--Storm of Regrets--
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Angst, Action, Drama, Humor
Warnings: Violence, Language.
[No yaoi, shounen-ai, in this story.]
Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki. All rights go to Minekura Kazuya.
Summary: When the Sanzo party runs into a little unexpected trouble, will everyone be able to handle the storm, or will they all kill each other before the sun comes up?
A/N: [I just had to rewrite this seeing as it was my first fan fiction story ever, and I really liked the storyline I came up with.] I originally wrote this story in "October 2004" and after writing a few more fanfics and getting pointers from my wonderful reviews, I returned to this fic and decided it needed to be revised and basically rewritten all together. No I'm serious it needed a lot of work. So after some time and effort on my part [and a lot of trying to bear and read through the first version] I finally finished up the first chapter for "Storm of Regrets." So please read it and let me know what you think. The storyline is still the same, wording adjustments have been made, and minor changes and alterations to make the story easier to read and for it to have a better flow. [Also I was way more descriptive on this version then the first one.]
Chapter 1 -- Move Along
A cool breeze washed over Goku's sleeping forum, which was currently sprawled a crossed the back set of their jeep. Slowly opening his eyes, his gaze met that of a stone gray sky, a blanket of dark rain clouds stretched as far as the eye could see, making the sky appear sad and depressing.
Yawning, the young heretic sat up slowly, sighing when his stomach let out a loud rumbling sound. In Goku's opinion the groups breakfast had been to small, which was the cause of his now aching stomach. Thankfully the four had went shopping just before departing the previous city.
Their supplies had dwindled considerable after being on the road for a week straight, and the group had almost died of starvation. Fortunately they had reached a town just before nightfall and was able to acquire a room for the night. Sanzo wasn't particularly happy about the fact that all four of them were required to share a room, but his now full belly helped ease his nerves.
The next morning the Sanzo party was up early preparing to leave. Goku had whined endlessly until Sanzo broke down and agreed to buy him his favorite Takoyaki dumplings(1), topped with okonomiyaki sauce(2), green laver(3), mayonnaise, and katsuobushi(4), which thankfully shut the monkey up. The rest of their food list consisted of Baked Salmon, Naganegi stuffed with crabmeat, Tori kara-age and Rice balls. Random things were also added to their shopping list, but Goku paid no mind to them.
The youth was now drooling, thinking about all the yummy treats which were only an arm length away. Giving into his hunger, Goku reached over, pulling the supply bag to him and began digging though the goodies, successfully retrieving his most coveted Takoyaki dumplings.
Just as the brunette was preparing to open the bag and devour the scrumptious treats, he felt a pull at the food bag and suddenly his Takoyaki was gone. Goku stared for a moment at his now empty hands, before jerking his head up, glaring daggers at the smug Gojyo who sat a crossed from the fuming youth. Gojyo had been watching Goku fantasize about the pile of food they had bought, watching as the thin line of drool slide down the boys face.
"Gojyo, you bastard, what gives?"
The sudden outburst from the back set, caught the attention of the front set occupants, but neither Hakkai or Sanzo said a word.
"What gives?" Gojyo questioned. "I'll tell you what gives. The reason we ran out of food last time was because you snacked the whole ride." Gojyo firmly stuffed the bag of Takoyaki back with the rest of the food. "And by the time the rest of us got a chance to eat, all the food was gone. I'm not letting you gobble down our lifeline this time, you stupid chimp."
Goku watched the rough manner Gojyo was handling his dumplings, and almost lunged at the red-head.
"B-but I'm starving." Goku cried. "I just want a little snack before lunch."
Appointing himself as the temporary food guard, Gojyo shook his head. "Tough luck, Monkey."
Goku gave up the argument and lunged at the food bag, attempting to grab something, anything. Just as the boy moved forward, Gojyo positioned himself in Goku's path causing Goku to bump into him. Bickering erupted from the back seat and it wasn't until Sanzo fired off a few rounds, that things settled down.
"Knock it the fuck off, both of you or I'll put a bullet in your head, and leave you for the vultures" The blonde threatened.
The sleeve of Sanzo's robe was blowing franticly in the wind until he finally lowered his arm. Sanzo turned around to look at Gojyo and Goku, who were now sitting silently with blank looks on both their faces. Satisfied his threat worked, Sanzo repositioned himself in his seat, with his back once again to Goku and Gojyo. Goku stared at the jeeps floor boards for a moment, then looked at the food bag.
"But Sanzo, I'm really hungry" Goku pleaded with his keeper, giving the best puppy eyes he could; even though Sanzo wasn't looking. "That food sucked ass." The boy continued, referring to the breakfast they just recently ate.
Sanzo's brow narrowed even more, until finally Hakkai broke in to lighten the mood.
"Well, we have had better food in the past, but you have to admit it wasn't that bad."
Smiling, Hakkai turned to look at the now sad Goku, and then turned back to the road. "Don't worry, we'll stop for lunch soon, and then you can have all the Takoyaki you want."
"Great, but what about the rest of us." Gojyo spat our sarcastically. He had his sights set on Takoyaki.
Gojyo kicked Goku to get his attention, and all hell broke loose, causing Goku to forget about the food. As both demons fought and argued, Sanzo's patience began wearing thin, he quickly turned around pointing the gun at the red-head and then to the brunette.
"Shut up, I don't want to hear another word from either of you until we get to town. Is that understood?" The ill-tempered blonde threaten, and happily received a nod from Goku, Gojyo on the other hand was not so compliant. When he opened his mouth to speak, Sanzo fired 3 shots in his direction, shutting the red-head up permanently.
Snickering to himself, Goku slouched back in his seat and decided that more sleeping would help stifle his hunger and boredom.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Gojyo was rudely awakened from his sleep as the jeep hit a rough patch in the road. The red-head hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep but now cursed the gods for waking him before they reached the next town.
Sticking his hand in his pocket, he pulled out his pack of cancer sticks. Slipping a smoke between his lips, Gojyo began the search for his trusty lighter. With his lighter in hand he proceeded to light the cigarette only to find that his lighter was out of fuel. Growling under his breath, the half-demon ripped the cigarette from his lips and stuffed it back in the pack with the others.
"-Kai, are we almost there yet?" Gojyo whined as he leaned forward to talk with his green-eyed friend.
Hakkai gave him a friendly smile, but still keeping his eyes glued to the road as he spoke. "We're about thirty minutes away, though I'm afraid we are not going to make it there before the storm begins."
Gojyo sighed while glancing at the sleeping blonde in the front seat.
"Great, so that means the pansy-ass monk is going to be in a worse mood then usual." Sighing, the red-eyed half demon finally returned to his seat, and looked up at the angry sky. The weather had seem to worsen since their departure from the previous town, if that was even possible, and as if on schedule the rain began to fall lightly from the dark clouds, waking the blonde monk.
"Damn it." The blonde hissed in anger. "How much further to the next town?"
"Now Sanzo, calm down. As I just told Gojyo it's probably a thirty minute drive from here. There's nothing we can do about it now, and getting angry won't help the matter." Hakkai was always the voice of reason, even if the others seldom heard what the healer had to say.
As to make matters worse, the moment Sanzo opened his mouth to argue, Hakuryu unexpectedly revered back into his dragon form, leaving the Sanzo party in shambles on the ground below. Finally the rain clouds opened up and unleashed its fury on the unsuspecting travelers. The rain began falling harder and harder until everything on the earth was soaking wet.
'This is not my day.' Sanzo thought to himself as he remained seated on the hard ground.
"What the fuck happened, --Kai?" Gojyo shouted as he took to his feet, now wet and muddy as a result from the water and dirt mixing.
Hakkai smiled wearily, while rubbing his hand though his now wet hair, causing the water to go shooting off in all directions. "Well -- it appears that Hakuryu has been pushed to his limits and needs to rest." The demon made his way over to his pet dragon, picking him up off the ground where he lay, trying to recuperate.
Sanzo moves to take what shelter he can find under a near by tree. "That's just great." The blonde muttered as he pulled his cigarettes from his robes and lit one; slowly taking a drag, and exhaling his troubles away. Gojyo did the same, and silently took a smoke from his pack, moving near Sanzo - who then lit the cigarette without question.
Cradling his pet dragon, Hakkai looked around when he notices a certain someone from their party was missing. "Hey -- guys. Where's Goku?"
After taking a quick glance around and finding nothing, the group, minus Sanzo, begin searching franticly to find the boy. It wasn't until Gojyo shouted "I found him." that the other two demons relax a bit. Hakkai was making his way over to Gojyo when the green-eyed man spotted Goku laying, fettle position, fast asleep in the near by brush.
Hakkai smiled, while Gojyo shuck his head, quickly raising one booted foot and began stomping on the sleeping heretic; while shouting "Wake up you stupid monkey -- wake up."
Goku sat up sleepily, and rubs his eyes. Yawning slightly, he muttered "Hey guys, why are we stopped?"
Gojyo walked away saying something about 'Stupid monkey -- and how could he possibly sleep through that.' while Hakkai just laugh, and helped Goku to his feet, explaining everything that happen while the brunette slept.
Meeting back under the tree, the group still had to decided what to do from this point.
"We're approximately thirty minutes from town, and without a car it's going to take us twice as long." Hakkai said, being the first one to actually voice something on their situation.
Sanzo closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the tree, while listening to what Hakkai had said. Slowly opening his eyes, the blonde let the water that made its way through the branches and leaves fall on his face. He watched a the branches sway with the wind, before turning back to the others.
"Lets go." was all Sanzo said before he pushed off the tree and headed in the direction of the town. The others had to pick up their pace just to keep up with the monk.
The Sanzo party quickly made their way on foot to the nearest town, hoping for a vacant hotel, a hot bath, and a warm bed.
TBC
[1] Takoyaki originated in Osaka, Japan and is literally fried or baked octopus, and is popular Japanese dumpling
[2] Okonomiyaki is pan-fried batter cake.
[3] Green laver or Aonori is a type of edible green seaweed.
[4] Katsuobushi is the Japanese name for a preparation of dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna.
So I hope I did a better job this time, at least I like to think I did. I'm not sure about how many chapters the story will equal out to. I hope you enjoyed reading this, and please review. If you remember the other one, or would like to take a look at the first version to see the changes made, let me know.