Hey fellas! Welcome to my very first Saiyuki fanfic, one which I hope you'll find amusing and entertaining! This first chapter's just basically about the party's normal routine on one of their usual days. Reviews are much appreciated, by the way. XD
Chapter 1
The wheels of a certain green jeep whirred along easily across the sand-covered path, kicking up huge clouds of dust which threatened to envelope its now very irritated and ill-tempered passengers. Save for the driver, of course. There was nothing ill-tempered about him and irritation would be the last word used to describe his air at the moment. An amiable looking chap with green eyes and attire to match, Cho Hakkai was the picture of serenity as he hummed a by-now-stuck-inside-the-heads-of-his-3-friends-much-to-their-dismay tune under his breath while drumming his fingers on the steering wheel along to the beat. His piercing eyes took in the miles and miles of sand dunes stretched out ahead of them as well as the jagged-looking mountains shrouded in mist looming menacingly in the distance. A very challenging route, it would seemed, especially for the driver responsible for navigating their vehicle through the rough terrains and obstacle-loaded roads. But nothing ever ruffled Hakkai's remarkably good temper. Well, nothing except stubborn coffee stains, make-shift ashtrays and the rain which never failed to transform his typical good-natured expression into one of gloom and dread. But for now, in the bright sunshine complete with a pleasant breeze which tugged gently at Hakkai's well-kept brown hair, those haunting memories were locked away in the depths of his mind and his high spirits remain high even as a scuffle, involving a lot of name-calling and head-locking, broke out in the backseat behind him.
The same, however, could not be said for the robe-clad monk beside him, from which a strange grinding sound can be heard, followed by mutterings that sounded suspiciously like "….shut up….. kill….throw your body to dogs…." and more grinding. Genjyo Sanzo clutched his head and stifled a groan at the pounding headache which had stubbornly refused to disappear, despite countless caffeine and nicotine fixes. And two numbskulls in the back acting like the childish immature brats they were was definitely not helping matters either. Goodness knows why he agreed to this seemingly-outrageous mission in the first place. Oh right, maybe it was because he didn't have a CHOICE?? His chain of thought broke off suddenly at a particularly painful throb and he winced involuntarily. Damn, here it goes again.
As the level of noise rose to an intolerable level, his scowl deepened and the inevitable twitching started. 3…..2…..1……Hakkai murmured silently to himself, unable to resist a light chuckle as his practiced eyes noted the tell-tale signs with considerable ease. All of a sudden, the said monk whirled around with admirable speed, whipping out a gun in the process and firing off a shot which whizzed through the one-inch gap between the noses of the two bickering idiots engrossed in their own heated argument. That did the trick alright. The about-to-be-hurled insults died in their throats at the sound of the shot and a stunned silence ensued.
Only to be broken by another infuriating chuckle from the driver's seat. "My, my, Sanzo, it looks like you're on a roll today." An amused laugh. "That's the 23rd time you're fired at them today."
"You hear that, you crazy monk??" The red-haired Gojyo, one of the victims who had escaped death so narrowly once again snapped out of his trance-like state to yell furiously at the gun-owner. "That's the 23rd time you've nearly gotten our heads blown off!"
"More like the 23rd bullet I've wasted on two useless idiots."
"WHY YOU……!!"
"You wanna try that again? I'm not concerned about wasting an additional bullet if it means I won't be seeing your face again for good."
"……"
Goku, the other 'idiot' referred to by Sanzo merely cowered in his corner of the jeep and whimpered softly. He hated it when Sanzo got mad, partly because he preferred to remain in his Sun's good books and partly because it usually meant less food and tolerance for his consistent whining. But mainly because he valued his life and would prefer to remain bullet-free, unlike Gojyo here. He gazed at Sanzo anxiously, only to be rewarded with a harsh "Stop staring at me, you dumb ape." Sighing miserably, Goku reluctantly tore his eyes off Sanzo's smoldering form and turned to look for something to gaze morosely at. There was only the smarting water-kappa and the ever-smiling driver, both of which he had ceased to find amusing after a week on the road. Another sigh.
As Gojyo retreated to his own corner very grudgingly and Sanzo released his death grip on the gun, peace was restored in the jeep again. But for how long, one couldn't really tell, Hakkai reflected. After all these months of traveling together, he still fails to hide his amusement at the predictability of his companions' 'disagreements'. It was always the same, day in day out, an unbreakable routine that had settled comfortably into their daily lives. Gojyo and Goku would launch head first into an argument, which would lead to signs of Sanzo losing it, which would very unwisely go unheeded as the duo continue yelling, which would be promptly followed by Sanzo's very distinct death threats. And if they choose to ignore even that, which accounts for nearly 99 of the time, we then have the all-too-familiar scene of Sanzo exploding like a full-blown volcano, whacking away with his infamous harisan or firing wildly at the speed of 100 bullets per second like it's nobody's business. And THAT would effectively silence them. Except for the few rare occasions where Gojyo would be bold enough to tell Sanzo exactly what he thought of him, in protest of such unfitting punishment for such harmless misbehaviour. This would, of course, only result in the muzzle of a certain gun being pressed firmly against his temple, which had never failed to shut him up. Dim-witted as Gojyo could be at times, he wasn't that stupid to argue with a cocked gun and a very itching finger on the trigger. And thus, harmony would be re-established, and the cycle would repeat itself a few hundred times before the day was out.