Disclaimer- I do not own Saiyuki. They would be unsafe in my hands… ;)
Love Despite…
Being a mere human in a group composed of youkai, Sanzo had always been assumed the weakest. And it was correct, he was the weakest- until he drew his gun or the enemy pissed him off royally. Yet while he was dangerous with a revolver in his hand, he was defenseless without it. And that pissed him off more than any enemy taunting. He was constantly being protected by Hakkai, or Goku, or Hakkai…. Mostly Hakkai. It was constant. Nearly every battle, soon after the start he found himself under Hakkai's shield, just saved from an arrow in the back or a cleave to the head. He wasn't asking the youkai to protect him. The brunette volunteered, cheerfully smiling as he told Sanzo to be more careful.
It pissed him off.
He was Genjo Sanzo. He shouldn't need any protection. His gun was deadly, yet there were the few precious moments of exposure while he reloaded that Hakkai always seemed to catch. And then there he was, hands up with a shield over them both, grinning that annoying smirk.
"My, my, Sanzo. You need to be more careful."
It was almost as if he enjoyed it.
The monk slumped down in the passenger seat of the jeep, glaring at the driver out of the corner of his eye. He probably did enjoy putting the high and mighty Sanzo in his place, reminding him that he was only human. Then again, nobody could read Hakkai. Who knew what the youkai was thinking?
The vehicle jerked along, running over the bumpy forest trail with little difficulty. They had ridden worse, and Hakuryu was in a cheerful mood. Gojyo and Goku were arguing as usual in the back, and Hakkai smiled brightly while keeping his eye on the road and the rearview mirror. Sanzo suppressed a sigh. Making sure the two idiots weren't killing each other, most likely. Hakkai worried like that. It was his nature. He never thought about himself, instead he always had a mind for someone else.
That pissed him off too.
If Hakkai was a little more selfish, like the water sprite, or maybe loud like the monkey, he wouldn't have seemed so annoying to Sanzo. Recently, however, his presence had become nearly maddening. Sanzo couldn't finger why, after all the journey, Hakkai had now become unnerving. The fact was that he had. And it pissed Sanzo off.
A crackling noise to his left caught his attention, pulling his reluctantly from his thoughts. Sanzo straightened in the seat, and looked at the passing trees.
"Is something wrong Sanzo?" Hakkai's voice broke the front seat's silence.
"Something's out there," the blonde drew his weapon and loaded it, keeping an eye on the bushes flying past. It would be the fifth battle since they had entered the forest two days ago. The youkai in this land did not give in easily. And they were not like the weak minions Kou Gaiji had been sending recently. They were strong. Strong enough to wound three of them in one battle. All except Sanzo, who had been under Hakkai's protection. Bastard.
Sanzo cocked the small gun, keeping it trained on the woods to his left. Goku and Gojyo had fallen silent, each with a weapon in hand. They knew these forest youkai were not to be taken lightly, and they were ready to fight. Gojyo was still smarting from a knock to the gut the last battle, and Goku was still bleeding from various minor cuts.
Hakuryu cheeped sharply, making the jeep shudder. Sanzo gripped the dashboard and grunted, as several figures leaped from the trees. They landed in front of the jeep, and one dropped from above into the backseat. Goku yelped once and smacked out with his weapon.
Hakkai spun the jeep, throwing the enemy out of the back, and nearly tossing Sanzo with him. The blonde yelled in annoyance and grabbed Hakkai's seat. "Sorry, Sanzo," Hakkai murmured, keeping his eyes on the youkai in front of him. The monk scoffed, sitting up straight. None of them moved from the jeep, waiting silently for the enemy to make the first move.
"Genjo Sanzo," the leader stood in front of his group, "Hand over your sutra and we'll consider sparing your lives."
In response, Sanzo shot down one of the youkai beside the leader. The enraged youkai motioned his arm at them, and the small group of forest-dwellers surged forward.
"Hakuryu, transform!" Hakkai ordered, and in a puff of smoke the dragon flitted upwards. Hakkai formed a ball of chi in his hand, ready to attack now that his pet was out of harm's way.
They rushed in hard, swinging axes, swords, and lead bars. Goku and Gojyo stood back to back to make the battle somewhat easier on both of them. Hakkai knew he wouldn't have to watch them. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Sanzo. One shot. Two shots. Three. Four.
At the fifth, Hakkai leapt over his attackers, and placed himself between Sanzo and the enemy. He fluidly knocked two down with his chi, and set up a decent shield with what was left of his energy. The blonde growled his discontent, but Hakkai took no notice. Once Sanzo had reloaded, he lowered the shield and moved behind the monk, feeling slightly woozy.
The brunette shook his head hard, figuring now that he hadn't recovered fully from yesterday's battle. It wouldn't do to pass out in the middle of battle. After the battle he could sleep all he wanted. Now was the time to fight.
A wave of sickness swept over him, forcing him to his knees despite his resolution. "Hakkai!" Sanzo yelled, moving a few steps back to stand over the down youkai. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Sanzo," Hakkai pushed himself into a kneeling position, "I'm just a bit tired…"
Sanzo cursed, and fired at an approaching enemy. Hakkai had been wounded yesterday also. He had nearly forgotten, the other hid it so well.
Sanzo's eye caught a blur of motion behind him, and he cursed again. He spun, but he wasn't fast enough. A lead bar connected solidly with the back of Hakkai's head, letting loose a nauseating crack. The brunette was knocked on his chest from the force of the blow, unconscious.
Enraged, Sanzo shot the enemy three times, making sure he couldn't move at all. Then, he knelt at Hakkai's side. The brunette bled from his head wound, and his face was twisted painfully.
Another youkai leapt at Sanzo, wielding a sword. Sanzo lifted his pistol and fired, taking out that nuisance. As he lowered his gun to return to Hakkai, he felt something crash into the back of his head. Spots flew to his eyes, before his vision faded to black as he slumped down over Hakkai.