."It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." – Bilbo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring

Chapter Two:

Of Vets, Roommates, and Rats

"You stick that damned thing into me, woman, and I'll kill you!" Sanzo snarled as he tried to back away from the approaching vet tech, who looked incredibly nervous at the thought of confronting the irate dog. Kit was probably the only thing still keeping him on the metal examination table, with the help of the vet himself, as the two held the large dog down.

Surprisingly, neither of them had been bitten yet, a fact for which they were both incredibly thankful.

"Miss, how long have you had this animal again?" the vet wheezed as he hooked his arm underneath Sanzo's neck, effectively restraining the priest, before he looked over his shoulder and shouted at the other vet tech watching the scene warily. "Bring me a muzzle and some more sedatives!"

The poor hapless high-school student nodded before he bolted out the door into the back, presumably to fetch the items requested. Although, he could have just been running away from the chaos of the examining room too.

"I kind of hit him on the freeway on my way home from work!" Kit admitted as she grabbed Sanzo and wrapped her hand around his muzzle, holding it shut to prevent the dog from snapping at her, or letting out any more ear-shattering barks. "All I did was knock him out for a while, but I just want to make sure that I didn't hurt him!"

The female vet tech took that opportunity to dart forward and insert the syringe into the vein on the collie's right front leg, injecting the small amount of sedative that was supposed to have been used so that the vet peacefully could examine the animal to make sure there were no internal injuries. Now they were just using the drugs to keep Sanzo from going ballistic on the examining table.

"Got him!" the girl called out as she backed away. Sanzo felt a low, angry growl rumble up from the depths of his chest as he directed his irate gaze onto the vet tech, trying to fight off the effects of the tranquilizer that was already starting to worm its way through his system.

"I'll kill you all," he threatened as he struggled against the two adults trying to hold him down, although not as violently as he had earlier. Already the tranquilizer was starting to do its dirty work, and within a minute he was sitting dazedly on the examination table, slowly blinking through the thick fog that seemed to envelop his brain. Kit stared at him in surprise before she slowly let go of the massive dog, and was relieved to see him do absolutely nothing.

The vet decided that it was probably best to err on the side of caution, and so maintained his grip on Sanzo's ruff.

"Damn them."

It was at that moment that the other vet tech finally chose to come back with the muzzle and additional sedative, and was rewarded with a supremely dirty look from the vet as he took the items from the younger man.

"Next time, James, bring them here a little faster," the vet, Dr. Gibson, muttered as he measured out the appropriate dose for a dog of Sanzo's size, and injected it into the priest's bloodstream. Once the tranquilizers had completely gone into effect, the irate collie merely lay stretched out on the examination table, dozing peacefully, and James the vet tech was able to slip on and fasten the muzzle without being bitten.

"Well now, I can't say that wasn't interesting," Dr. Gibson said as he ran a hand through his black hair, looking slightly rattled from his experience. "I've never seen a dog fight back like that before, even an injured one."

"Maybe he's just really freaked out?" Kit suggested offhandedly, and received a wry snort in response as the veterinarian began his examination.

"Yes, well pain and stress do make our bodies do incredible things," the man stated before he looked over his shoulder at the young woman and gave her a somewhat patronizing smile before he sobered up a bit. "However, Miss Fargo, I believe that pain was the major factor for your dog's reaction. After all, animals are the most dangerous when they're either cornered, injured, or protecting their young. You were incredibly lucky that he didn't bite you earlier when you transported him here in your vehicle."

The brunette arched an eyebrow slightly at the man's lofty tone before she let out a sigh and shook her head. She didn't need for some guy to get all preachy on her just because she did what she thought was the right thing. Yes, it had been risky, but nothing bad had happened, so why make a big deal over the past?

Kit stood by the examination table for a few more minutes, watching Dr. Gibson as he examined the massive collie, before she let out a low sigh and sat down on the chair in the corner of the room. The young woman crossed her legs underneath her mid-calf-length denim skirt as she leaned back in the chair, fighting back the urge to start tapping her foot nervously. Waiting had never been one of her strong points, especially after dealing with something that had gotten her all riled up.

'Damn adrenalin, making me all twitchy,' she grumbled softly as she leaned forward and propped her head up with her hand, her elbow resting loosely on the top of her leg. After a few more minutes of watching the vet do his work, the twenty-one-year old sighed as she straightened up in her seat and looked down at her watch, frowning slightly when she saw what time it was.

Kit gave a mental shrug as she decided to wait a little bit longer, tapping her fingers softly against her thigh as she settled back into her chair. She wished that she'd thought to bring her sketchpad with her so she'd at least have something to do while she was waiting. As soon as she had finished that thought, Dr. Gibson turned around and looked at her, a slight smile crossing over his features as he stepped away from the examination table.

"Well, the good news is that the dog appears no worse for the wear from your little accident, just a few cuts and bruises," he stated calmly before his expression sobered up a bit. "However, I was unable to find a microchip in his shoulder like there should have been for a dog like that." At Kit's confused frown, he elaborated on the comment. "You see, that dog looks like he's a purebred, and so most breeders take the precaution of microchipping their dogs when they're still puppies so they can identify them if they're stolen, or if they're being shown."

"Oh," the young woman muttered as she stood up and looked down at the collie, who was still out cold on the examining table. "So, what's going to happen to him?"

"Hmmm… well, unfortunately, judging from the level of aggression that he's shown, I don't think that it would be advisable to keep him here in the clinic, since he would probably get into fights with the other animals. Also, we just simply don't have the room here to house a dog of his size," the vet admitted as he removed his glasses and started cleaning them on his shirt. "I'm afraid that he'll probably get sent to the pound tomorrow morning, and if his owners haven't been found within the next two weeks, he'll be… put to sleep."

"What?!"

"Although, considering how aggressive he is, they might not even wait that long. They'll probably put him down within the next three to five days, rather than wait for an accident to happen," Dr. Gibson stated as he looked down at the slowly stirring dog. Kit felt her heart plummet down into the very pit of her stomach as she glanced over at the collie before she fixed the vet with a serious look.

"So… what if I take him?" she asked, and was rewarded with an incredulous look from the older man.

"Why would you want… a dog like that? He's hardly what I would call the ideal house pet," Dr. Gibson remarked dryly as he arched an eyebrow. "Besides, shouldn't you ask your parents first before making a decision like this, young lady?"

"I'm twenty-one, and I have my own apartment," Kit stated flatly before she flashed a confident grin at the veterinarian. "I think I'll be okay."

Dr. Gibson opened him mouth to reply, only to stop when Sanzo unsteadily struggled to his feet. The vet seemed suddenly to change his mind about what he was going to say, and looked over his shoulder at James, who was waiting nervously by the back door.

"James, why don't you go and get this young lady a leash and a collar for her dog?" he suggested, not wanting to have another round with the patient from hell. "And if you'll wait here for a few minutes, Miss Fargo, I'll be back with your bill."

Kit arched an eyebrow as the two men both vanished into the back area, before she let out a sigh and shook her head, chuckling slightly under her breath as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked over at Sanzo.

"I think you scared them," she said with a laugh as she reached out and undid the muzzle from around his snout, setting it down on the counter behind her before she started to scratch the dog behind the ears. He stared at her blearily for a few moments before he started to lean into the attention, and then promptly stiffened up under her fingers as he realized just what exactly the young woman was doing.

Kit shot the dog an odd look as she gave a wry snort, a slight smile twitching about her lips.

"And what's got you so spooked?"

"I realized just exactly what the hell you were doing," the priest grumbled as he shook his head, trying to clear the fog from his mind that the tranquilizers had left behind. "Those bastards are going to pay for pumping that crap into me, if I ever get the chance that is. And besides, there is no way in hell that I'm gonna be some brat's pet."

Not surprisingly, the young woman didn't even hear a single word of Sanzo's mutterings, giving him cause to let out a loud huff of annoyance as he sat back down on the examining table. Instead, she started petting him again, and this time Sanzo decided that it wasn't worth the aggravation to jerk away from her yet again. The girl thought that he was nothing more than a dumb mutt, and there was nothing he could do at the moment to change that.

"Well, once they get back with the bill and stuff, and I get that all taken care of, I'll get to take you home," Kit said before a large grin crossed her face, and she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her denim jacket as a thoughtful look entered her eyes. "I can't believe that I'm getting my own dog. Now granted, I kind of hit you on the freeway, but still…"

"Buddha save me," Sanzo groaned as he flopped down onto his stomach and rolled his eyes upwards. "I'm doomed."

It was at that moment that Dr. Gibson returned with the vet bill in hand, as well as a cheap fabric collar and leash, both of which he handed to Kit before he cast a cursory glance over at Sanzo, who glared at him darkly in response. The vet swallowed nervously when he caught sight of what he could have sworn was a very human look of loathing in the dog's odd violet eyes; he immediately shoved it off, telling himself that he was just tired.

"You know, Miss Fargo, you don't have to do this," he suggested warily as Kit signed the bill, a slight frown on his face. "It would probably be best if this animal was destroyed, seeing as he's so aggressive. Not to mention the fact that he could very easily hurt you since he's so large."

Sanzo froze at the word 'destroyed', as did Kit, and he noticed the sudden tension coming off of the young woman as her fingers slowly tightened their grip on his fur. The veterinarian continued speaking, completely oblivious to their reactions.

"Actually, if you really want a dog, there are plenty up for adoption at the Humane Society that would probably be better suited for you."

"But I want this one," the twenty-one-year old said seriously, determination flickering in her blue eyes as she stared steadily at Dr. Gibson before she thrust the signed receipt at him. "And anyways, he's actually been really calm since he woke up. I just think that he was stressed out or something from what happened earlier, and now he's had a chance to calm down."

Having said her piece, Kit took the black nylon collar and fastened it around Sanzo's neck with a sharp, precise 'snap', before attaching the leash to the collar. The priest didn't even wait for her to indicate that he needed to get off the table as he hopped off, and then went to patiently wait right at the young woman's side as she opened the door that lead out into the lobby.

If he had to pretend to be a dumb and loyal mutt just to get the hell out of this place, he was more than willing to sacrifice a bit of his pride to do so.

"Ah… Miss Fargo?" Dr. Gibson called out right before they reached the front door, causing Sanzo to curse colorfully as the young woman stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him.

"Yeah?"

"You might want to think about getting him neutered at some point in the future, at least to curtail some of his more aggressive tendencies."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind," she said as she headed pushed the front door open, before she muttered under her breath, "On a list if things not to do."

"Neuter me?! I don't fucking think so! I'd like to see you try, you bastard," Sanzo growled angrily. And what aggressive tendencies?! The only thing he had done was try to get the hell out of this stupid place. The priest continued to mutter threats under his breath as Kit finally started walking again when he noticed the vet still watching them, and proceeded to give the man a smug look from over his shoulder as he followed Kit out the front door. The dumbfounded expression on the veterinarian's face was all the payback he needed as he left… well, not all, but it was good enough for the time being.

The two crossed the dimly-lit parking lot to Kit's dark green Silverado, and once she had unlocked the front door, Sanzo immediately jumped up onto the seat and went over onto the passenger seat, where he sat down.

"So, I take it that you're used to riding up front, huh?" Kit said with a chuckle as she got into her own seat and closed the door, hitting the lock button as soon as she did so.

"You got that one right. And don't think that you can just shove me in the back if you don't like it."

The young woman let out a shaky sigh as she looked up at the vet's office before she glanced back over at the large dog sitting next to her, a slight grin twitching about her lips.

"Somehow, I don't think we're coming back here," she remarked wryly as she rolled her eyes upwards. "That poor man would probably wet himself if he saw you walk back in that door."

Sanzo gave a derisive snort as he looked out the side window, while the twenty-one-year old fastened her seatbelt before she started up her truck and headed back out onto the main road. As she drove, Kit started fiddling around with her CD player, while the monk-turned-dog sat in the passenger seat and watched the scenery flash by intently. He could tell that he was in a city of some kind, but where he had no clue. He had never seen so many people driving cars before in his life, not to mention all of the shops and restaurants lining the sides of the road.

"Let's see… you'll need a real leash and collar, since those ones are pretty crappy, food, a brush, and it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get some shampoo since you're pretty dirty," Kit said suddenly, interrupting Sanzo's line of thought, and giving him cause to let out a low growl of irritation as he glared at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I am not dirty!" he protested, and scowled when his words came out as nothing more than a sharp bark. He was never going to get used to this. "Dammit!"

Kit looked over at him and arched an eyebrow as she paused at a stoplight, and promptly reached over and pulled out a large burr clinging to his front leg before rolling down her window and throwing it outside. The young woman ignored the dirty look that the priest shot at her as she rolled her window back up and returned her attention back to the road in front of her just as the light turned green.

"Yeah, you definitely need a bath," she muttered as she slowly pressed down on the gas, accelerating as she headed towards the next light before she flicked her turn signal on, and headed over into the left turn lane. "But I'll have to do it tomorrow after work, since I'm too damn tired tonight. I'll find an old brush or something and brush you out tonight before I go to bed so I can get rid of all of those damn burrs, but I'll have to take care of the rest tomorrow."

Sanzo just glared at her before he returned his attention back to the window, trying unsuccessfully to place where he was. The sooner he could figure out just what the hell was going on, the sooner he could leave and avoid ending up as some domesticated house pet.

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"I'm back!" Kit called out as she opened up the front door to her apartment and let Sanzo follow her inside before she closed and locked it behind her. Upon hearing no response, the young woman shrugged as she headed towards her bedroom, going past the small kitchenette and bathroom in the process, before she dumped her laptop bag and sketchbook just inside her door.

"Hey Alice, are you even here?" she asked as she headed back out into the living room, with Sanzo trailing behind her. The young woman cast a glance over at the other bedroom that was on the opposite end of the apartment from hers, and gave a slightly wry sigh when she caught sight of the flashing lights underneath the door, indicating that the occupant was probably watching a movie of some kind. "I guess you are."

Kit hesitated at the other door for a few seconds before she reached out and rapped sharply on the wooden surface. There was a loud groan of annoyance from inside the room as the sounds of someone being horribly maimed were suddenly cut off, and a female voice called out "You can come in."

The twenty-one-year old opened the door and stepped into the room, with Sanzo hesitating for a few seconds before he trailed reluctantly after her, taking great pains to stay behind the young woman. Something about this room gave him the creeps, and that was a hard thing to do.

"Hey, you're back," the blonde woman seated on a bed in front of a small television said offhandedly as she continued to type on her laptop resting awkwardly on her crossed legs. "So, what happened to the mutt that you almost turned into road pizza?"

Kit blanched at the description, and Sanzo felt his hackles rise immediately at the woman's blunt tone, as well as the 'mutt' label. He didn't even know this woman, and already he didn't like her.

"Well… I didn't run him over; I just stunned him," Kit said with a nervous laugh as she gripped the leash she still held in her hands tighter. "But anyway, the vet checked him out, so he's okay, except for a few bumps and bruises, but…"

"But what?"

The young woman hesitated for a few seconds before she responded, and Sanzo could tell that she wasn't entirely comfortable with the situation. On an impulse, he came and sat down right next to her, leaning up against her leg slightly. The tension drained from her body almost immediately as she reached down and slowly started to scratch behind his ears again.

"He doesn't have a collar, tags, a microchip, or anything, and the vet said that if nobody came in to claim him within the next three days… they'd put him to sleep. So I kind of brought him home with me…"

It was at that point that Alice actually bothered to turn around and face her roommate, and jumped when she caught sight of the dog sitting next to the other woman. She was wearing mostly black clothing, and she had on an obscene amount of black eyeliner on, as well as a black choker with some sort of charm hanging from it.

"Holy shit!" she yelped as she shoved the laptop off of her lap and onto the bed. "Oh no, you are not bringing a dog in here. There is no way that thing's staying here!"

"Oi, I am not a thing," Sanzo grumbled in protest as he fixed the blonde with a piercing glare. "And I'm right here."

"You have a rat. Why can't I have a dog?" Kit pointed out quietly as she indicated over at a large metal cage that lay just a few feet away from the door. The priest cast a glance over at the cage and wrinkled his nose in distaste when he caught sight of what looked like an oversized black bean that squeaked and had whiskers inside. If that thing was a rat, then it was the ugliest damn rat he had ever seen.

"One: Blair isn't a rat, he's a guinea pig. Two: That… gigantic thing might eat Blair, and that's not gonna happen," Alice said with a scowl as she stood up and stalked over towards Kit, her green eyes narrowed slightly, before a triumphant smirk crossed her face as she leaned forward into the other woman's face and planted her hands on her hips. "Three: I'm older than you, so you have to listen to what I say."

Sanzo was barely able to bite back the low growl that almost rumbled up from his throat as he glared daggers at the woman. Something about her just rubbed him the wrong way… oh how he wished for his banishing gun; the bitch would shut up pretty fast if he had that out and aimed at her. The priest smirked inwardly at the thought before he looked up at one of the many posters adorning the walls of Alice's room, and immediately froze at the sight.

There was no way…

"Four: I pay more than half the rent, and the apartment allows dogs," Kit shot back as she took a step backwards to distance herself from Alice's sudden invasion of her space. "Five: I don't even think that he'd want to put that obese lima bean of a rat in his mouth, much less his stomach. Six: You're not my mom, and you're not my sister, so you don't have any right to tell me what I can and can't do. End of discussion."

"No, not end of discussion," Alice snapped as she straightened up, her mouth twisting into a scowl. "I live here too, so I have a say in what the hell's going on!"

"All I did was get a dog! You keep complaining about how I need a pet or something!"

"No, you brought back some obscenity to the canine kingdom that will devour my guinea pig as soon as it looks at him! When I suggested you getting a dog, I was talking about one of those cute little Yorkies or a poodle… something you could carry around in a purse. Not this… this thing that looks like its part horse!"

"Alice, he's a collie; they're supposed to be kind of big," Kit stated shortly as she ran a hand through her bangs before a frown crossed her face. "Besides, you suggested the kinds of dogs that you would like, so you could buy those stupid little sweaters and put them on the dogs while you waltz around the campus looking like Paris freaking Hilton with that poor dog hanging out of the purse. Sorry, not gonna happen."

Sanzo glanced over his shoulder at Alice in disgust before he returned to glaring at the poster that had gotten his attention. It was of him, Hakkai, Goku, and Gojyo all standing up on the steps of some temple, and he was trying to figure out just how in the hell the woman, who he was now quite certain was insane, got a hold of something like this. There was also another poster not too far away from it that showed him using the Maten Sutra, with some writing printed below the picture that he couldn't quite make out.

The rest of the posters in Alice's room seemed to be dedicated to various horror movies, as well as a few more posters with different anime on them thrown into the mix.

"I can't believe this," he groused as he glowered at the two posters in particular, fighting the urge to take a snap at the gothic blonde currently berating Kit. "They've started selling fucking merchandise of us. And this… nitwit has them. It has to be official now; I've died and gone to hell."

Just as the priest was about to continue venting along this vein, he was snapped out of his one-sided complaining by Alice's indignant shriek of "You wouldn't dare!!"

"Merciful Goddess, woman! Could you have said that any louder?!" Sanzo snarled as he felt his ears flatten instinctively against his skull to protect them from the high-pitched sound, only to have the blonde suddenly lash out and slap him right on the snout. The priest-turned dog couldn't help himself; he let out a yelp of pain before he suddenly started sneezing. It took everything he had not to start pawing unsuccessfully at his nose in an attempt to ease the stinging pain.

"Don't you growl at me!" Alice snapped as she glared at the dog, only to have Kit suddenly step in front of her, her blue eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Alice, don't you ever do that again," she stated coldly. "I'm keeping him, and that's final. If you don't like it, then you can move out."

"But-"

"Look, I'm tired of you dictating what I can and can't do just because you're four years older than me. You're still in college, while I actually have a job, and whether or not I want to have a dog is not really any of your damn business. End of discussion."

At that final statement, Kit turned around and stalked out of the room, her entire frame rigid from anger as Sanzo trailed after her, not wanting to fight against the leash. Any and all thoughts of him attempting to retain at least some dignity had been thrown out the window the moment he had yelped; the gods must enjoy making his life a living hell.

The moment Kit entered her room and closed the door behind her, she collapsed against the wall and slid down to the floor, her eyes wide and her face devoid of any natural color.

"I can't believe I just did that," she whispered shakily before she let out a frustrated groan and let her head rest against the wall. "What the hell was I thinking, doing something like that? I should have just kept you in my room and waited until like a week later or something before I told her I got a dog…"

Sanzo stared at the young woman curiously as he approached her slowly, wondering just what exactly she was talking about. Kit fell silent as she watched him before she reached out and removed the leash, leaving the collar still fastened around his neck.

"Alice is such a hypocrite," the twenty-one-year old finally said as she slowly began to wrap the leash around her hand, a worried frown crossing her face as she stared intently at her hands. "She keeps telling me that I need to have a pet or something, but whenever I actually take her up on that advice, she goes ballistic. Last year, when I got a hamster, I ended up having to give it to one of my cousins because she threatened to throw it out in the alley. Apparently it made too much noise with its wheel at night or something like that. But, if I don't do something how she wants it, then that automatically gives her the right to try and boss me around so she can get what she wants."

Kit stared at Sanzo for a few seconds before she reached out and started petting him again, forcing out a slight chuckle as she did so.

"Well, Sarah always did say that she was insane," she quipped as she shook her head. "At least when she was here, she could keep Alice in line and tell her when to get over herself. I knew I should have taken her up on her offer to bunk with her over the summer until I could find my own apartment. But no, I had to be stupid and show that I could cope with the psychotic pain in the ass until the end of the year."

"And why would anyone willingly share space with that colossal waste of oxygen?" Sanzo wondered as he cast a precautionary glance over at the door, his hackles automatically rising at the thought of how the gothic woman had treated him. Maybe he should eat her guinea pig just to spite her… or at least dispose of the creature properly, like toss it out into the closest trash can. Just remembering the stench wafting from the cage made his eyes water, so it would definitely be an improvement if he removed the source of the smell.

"I am such an idiot sometimes," Kit muttered as she pulled her scrunchie out of her hair, letting the somewhat long brown strands tumble loosely across her back, before she ran a hand through her hair. "But you know what? It's over and done with now, so worrying about it isn't going to help things. What's done is done and all that rot."

With that statement, the young woman slowly got to her feet and stretched, arching her back slightly as she held her arms stiffly up over her head, before her back popped, and she let out a slight noise of satisfaction before she dropped the pose. Now feeling somewhat less stressed, Kit kicked off her shoes and left them by her bed as she grabbed her pajamas off of the chair by her desk where they had been tossed that morning. Humming a jaunty tune under her breath, she left the room and headed into the bathroom next door, looking forward to a nice, hot shower.

"Talk about a complete emotional about-face," Sanzo muttered dryly as he stared at the door to the bedroom, silently wondering if the woman was PMSing. "Wonderful, I'm a mutt, no one understands what the hell I'm saying, and now I'm stuck in some hellhole with two insane women. The gods must really hate me to pull this kind of crap."

With a loud sigh, the priest flopped down on the floor with his paws crossed in front of him, leaning slightly up against the foot of Kit's bed in the process. There was no way that he'd ever admit it, but right now he was exhausted. Between getting hit with a truck by an incompetent young woman, and getting sedated by the vet, he was completely wiped out.

A low growl of annoyance rumbled from his throat as a lone thought struck him, and he glared daggers at nothing in particular as he fought the urge to let out an impressive stream of curses. Without hands, he couldn't smoke his cigarettes.

Ever.

The priest-turned-dog muttered several incredibly violent threats under his breath as he glowered at the innocent wall in front of him. If looks could kill, then this one would be committing mass genocide at the moment.

Sanzo didn't even notice that he had lifted his lips slightly, baring his teeth as he let out a low growl of anger that slowly rose in volume as he mentally repeated what was quickly becoming his mantra in regards to this entire fiasco; he was going to kill whoever had done this to him, and to hell with the consequences.

Once the man had finished ranting over the unfairness of the universe, he slowly got to his feet, silently cursing his lack of ability for bipedal movement, before he started to explore Kit's room. He wasn't able to get into any of the metal filing drawers on the desk, which looked like a miniature cubicle, complete with the fabric-covered walls on all sides that were almost completely covered with papers. The surface of the desk itself looked as though a gigantic paper bomb had exploded on it, varying from character sketches to junk mail, to bills, with a few cards and letters thrown into the mix for a bit of color as well.

"Hmph, her desk looks worse than mine did after that time Goku decided to 'help' clean it," Sanzo muttered dryly as he padded over to the desk and managed to get up on his back paws, his front paws resting on the top surface as he looked around at the colossal mess scattered across the desk. The only really paper-free spots was a space right in front of the swivel chair that was just the right size for a laptop, and underneath the shelf that held a stereo in the corner of the mini-cubicle, although there were a couple sizeable stacks of CDs occupying the space underneath the metal shelf, as well as a few books and knickknacks.

Just when the priest was about to try and get a better look at the junk covering the desk, he heard the sound of the bathroom door opening and someone approaching the room. Growling a cruse underneath his breath, Sanzo dropped back down on all fours before the bedroom door opened, and Kit walked in with her now-wet hair hanging limply about her shoulders, and clad in a black and gold Colorado Buffalo's football jersey and long black flannel pants with a gold stripe down the sides of the legs as pajamas.

The young woman didn't even glance over in his direction as she went over to her closet and opened it before unceremoniously dumping her dirty clothes into the hamper inside. Sanzo caught sight of what looked like some form of bulky armor piled up next to the clothes hamper before Kit closed her closet door and glanced over her shoulder at him before a slight frown crossed her face.

"Crap, I don't have any dog food," she groaned as she raked a hand through her damp bangs. "Oh well, I guess that I'll just have to give you whatever I'm eating too. At least for tonight… and I'll add dog food on the list of stuff that I'll need to get tomorrow."

Sanzo blinked in surprise before he smirked at the information. At least for today he wouldn't be forced to eat mutt chow, although he'd make sure that whatever crap Kit purchased for him to eat would 'disappear' the moment it arrived. Silently plotting the demise of the currently non-existent kibble, he padded out into the living room and kitchenette after Kit, arching an eyebrow slightly when she opened up the refrigerator and pulled out a large container of some sort of soup.

The young woman didn't pay any attention to the monk's intense stare as she pulled two large ceramic bowls out from one of the cupboards and set them down on the counter next to the tub of soup before she opened a drawer and removed a ladle from it before she started ladling soup into both bowls. Having finished this task, she crouched down in front of one of the cupboards by the sink and grabbed a box from one of the shelves before she straightened up and pulled out a sheet of thin, see-through plastic from the box before she ripped it off at a certain length and placed it over the top of one of the bowls of soup.

"What in the…? What the hell is that?" Sanzo wondered as he stared in confusion at the saran wrap that Kit was using as she repeated the process with the other bowl. His bewilderment only increased further when she opened up the microwave and popped both covered bowls into the device before closing the door and pushing a couple buttons. All of the fur along his back stood straight up when the microwave lit up, and made a low humming noise as the bowls inside started to rotate slowly around in a circle.

Kit noticed his unease when she turned around to look at the dog, and a slight smile crossed her face when she saw him giving the microwave a death glare.

"So you don't like the microwave, huh?" she asked before she started snickering, giving the priest cause to let loose a low growl of irritation, which only made her laugh harder. "Don't worry, it's not gonna bite you or anything."

"No, but I might bite you if you don't stop laughing," Sanzo grumbled venomously as he forced himself to relax, not wanting to give the young woman further excuses for entertainment at his own expense. "Stupid brat."

The monk's dignity took another hit when the microwave let out a loud beep once it was done, and he automatically growled and whirled around to face the device, hackles raised and teeth bared. Kit blinked at his display before she burst out laughing, leaning back against the counter as she held her stomach with one hand, tears streaming from her eyes as she tried to stop laughing.

"Oh my god, I got a dog that's a technophobe!" she snickered, much to Sanzo's chagrin. The priest muttered a curse under his breath as he stalked out of the kitchen, wishing vehemently that he had had his fan, and was more than capable of using it. That brat out in the kitchen would have had the migraine of the century, and the lump to prove it!

Kit sobered up immediately when she saw how the dog reacted to her laughter, and a slight frown crossed her face as she looked over at where the kitchenette connected with the living room. It was almost as though he knew that she was laughing at him… and not to mention the evil glares that he seemed to be able to give at a moment's notice.

'Okay, I am thinking way too much into this,' she realized as she shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts. 'Dog's don't glare, and they can't understand you babbling random crap to them when you're just trying to fill the silence. I'm starting to sound like Alice, forgetting where fantasy ends and reality begins… and if that's not a chilling realization, then I don't know what is.'

The young woman indulged in a slight shudder at the thought before she turned around and reached out to remove one of the bowls from the microwave. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that ceramic heats up faster than soup.

"Shit!" she yelped as she jerked her hand back and started blowing on her scorched fingers in an attempt to cool them down. "Dammit, that's hot!!"

Kit scowled at the bowls before she heard a low snorting sound coming from behind her. The twenty-one-year old turned around and saw Sanzo sitting behind her, with what looked suspiciously like a smirk planted firmly on his muzzle as he let out a huffing sound that sounded suspiciously like laughter.

"Hey, you're laughing at me, aren't you?!" she accused indignantly, and was rewarded with the laughing sound stopping as the priest's smirk widened.

"No, you think?" the 'dog' drawled sarcastically as he got up and padded over to the young woman before he gave her a no-nonsense look. "Now stop babbling and just give me the food, woman."

"…why are you talking to the mutt?"

Kit jerked noticeably as she looked over at the part where the kitchenette area connected with the living room, and stared incredulously over at Alice, who had emerged from the emo cave the she had dubbed her room, before she had the decency to look sheepish.

"Umm… heh heh… no reason…" she stammered lamely, giving the older woman an 'I'm completely innocent and have no clue what you're talking about' smile that would have made even Hakkai envious. "Long day and all… you know what I mean…"

"Yeah, that you've gone absolutely bonkers," the blonde stated simply as she brushed past Kit and Sanzo, before seizing one of the bowls of hot soup, snatching a roll from the bag on the counter, and grabbing a spoon from one of the drawers, before she headed back into her room. "Thanks for heating up some soup for me."

Kit stood there with her mouth hanging open before she shook her head and muttered a curse under her breath, immediately dropping all pretenses of the innocent and naive façade that she had been showing earlier. "Dammit, I hate it when she does that."

Before Sanzo could throw in his own opinion on the matter, he suddenly had a bowl of hot soup placed down on the floor in front of him, the plastic wrap covering the top already removed and being crushed into a compact ball by an annoyed twenty-one-year old as she approached the trash can with what appeared to be deadly intent.

"I'll just make myself another one," she muttered with a sigh. "You probably need the food more than I do right now anyways, since you've been running around loose for who knows how long."

The Sanzo priest blinked in surprise as he watched the young woman return to the counter and make herself another bowl of soup to replace the one her roommate had stolen. This girl was… strange. There was no other way around it. She was just strange, and he had only been around her for a little longer than two hours.

If Hakkai, Gojyo, or Goku were here with him, things would only be worse. As it was, he was already certain that he'd be hard-pressed to live down the humiliation for his current situation.

"The gods must be laughing at me right now," he grumbled as he looked at the soup speculatively. It was some kind of bean soup, with vegetables, and quite a bit of sausage thrown into the mix as well. Sanzo wrinkled his nose slightly before he took a tentative sniff at the food, scowling mentally at the fact that he was practically forced to adopt all of these stupid canine behaviors just to function in a somewhat reasonable manner.

"I don't want to be a damn dog," he growled as he glared daggers down at the soup. Unfortunately, he also knew that he had absolutely no control over the matter. With that thought in mind, Sanzo started eating the soup that Kit had given him, not liking where his silent musings were taking him.

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"Hold still, dammit!!"

"Over my dead body, bitch!!"

"Stupid dog, just stoppitt!"

"Stop yanking on my fur, wench!!!"

"OUCH!! Those nails fucking hurt!!"

Sanzo let out a wordless snarl as he tried to find a way to bolt out from where Kit had cornered him by the toilet, brandishing an old plastic brush. So far, her first attempts at brushing out the snarls and burrs that covered the 'dog' had been met with minimal success, and a good deal of exertion on her part.

Ah, nothing says fun like locking yourself in the bathroom while trying to brush an uncooperative dog and getting scratched up in the process. Especially when said dog weighs at least as much as you do.

Kit shot the collie a dirty look before she flopped down next to the tub and leaned back against it, frowning slightly as she and Sanzo got into a staring contest from their respective corners.

"You… you are a pain in the ass," the young woman said seriously as she pointed the brush meaningfully at the canine, although the slight twitch of her lips indicated that she also found the situation to be somewhat humorous. Sanzo responded with a death glare as he backed up further into the corner by the toilet, silently wishing that he had hands so he could at least open the damn door and make a break for it. Then again, if he were still human, he wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

"So are you."

The young woman let out a long sigh as she relaxed slightly against the tub, seemingly exhausted, before she suddenly lunged forward and tackled Sanzo, pressing herself down on top of him in an attempt to pin him to the tile floor.

"Just. Hold. STILL!!" she bit out as she struggled to get a grip on the collie, and then promptly yelped out a curse when she accidentally smacked her head against the wall.

"Get off of me, bitch!!"

Kit swore colorfully as she finally managed to wrap her hand around the canine's snout, cutting off the deafening barks, before she untangled herself from the awkward position that she had to adopt in order to restrain the struggling dog, and started yanking the brush through the dirty tangles of fur covering Sanzo.

"Now just hold still, and I'll be done faster than if you keep fucking fighting me," Kit growled warningly before she switched her hold to the scruff of his neck, effectively restraining the now-thoroughly pissed-off priest as she started to brush the burrs and tangles from his coat. "I swear, for a big dog you are such a damn baby."

"I am not!" Sanzo snarled as he scrabbled uselessly against the young woman's unyielding grip, his clawed feet unable to gain any form of traction on the tiled floor. "Let go of me, or I'll kill you, you little-!"

Unfortunately, whatever the priest was about to say next was cut off by a sudden indignant yelp as Kit started brushing his tail, and accidentally yanked out a large chunk of matted fur in the process. For the next few minutes Sanzo was rendered incapable of saying anything other than a long, relentless stream of profanities and death threats as Kit finished brushing him, completely oblivious to just how badly she was being insulted.

Once the young woman finally let him go, and opened up the bathroom door, the monk-turned-dog bolted out of the small room and went out into the living room, growling threats the entire way as he left Kit behind to clean up the mess of discarded fur all over the floor. Sanzo didn't even hesitate as he jumped up on the couch and curled up into a ball in the corner farthest away from the hallway where the bathroom was, glaring daggers at the opening just on the off chance that the young woman that was currently the source of his ire would come out after him.

There was no way in hell that he was budging from this spot, no matter who tried to remove him.

"Hey, what the-? Get the hell off the couch, you stupid mutt!!"

Then again, maybe not.

Sanzo leveled a murderous glare up at Alice as he felt a growl automatically rise up in the back of his throat, while the woman's eyes narrowed as she stood there by the couch with a large bowl of popcorn and a DVD case in her hands.

"Make me, bitch."

"Kit, get your fucking mutt out of the living room, and off the couch," Alice shouted out unnecessarily as she set the bowl and the DVD down on the end table by the sofa before picking up a pillow and brandishing it at Sanzo. "Move it, now fur-face."

"Try it and die," the priest growled as he eyeballed the pillow venomously. "I know where you sleep, woman, and I will kill you in your sleep if you even think about hitting me with that thing."

Apparently Alice didn't like his stubborn refusal to move, because she promptly threw the pillow at the priest, and it was only by the fact that he jumped off of the couch the second he saw the woman get ready to throw the pillow that he avoided getting creamed in the face with the surprisingly heavy object. The gothic woman scowled at the dog before she plopped down in the very spot that he had just vacated and started glaring at him just as Kit entered the room, a somewhat bemused look on her face.

"You rang?" she asked dryly, arching a dark eyebrow as she brushed several strands of her dark brown hair out of her face. Alice scowled as she turned around in her seat to face the younger woman, her green eyes narrowing as she adopted a disgusted expression and jabbed a finger over accusingly at Sanzo.

"Keep that stupid thing off of the furniture," she hissed, making the word 'thing' sound like the vilest of profanities, and completely missing the 'screw you' look that Sanzo sent her way before he stalked off down the hallway towards Kit's room. Right now it looked like it was the only place that he would actually get some alone time so he could think things out, and it was probably a hell of a lot more quiet in there than it was going to be out in the living room. Not to mention the fact that there was probably a far less toxic level of stupidity in there was as well.

It didn't take a genius to tell that Alice was deliberately looking to cause trouble where he was involved. Hell, he hadn't even been here that long and already he was having problems with the woman.

"Bitch," he growled darkly as he nudged the door open and entered the darkened room. Without even thinking out it, Sanzo jumped up onto the bed and flopped down on top of the navy comforter covering the sheets, letting out an irritated sigh as he did so.

Right now, all he wanted to do was sleep. Maybe once he did, things would be less deranged, and he'd find out that this whole thing was nothing more than a dream, or a byproduct of too much alcohol consumed in a small space of time.

With that thought, the Sanzo priest sighed again and closed his eyes, silently willing for slumber to take him.

And heaven help anyone foolish enough to disturb his rest.

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Well, here's the second chapter, and now things are starting to get kicked up a notch. Sorry for how long it took me to get this written, but school's been keeping me busy, so it slows down a lot of my stuff.

Yay, and today's Halloween too! So Happy Halloween to all of my reviewers, and thanks for reviewing!! I hope you all get tons of sugar!

Reviews:

Gothic Anime Fairy: Yeah, he is because he's so grouchy… and he's fun to torture, even if one does risk getting shot at for doing something like this. By the way, what is the 10th Kingdom? I don't think that I've heard of it… although it does sound kind of familiar.

Khait Khepri: I'm glad that you like my 'pissy Sanzo collie'. Don't worry though, things are only going to get more insane, and twisted, as time goes on. Heh heh… I torture my characters. Anyways, I like both the anime and the manga, because there's some stuff in the anime that just seems to appeal to me, especially some of the zingers. But hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Patriot16: Sounds good to me. And yes, college students with twitchy writer's fingers rock… I should know since most of my friends all like to do the same thing.

Arugula Pacioli: Thanks. I'm glad that you like it.