Disclaimer: I don't own Saiyuki
Chapter 2: The Red Wolf
"Sanzo," Goku shouted, alerting the monk to the events on the street with a loud shout. "There's a bunch of youkai in the street!"
"Why are you getting yourself so worked up, monkey-boy?" Gojyo teased, getting up from the bed. He walked over a placed a hand on top of the shorter male's head and pushed down slightly, bending over to get on Goku's level. "You act like you've never seen a group of baddies before."
"That's not it," Goku replied impatiently, swatting the hand away. The fierce look in his eyes made Hakkai look up curiously. Goku hardly ever looked this serious; something must be up. "They're chasing a girl, and they're catching up."
"So what are we supposed to do about that?" Sanzo asked, not looking up from his paper.
"Help her, of course," Goku replied as though it were the most obvious course of action. "She's just a girl."
"We aren't here to be goddamn heroes," the monk curtly answered. "We're not playing the game where we save every person in every town we come to. It's not our goal, so why waste time?"
"You are one heartless guy, Sanzo," Gojyo said with a shake of his head.
"And you're going to be one dead guy soon," came the immediate threat.
"Fine," Goku said forcefully. "I'll just go do it myself."
He hoisted himself onto the window sill and launched himself into the street, landing in a low crouch, pushing off the ground with one hand and rushing after the youkai who had chased after the girl and into the darkness.
"Sanzo?" Hakkai questioned.
"The brat will be fine by himself," Sanzo answered.
"But he'll probably get lost on his way back afterwards," Gojyo added with a weary sigh. "I'll go after him so we don't have to going on a monkey hunt tomorrow."
The red-haired man followed opted for a more practical method of leaving the building and took the stairs, jogging through the dark streets, following the road he had seen Goku take.
He rounded a corner and found himself facing the forest they had traveled through to get to the town earlier that day. He could hear the distinct sounds of a battle from within and followed it, winding through the trees to reach the scene where Goku would be fighting and a defenseless girl would be scared silly and in need of a guy. He grinned wickedly at this thought as he let his imagination get a little carried away.
He had been busy focusing on his potential night when he suddenly burst into a clearing and crashed into Goku, who had been standing still. Both landed on the ground heavily and received a faceful of dirt.
"Geez," Gojyo thundered. "Why the hell are you just standing there? What happened to you fighting? Or do you just stand there and scare them off with your face instead?"
"I was gonna fight!" Goku insisted, looking up at the battle. "But someone beat me to it."
Gojyo followed the brunette's gaze and his eyes widened.
A large red wolf was snarling ferociously, baring its gleaming fangs, which were already dark with blood. Its fur bristled up and its ears were pressed flat against its head, two small silver hoops shining in the weak moonlight piercing the left ear. Four bodies were already on the forest floor, unmoving and staring glassy-eyed into the branches of the towering trees. Only three were still alive.
"Where's the girl?" Gojyo demanded, picking himself up and brushing the dirt and leaves from his clothes. "I thought you said these guys were chasing someone!"
"I already told you: someone beat me to it," Goku replied angrily. "She did."
Gojyo stared at Goku with confusion on his face. He looked from Goku to the wolf and back to Goku again. He pointed at the wolf, asking for confirmation. He got it when the boy gave a single, quick nod.
"Shit,' he said with disbelief.
The wolf advanced on the final three youkai menacingly. She crouched as she moved, stalking her prey. With a fierce and loud, echoing roar of fury, she launched herself at one youkai and took his shoulder in her teeth, raking her hind claws down his long torso. The youkai gave a shout of pain and retaliated by bringing a closed fist down heavily onto the top of her head, knocking her loose.
Immediately returning to her feet, the wolf rushed the youkai, crashing into his legs and sending him tumbling into one of his cohorts. They crashed into a tree, and one fell into a heap, clawing at the branch that had pierced her chest when she crashed. Dark red blood spilled from the wound and seeped into the ground. She lay forgotten by the wolf as her blood drained from her body, feeling her life slip through her desperate fingers.
The wolf turned again to the male youkai she had torn the shoulder of. He was furious, and he threw himself on top of the wolf, pinning her to the ground on her back. He forced his hands down on her throat, blocking off the air supply and her growls faded. Using her body position against the youkai over her, she drew her legs up and dug her claws into his abdomen and chest, tearing through the skin and muscle. Preparing for her next move, she drew her legs closer to her body and forced them up again, throwing the youkai off with little effort. He flew backwards and landed some feet away, staggering to his feet with his back to the angry wolf. She leaped at him again, sinking her fangs into the back of his neck and she bit down hard, hearing the bone crack and splinter.
The youkai fell forward to the ground and the wolf rode the wave, landing easily. She stared down her final opponent: a large youkai who had been watching from the sidelines. She narrowed her eyes and ran at him full speed; however, he was ready for her.
As she jumped into the air, ready to kill the only youkai left, he twisted his body to avoid her and threw out his hand, his long, sharpened nails slashing her side. It didn't do much damaged through the thick fur, but it fueled her anger. When she landed, she continued to run and dashed up the side of a fallen tree, using it to jump to a large boulder. She landed on it vertically and pushed off, with a feral snarl. The youkai spun, almost in slow motion, as he realized what she had done and was too late in bringing an arm up to knock her back.
Her paws hit his broad shoulders first and he backed up, tripping over a root and falling from her weight. Her teeth quickly found his exposed throat and she tore it open viciously, sending blood flying in an arc. The youkai was dead in moments and, just like that, they were all defeated.
The wolf lifted her muzzle, blood dripping from it slowly and she eyed Goku and Gojyo suspiciously. She left her final victim, approaching the two new men cautiously, sniffing the air around them. She paused a few feet away from them, waiting.
When Goku raised a hand and extended it to her, a snarl bubbled up from her throat in warning. Goku faltered for a minute, but reached for the wolf again, palm up. She sniffed his hand carefully, reading the scents. There was a powerful odor of food, mostly meat. He also smelled of the earth and trees, a pleasant smell. But there was something else, faint, but powerful: youkai blood. He killed them too.
She backed away from him and turned to the red-head instead. In a single sniff, she learned that he had youkai blood in him, but also human blood. This intrigued her and she glanced at both men. The short one killed youkai, she could smell that much, but his friend was also a youkai, or at least half. He didn't kill all youkai then. They were safe, for the time being in any case.
Trotting to a tree, she sniffed around it as Goku and Gojyo spoke in hushed voices.
"Are you trying to tell me that the girl you saw is actually a wolf?" Gojyo hissed.
"I think so," Goku replied. "I saw her run in here and then she just disappeared. The youkai just sort of stopped running. I was gonna get them, but then this big wolf just jumped out from behind a tree and killed them all."
"So is the girl a wolf, or is the wolf a girl?" Gojyo mused.
"What's the difference?" Goku demanded. "Either way she killed them."
The wolf found a silver, circular object in the grass at the base of the tree and nosed it gently. Slipping her right paw through it easily, her body began to glow. The light caught the two men's attention and the stared as the wolf's body changed before their very eyes. The fur receded and the muzzle melted away. The limbs lengthened and stretched, the bracelet on her wrist gleaming brightly.
Now standing in front of Gojyo and Goku was the girl again, scarlet eyes piercing theirs, holding them where they stood, and the stench of blood hanging in the air.
A/N: Sorry for the long wait. But be happy because today is a mass upload. Every story I have now gets a new chapter!! Doesn't that make you happy? Wanna know what makes me happy? Getting reviews of course! I won't update until I get at least 3 reviews from you people out there. Take the time to send me something, even if it is a flame!