Chapter 1

Author: Nimblnymph

Author Notes: -

Chapter 1

Once upon a time, in a small town in the northern area of China, there lived a small boy by the name of Kugo. Actually, he lived on a small hill over looking the town… but he still considered his little place in the world a part of the one below. Kugo was a cheerful child with a perky disposition. He was very strong, kind hearted and insisted on seeing the good in every person, whether they wanted him to or not. He had only two faults though, if they could even be considered faults. One was his unquenchable curiousity. The other was his deep desire for adventure.

Now, these characteristics alone were not at all bad things. However, when combined with Kugo's penchant for getting into trouble (completely not of his own doing, of course), this could be a disastrous thing.

"Wow... Kugo sounds really cool," Goku said in a hushed, awed voice. His arms were folded on the table now, with his head resting on them. He was giving Hakkai round, eager eyes as the excitement of the story began to take over. Gojyo rolled his eyes and rolled back over on the bed so that his back was to the room. Sanzo shook his head, his reflection in the window glass mirroring the action perfectly.

Hakkai smiled, pleased to no end that Goku was not only interested in the 'story' but also completely oblivious to the little joke so far. Now, to get the other two into this… "Yes, Kugo was a wonderful young man, Goku," he continued. "In fact, he was so wonderful…"

… That the towns people couldn't stand him.

"What?" Goku blinked, sitting straight up in his chair in shock. "But… Hakkai, I don't get it. Why wouldn't they like Kugo?"

"Well… they were afraid of Kugo and how wonderful he was," Hakkai replied with a friendly little shrug.

"But why? What did he ever do to them?" the boy insisted with a small scowl and eyes tinged with anger at people that, technically speaking, didn't exist.

"They didn't understand him," Sanzo said softly from the window. Hakkai turned to give the monk a look over his shoulder. Violet eyes met his back through the glass.

Hakkai gave Sanzo a soft smile before saying, "I see you've read the book as well, Sanzo?"

"I didn't recognize it until you started."

"Ah. Then perhaps you could explain why the townsfolk didn't understand Kugo?"

Sanzo remained silent for so long Hakkai thought that perhaps the blonde was going to ignore him. He was about to resume the story himself when Sanzo spoke again, voice still soft and a little distant in quality. "They were afraid of Kugo because he was unnaturally strong."

Goku's brow furrowed for a second as he took that in. Slowly, the thoughtful expression began to relax again into one of extreme interest. "Okay… I get it. Cuz he was stronger than all of them, so they were afraid of him. Is that right, Sanzo?"

"Something like that," the monk muttered as he reached for cigarettes that weren't there. His teeth ground together in frustration as his hands curled into tight, stressed fists.

"Anyway," Hakkai continued, taking the physical cues from Sanzo that he was done for now with the 'story'. "One day, young Kugo…"

… Woke up to a horrible, horrible sight. The sun was shining through the creases in the shutters, birds were cawing and cackling outside… and a horrid smell he'd never experienced before. It made his nose wrinkle in distaste as he sat up slowly from the bed. Kugo stepped into his shoes, threw a coat on over his pajamas and opened his door cautiously to the outside world.

What is saw there nearly made him fall to his knees in terror. The entire village was destroyed. Ugly, blackened smoke curled up through the sky, letting the destruction below filter through to his stunned sight. He could see the town people he had cared about laying dead in the streets. Birds were already circling overhead, trying to fight through the spoke to get to the rotting, bloated flesh below.

What had happened? Who had done this? It had obviously happened during the night, but why hadn't he heard anything? Kugo ran toward the town, sobbing the entire way. His first breath when he reached the town limits made him choke as the acrid smoke and sickly rotting smell burned into his throat and lungs. He tucked his mouth and nose into his shirt collar and continued on, searching desperately for any survivors.

"But who did it, Hakkai? An' why would they do that to Kugo's town?" Goku's voice was soft with worry, his head resting on the table again and all his attention glued on Hakkai.

"Be patient, Goku. I'm getting there. Kugo began searching the town…"

… But to no avail. Not a single man, woman, child or animal had been left alive. Whoever had done this had obviously meant for no survivors to be left. What he did find was a scrap of fabric that had once been attached to a pole. This scrap of fabric was, in fact, a flag. And this flag came from a village to the far east, a notoriously warlike clan who have conquered most of the east through pure terror and brute strength.

Kugo fell to his knees and began to wail. His poor town had fallen victim to this ferocious clan, and he hadn't even known it. With his strength, he could have possibly saved them! He cried and cried until the tears wouldn't come, he could barely breathe because his throat was sore and his eyes stung from the saltiness that had scoured them. Slowly, he stood up and began the long, hard task of burying the dead.

It took him two days and two nights to complete, but he finally managed the impossible task. He collapsed on the second night out of sheer exhaustion and woke on the morning of the third day after the attack with a resolute mind; he would find whoever did this and get revenge for the slaughter of his town. So, having decided that, Kugo stood and went back to his small house on the hill and packed for his journey. He gathered what food he had in the house, a small knife and a stone to sharpen it on and a beautifully made club that had belonged to his father before he had died. Kugo dressed in his most sturdy clothing and began his long journey.

He took the road heading east, his mouth pressed in a grim line as he marched determinedly toward the eastern clan. He walked many, many miles, stopping only twice along the way to rest his weary feet. The scenery began to change slowly from the lush, rolling grasses of his own town to carefully cultivated fields of rice and wheat. Wagons pulled by weary horses rumbled by on the dirt road, ignoring Kugo completely as he trudged onward.

It was a little after the noon hour when Kugo noticed three travelers coming down the road in his direction. Three ladies, all of them of almost the same height and relatively the same age, and they were arguing amongst themselves. One was a blonde carrying a rather heavy looking purple purse. Another was a dark brunette with a little white dog in her arms. And the third was a red head with smoke coming from her mouth.

"Smoke? You mean she was smokin'?" Goku wrinkled his nose at that. "Are you sure you're tellin' the story right? Cuz Kugo doesn't seem like the typa guy who'd wanna go near a smoker." There was a snort from the direction of the window, but the glass was too dark now to reflect Sanzo's expression. It could only be assumed the monk was smiling again.

Hakkai frowned as he unfolded his hands from the table top to adjust his monocle. "Why, I'm fairly certain that's correct. She wasn't smoking a cigarette, Goku. Every time she spoke, there was smoke that came from her mouth."

"But why?"

Green eyes flickered over to the bed as Gojyo shifted and muttered something that didn't sound appropriate for polite company. It sounded a bit like 'cock sucking, smarmy bastard'... but then again, he could be certain seeing as it was muttered. "Anyway, Goku, about these three ladies," Hakkai continued a little louder to drown out Gojyo's mumbled insults. Oh, he would get even, no doubt about that. And he would do so with words. "Kugo decided they weren't that threatening. Oh, sure, they were a bit outlandish, but over all they seemed rather unconcerned with him..."

They continued to argue as he approached them, the blonde glaring fit to kill at the red head while the poor brunetter remained stuck between them.

"I'm telling you, North is THIS way," the red head screeched, pointing in a southernly direction.

"And I'm telling you it's not," the blonde shouted back. "North is THAT way!" She gestured angrily in a westernly direction.

"Or maybe we should all agree that we're just lost?" the brunette offered as a compromise. The dog in her arms yipped in agreement with this very wise advice.

The glares turned on the brunette were ones that would terrify even a dragon into submission. Kugo himself was momentarily afraid of them, and they weren't even glaring at him!

"Well, if someone's mutt hadn't eaten the map," the red head shrilled. "We would have been half way toward the Eastern Clan by now and putting a stop to all this murdering!"

"Well, if someone had remembered to buy poor Peje food in the next town, she wouldn't have been starving enough to eat the map. Or our spare clothing. Or our extra shoes," the brunette insisted as pleasantly as possible.

"You told me to get OUR food! You said nothing about the dog's!"

"By 'our food', it was implied that Peje's was to be included."

The red head rolled her eyes and turned her back to her other companions, crossing her arms over her rather flat chest.

Hakkai smirked as Gojyo's head snapped up at that. Crimson eyes gave him a truly impressive glare before his head flopped back on the pillow and the muttering grew a little louder. He was positive this time that a couple 'son of a bitches', one 'thinks he's so goddamn clever' and a sprinkling of 'fucks' was there that time. Hmm... maybe just a little more punishment was in order...

Kugo finally stepped up to the three ladies, just as the blonde was beginning to swing her purple purse back to apparently use it to beat the red head up. He cleared his throat, and that heavy looking purse stopped mid swing as three pairs of eyes turned on the young boy. "Excuse me, ladies, but North is this direction," Kugo volunteered, pointing back the way he had just come.

The brunette's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she looked around the area they were currently standing in. "That way? Are you sure?" she asked. The dog's head tilted to the side as if questioning Kugo's directional sense as well.

Kugo nodded certainly as he pointed again down the road he was walking along. "Yes, I'm sure. But there's no reason to go that way. There's not a village for at least another twenty miles."

"That's not true at all," the blonde argued as she tucked her purse back up on her shoulder. "There is a town nearby, and we're on our way to it."

His heart, which he'd though had sunk as low as it could, finally dropped all the way to the ground and shattered. He knew the ladies were talking about his own recently destroyed town. It was one of the last stops on the lonely trail leading north. Sadly, he shook his head and bravely choked back his tears as he said, "No, there's not. It was destroyed by the Eastern Clan just last night. I'm the only survivor."

The three ladies were silent at this, all of them obviously shocked by the devastating news. Kugo wiped his nose and waited for them to say something. It was the blonde who spoke to him again, but her question took him completely off guard. "Are you Kugo, the boy with incredible strength?"

Kugo blinked, his jaw dropping as this woman, whom he couldn't recall ever meeting, said his name. "Er... yes, that's me. Do I know you?"

"No... but I know you. You're the one we've been looking for."

"Whoa... that's creepy! They were lookin' for Kugo all along?"

Hakkai nodded at Goku's awed expression. "Yes, apparently Kugo was more famous than he'd realized. He had no idea that the few townfolk who traveled outside the limits of their small corner of the earth spoke of him with great fear and jealousy to others. Merchants carried the stories of Kugo's feats far and why, and those stories were in turn repeated in crowded common rooms over pints of ale. Kugo had a reputation, albeit one based largely on myth and hearsay."

"An' that's how these women knew Kugo? But why were they lookin' for him?"

"That's exactly what Kugo asked them."

"Why are you looking for me?" Kugo asked, his fingers curling tighter over his club. "What do you want from me?"

"We want you to travel with us to the Eastern Clan," the blonde explained, her eyes watching the club Kugo held warily. "We are journeying to destroy the evil Queen who has been slaughtering innocent people everywhere. When word reached us of a boy named Kugo with fantastical strength, we knew we had to find you and convince you to join us."

"And who are you?" Kugo may have been a simple country boy, but he wasn't a fool. He didn't trust anyone until he knew their names at least.

"My name is Zosan. This is Kaiha and Jyogo." Kaiha was the brunette, who offered a cheery wave to Kugo. Jyogo was the red head who gave Kugo a disbelieving look.

"This little boy's the great and fantastically strong Kugo?" she asked mockingly. "I think the bleach you use on your hair is finally getting to your brain, Zosan!"

"And I think you should really learn to be quiet when you're first told, Jyogo," Zosan snapped. Her hand began to reach for that strange purple bag she carried on her shoulder.

Jyogo's face paled when she saw where the other woman's hand was going and she instantly backed down with a nervous laugh. The smoke curled in the air around her, carrying a smell not unlike that of burning wood.

"So... she's got really smelly breath?" Goku snickered at the thought. He shifted in his chair, tucking his legs up on the seat as he waited for Hakkai to continue with the story.

There was an irritated growl from the bed and creaking protest from the springs as Gojyo shifted around. Apparently, the bed wasn't all that accommodating for the kappa. It definitely had nothing to do with Jyogo's smelly breath.

"Having trouble getting comfortable, Gojyo?" Hakkai asked innocently. His gaze slid sideways as another sharp growl came from his friend.

"Yeah, it's damned impossible for a fella to get any sleep with you two girls gossiping," Gojyo snapped.

Hakkai smiled and carefully kept his chuckle in check. It seemed his plan was working perfectly for the red head as well. Time to take this 'story' up a notch.

Goku frowned, picking his head up from the table to study with a sudden wariness to his expression. "Uh... Hakkai?"

"Hm?"

"You've got that scary smile on your face."

Hakkai's pleasant laugh did nothing to relieve Goku. Something had obviously pissed the other man off royally, and judging by that smile and laugh he was gonna get revenge for it in true Hakkai Form. Oh... soooo not good for whoever did it! "Well, needless to say..."

Kugo was, true to his character, very curious about these three ladies. It was strange that fate had given them the common goal of going east to try and put an end to the evil Queen. But how could three strange women help him in his quest, especially one so plain looking as Jyogo?

"PLAIN?!" Gojyo choked out, sitting upright in bed. Hakkai's response to the indignant red head was a pleasant smile and innocently blank eyes. Apparently, combined with the lack of breasts, Jyogo being plain was the final straw for the kappa. "The HELL she was plain!"

Hakkai pretended to think that over, making a big show of searching his 'memory' for a description of Jyogo. After a bit in which Goku waited eagerly, his smile flashed cheerfully as he gave an innocent shrug and said, "I'm fairly certain Ms. Jyogo was a most plain creature, Gojyo. Certainly not as pretty as Ms. Kaiha, that's for sure."

"That's because Jyogo isn't pretty. She's fucking hot!" Gojyo insisted fiercely.

"Well, without my book to check, I can't confirm that."

"Screw you, man, your memory sucks! I read that same damn book, and I'm tellin' you you've got it wrong."

Goku's face scrunched into a disbelieving expression as the kappa rose from the bed and came to sit at the table with the two of them. Hakkai chose then to get up and stretch his legs a little. He also thought some tea would be a good idea, just to give him a chance to regain his composure. It wouldn't do to burst out laughing and ruin the story, now would it? "Yeah, liked I'd believe you'd read a book, you stupid watersprite," the boy chimed in.

"Of course I've read this book! Why wouldn't I wanna read about the amazingly sexy Jyogo?" Gojyo demanded indignantly. Hakkai bit his lower lip hard as he dug through his pack for the remaining herbal tea he had.

"Sanzo, would you care for some tea?" he asked.

"Is it caffeinated?" the monk practically groaned from the window.

"Sorry, but we're out of that. But you know, decaffeinated products are only about ninety-eight percent clean. There's still that two percent of caffeine that remains."

Sanzo actually lifted his head from the window to give Hakkai a nearly desperate look. "Two percent?"

Hakkai nodded his confirmation of this.

"Fine, give it to me. It's better than nothing."

"Yeah, then get your ass back here to tell about the stunningly attractive Jyogo and her many exploits," Gojyo ordered as he flicked his lighter open and closed irritably. He scowled at Hakkai's back as the other man began to hum while he made the tea. Smart assed, cocky bastard... thought he could get away with making his female counter part a dog...

"So, what you're saying then is that Jyogo's a slut?" Sanzo commented unexpectedly as he resettled his perch on the window ledge. All three turned to look at the blonde, shocked that not only was he joining in but that he was actually doing it with a joke. Violet eyes glinted a little above a triumphant smirk as Gojyo nearly dropped his lighter on the table. Hakkai sighed inwardly, pleased that his little trick was starting to finally cut through the caffeine and nicotine deprivation of their esteemed 'leader'.

Goku wrinkled his nose at the blonde's comment and shouted, "EWWW! Gross, Hakkai, what kinda book IS this? An' why would Kugo hang out with a skank? That's just nasty!"

"Hey, Jyogo's not a skank, you damned stupid monkey!" Gojyo shouted angrily. His crimson eyes snapped a glare as Sanzo chuckled under his breath. Hakkai cringed in the small kitchen area at the use of language but remained silent. If it meant everyone was finally doing more than moping around, he would take a little foul verbage as payment. "Just because she happens to be popular with the ladies-,"

"Oh, so she's a lesbian then," Hakkai joined in with a particularly sweet smile as he set up two chipped mugs with tea bags. That smile was the most evil thing Gojyo had ever seen in his entire life. "I must have a terribly poor memory indeed for not remembering Ms. Jyogo being gay."

"She likes GIRLS?!" Goku howled as he rocked back in his chair so hard he almost toppled over. He quickly scrabbled for a hold on the table, hauling his seat into its correct position. "Holy crap... Hakkai, please tell me Gojyo's lyin' about all this!"

"Seeing as I apparently don't remember the story as well as I thought, perhaps you should ask Gojyo to continue it for you?" Hakkai suggested in tones dripping with poisoned sugar.

Goku's eager eyes turned on Gojyo, who was busy trying to see if he really could kill the green eyed man with a glare. Damn it... no luck! Gojyo's lip curled upward a little at Hakkai's cleverness before his eyes met round, excited golden ones. "What?" he snapped.

"Well? Aren't ya gonna continue the story? Although, if it really is about Jyogo bein' nasty, then maybe I don't wanna hear it," Goku said.

"Hey, lay off with the nasty comments! Jyogo's not a slut and she's not a lesbian. She's a... she's..."

Sanzo smirked as he finally took up the chair across from Gojyo, slouching down enough so that he could stretch his legs out and cross them at the ankles. This actually could prove to be amusing as hell. How the fuck was Gojyo going to dig his feminine persona out of the hole he'd been cornered into. "She's a what, kappa?" he taunted.

Gojyo's jaw snapped shut as he pinned Sanzo with a cold look. "How about you keep your damn mouth shut so I can tell you, monk?"

With an arch of his brow and a wave to continue, Sanzo did just that. He shut his mouth to hear what kind of bullshit Gojyo would come up with. Oh... the pleasures of blackmail!