Gojyo, who was looking up at him with wide crimson eyes. He smiled sadly and patted him gently on the shoulder.

"There's nothing bad about apples. And mommy doesn't hate you."

Jien knew he was being much too kind to his brother, but he thought that he deserved some kindness before Gojyo entered the real world and learned about what he really was. A taboo child to be shunned away from the world.

He sat down with Gojyo and took a large bite from the apple.

"You know, these things aren't half bad."

Gojyo smiled happily and gave a small laugh.

"Yeah, I know. I just brought these to stop mommy from crying all the time. Maybe try and get her to like me a little bit more."

Gojyo could feel himself stirring from the blow to the head. He opened his eyes immediately and looked before him. He was shackled to the wall, along with the limp bodies of Goku, Sanzo, and Hakkai. He glared angrily ahead of him and saw Hokugo chanting in front of the giant apple, the apple growing in proportion each minute. He pulled against the chains angrily.

"What the hell are you doing Hokugo?"

"I'm sorry Gojyo, I really am. Nevertheless, I want to live. And the only way I'll live is if you four die."

As he said this, Gojyo could hear Goku's voice.

"Where am I…?"

To try to wake Sanzo up, Gojyo spit in his face. Sanzo quickly woke up and glared at him.

"What the hell are you doing? Do you want me to kill you?"

He blinked and looked around. Turning back to Gojyo, he twitched.

"I don't like this…"

Goku was now fully awake, and kicking.

"What the hell Hokugo? Didn't we just talk about this? Just figure out how much you want to live and you'll be fine!"

Hokugo covered his face with his hand and sobbed. "I can't. I just CAN'T Goku. Homura made me…"

Sanzo looked up at Hokugo. "Homura?"

Hokugo hiccuped and nodded. "Yes. Homura hired me to kill you." Shaking his head, he glared, tears running down his face. "I don't want to do it, but I don't have any choice left!" He closed his eyes and started to chant the apple growing with each word from the sutra spilling from his mouth.

"Hokugo! You always have more than one choice! If you want to live, then live! If you want to die, then die!" The rest of the Sanzo-ikkou turned and looked at Hakkai, who had finally awakened.

Hokugo shook his head fiercely, continuing the sutra. The apple suddenly exploded and the entire Sanzo-ikkou was covered in bits of apple. Goku started to try to reach for some of it, to eat naturally, when it started to sink into his skin. He grit his teeth and watched as the apple pieces sank into his veins. He turned to the rest of the group and saw that the exact same thing was happening to them. Knowing that there was no choice, he shook his body and let the Nyoibou shake from its sling.

"Extend!" The Nyoibou extended and smashed against his power limiter, which broke into many pieces. The rest of the group gasped as the transformation from Son Goku to Seitan Taisen began. The others struggled against their chains and Seitan let out a yowl, breaking free from the chains. Mercilessly, he lunged towards Hokugo, thrusting a clawed hand towards him. Hokugo let out a shout and he was slashed across the stomach. He fell backwards into the wall and there was a loud, sickening crack, indicating broken bones. Seitan hovered above him and without a single word, drove his hand into Hokugo's torso. Hokugo coughed out blood and twitched gently. Driving his hand through the corpse of the now dead Hokugo, Seitan picked it up and threw it into the demonic apple. He moved his sights towards the Sanzo-ikkou and carefully moved near them. Without a warning, however, the Manten Scripture erupted from Sanzo's shoulders and wrapped around Seitan. Sanzo looked over at Gojyo and then at Hakkai.

"Unless we have an extra coronet to put on his head, I don't know how to stop him."

As if answering his prayers, a great beam of light burst through the ceiling and a coronet slowly dropped around Seitan's forehead. He transformed back into Goku and fell to the ground. The beam of light stayed bright, however.

"Wow, you people get into trouble so easily, don't you?"

"Damn it Kanzeon, leave us alone."

"Alright, alright. Just don't expect another coronet. They're expensive."

The beam of light vanished and Gojyo growled in the back of his throat. Hakkai, curious, looked over at him.

"What's wrong Gojyo?"

Gojyo sighed heavily. "Unless you guys didn't notice, we're still shackled to the wall."

There was a collective silence between the three conscious men before they said in unison, "Shit."

When Goku woke up, he saw that Sanzo and the others were still shackled to the wall. Feeling bad, he went over to them and broke the shackles. Gojyo swiftly punched Goku in the back of the head.

"What was that for you stupid water sprite?"

"You idiot! What the hell did you take off your power limiter for?"

"So I'd be able to save your sorry asses!"

Sanzo smacked Goku in the back of the head with his harisen, and just as Goku was about to yell at him, Sanzo patted him on the head.

"Come on guys, let's go get some breakfast."

"How about some apples?"

The group looked at each other and smiled.

"Apples sound good."

END

A/N: Yeah, some of these one shots have cheesy endings. Nevertheless, I like them, so…yeah. XD I have no clue where I got the idea for this story by the way.