I don't own Saiyuki or any of its characters. I only own the woman-Asai Senzai, the village, and the doctor.

Enjoy!

"Because," she chuckled, "once youkai and Holy Beings enter this village they can never leave."

Hakkai blinked, confused. "Why not?" he asked.

"This is the Village of the Gods," she said. "We're used to having Holy Beings in this village but because we're lacking one, there's a barrier around the village that holds in any Holy Being that comes in. Youkai's are kept to be a sacrifice to the Gods to hope for a Holy Being."

"So are you saying—"

"Yes," the woman said with a nod of her head. "The people here want me to give up the red head so they can sacrifice him. He is to die tomorrow night at midnight."

"Huh." Sanzo turned his head away from the woman. "And what were you planning to do?"

"Red head's too weak to be a sacrifice. The people here won't give a sick youkai to the Gods, so I've been keeping him sick," she answered.

"What?" Gojyo twitched. "That's why I haven't been gettin' any better?"

She nodded. "Sorry but it's what I had to do. You've still got your fever but I presume that your friend has healed your wrist."

"It was pretty infected," Hakkai said with a small smile. "What were you doing to it?"

"Putting dirt from my backyard in it," she said without shame.

The room fell silent for a moment. Gojyo's eyes widened as a sudden pain came to his wrist. Hakkai suppressed a laugh while Sanzo narrowed his eyes towards the woman. As things began to become awkward, Goku's eyes fluttered open.

"Guys?" Goku whispered.

"Goku!" Hakkai cheered as he bent down to the small boy's level. "Are you feeling alright? You just fainted."

Goku blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision. "I think I'm okay," he said. "I feel a little woozy though, like I'm gonna…"

Bile from his empty stomach traveled up through his esophagus and into his mouth. His cheeks filled up as the saliva in his mouth dried. He stood, looking around for a bathroom to run to when the woman pointed to the bathroom. Goku followed the woman's finger, ran into the bathroom, and threw up.

"Excuse me," Hakkai said with a bow.

Hakkai ran off to the bathroom to check up on Goku, leaving Sanzo and Gojyo alone with the strange, unnamed woman. Before anyone could speak, the woman stood and walked over to the stove. She turned it on, and placed a pot of boiling water onto a burner.

"I'll make tea," she said. "You can go upstairs and check everything out if you want."

"That not my main concern right now," Sanzo growled. "What is the name of the Sutra in this town?"

"Like I said," she turned back to Sanzo, "it is the "The Uten Sutra, the Sutra of life and existence. What Sutra do you have?"

The blond turned away from her. "I'm going to look upstairs," he said. "After I'm done, I want you to tell me where to find it; I've got a sneaky suspicion that you know where it is."

She shrugged. "Believe what you want."

Sanzo walked away from the woman, and traveled up the nearby stairs up into the large bedroom. There six beds lay just as she had said, all with thick blue blankets over them and large fluffy pillows on them. There were lamps on every nightstand beside each bed, and a small window at the end of the room.

Its better then nothing. Sanzo told himself.

As the woman prepared her tea, a knock came to the door. Gojyo stood, and answered out of habit. A man stood there, dressed in a white jacket with a black bag in his hands. The man's eyes widened when he saw Gojyo.

"The youkai," the man in the white said.

Gojyo opened his mouth to answer when the woman who had picked him up pushed him out of the doorway.

"Senzai," the man at the door said. "It looks like the youkai you've been caring for as gotten better. Is he ready?"

"No," she said. "He's still fighting a fever off. There's no point in sending a feverish youkai to the Gods is there? He'll just burden their doorstep!"

"Let me," the man stepped in, "be the one who decides that."

The woman sighed, moved her narrowed eyes towards Gojyo and stepped to the side. The man at the door, the town's doctor walked into the house and pointed to the bed where Gojyo had been sleeping. Gojyo laid back down on the bed and made the best sick face he could.

"Senzai," the doctor said as he looked around, "do you have more guests here?"

"Yes," she answered. "It's really none of your business but they're all ill."

The doctor laughed. "Since when have you been in my profession?"

She rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. "Please just check the red head out and move on. I've got a full day of painting ahead of me," she said.

The doctor did as told and began checking over Gojyo. The red headed man did everything he could to appear sick; he moaned and groaned whenever the doctor touched his stomach or wrist, and hissed out in a fake pain. While this went on, Hakkai walked out of the bathroom with Goku hanging onto his right arm.

"I ain't feelin' so well," Goku groaned.

"We'll get you up to bed in a moment Goku," Hakkai said in a comforting tone. "Just hold on for a few more seconds."

The woman caught Hakkai and Goku going upstairs. "There's another bathroom up there if he needs to use it," she said. "Pick any bed in the room where the Sanzo Priest went."

"Sanzo Priest?" the doctor said in surprise. "There isn't a Sanzo Priest here! We would know it by now!"

"Well there's one upstairs doc," Gojyo said.

"Impossible." The doctor turned to the young woman. "Show him to me Senzai."

She sighed. "Sanzo!" she called. "Please come down here, you're being beckoned!"

Sanzo was leaning against the only window in the room, smoking. He watched the people walk by and wondered how he was going to get himself and the rest of his children out of this place in one piece when Hakkai came through the door with Goku.

"He threw up a lot," Hakkai said. "But I think he's gotten rid of a lot of whatever was bothering him."

"Good." Sanzo turned his attention back to the window. "I don't want him to throw up when we go looking for that Sutra."

Hakkai cocked his right eyebrow as he set Goku down in a bed. "Don't you think we should at least wait until tomorrow? We haven't gotten any sleep or anything to eat for a while."

"This is too important to wait for," Sanzo answered.

"Sanzo," Hakkai said with a heavy sigh.

"Sanzo!" a female voice called from the bottom half of the house. "Sanzo!!"

"You're being called," Hakkai pointed out.

Sanzo twitched. "Dammit I don't get a second to myself anymore."

A few minutes later Sanzo came walking down the stairs with an irritated look on his face. The doctor dropped his medicine bag onto the floor as his jaw hit the floor along with his bag. A Sanzo Priest had really come back to the town!

"A Sanzo Priest," the doctor said with a bow. "I'm honored to be in your presence!"

"Good for you," Sanzo said. "Now what seems to be the problem here?"

"Nothing," the doctor turned to Gojyo, "I was just about to set a day for this monster to be sacrificed and I would value your opinion."

Sanzo sighed. Gojyo looked over towards Sanzo, hoping that the blond man wouldn't say something sarcastic that would make him lose his head. Gojyo sat up as he waited for Sanzo's answer.

"The youkai I'm traveling with are not to be killed," Sanzo ordered. "Now leave and inform the town's folk before they come to bang down this door."

"Yes." The doctor bowed. "But please come and stay in a better, for elegant place! This small home is not what a man of your honor deserves!"

"I'm staying here," Sanzo said as he lowered his chin to his chest. "Now leave."

The doctor bowed again, gathered his things, and left the house. The young woman moved her attention towards Sanzo and bowed her head towards him. Sanzo opened one of his eyes and crossed his arms.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"Your partner here was a pain in the ass to cover for," she said as she pointed to Gojyo, "now I don't have to do it. I was saying thank you."

"Yeah they're all a pain in the ass." Sanzo turned away and began walking up the stairs once more.

"Hey!" Gojyo yelled.

"I'm going to bed for a while, I want you to take me to the Sutra later," Sanzo said without bothering to turn back around.

The woman nodded. "Yes."

With that said and done, Sanzo returned to the room where he and the others were going to stay. When he arrived in the room he saw Hakkai sleeping underneath the covers of one bed with Hakuryu sleeping on the top of his pillow and Goku on top of the covers in another. Sanzo picked out a bed, the closest one to Goku, and crawled underneath the covers. The minute his head touched the pillow, he fell into a deep, well deserved sleep.

The woman, once Sanzo had walked upstairs, limped over to her painting and began working on it again. Gojyo moved his legs over the side of his bed and watched her for a few minutes.

"Are you tired?" she asked. "Go back to sleep before your fever gets any worse."

"Huh." Gojyo laid back down. "No thanks to you and your dirt."

"You're welcome," she hissed.

Gojyo rested his head against the pillow he had been sleeping against for the past few days and fell asleep quickly.

Hours later, once the sun had began to set, Gojyo woke up. He sat up, pushed the covers aside and stretched his arms up into the air. He gave a quick yawn and turned his head to see the strange woman sitting in her chair in front of her easel, fast asleep.

I can't let her sleep like that! Gojyo told himself. I can at least give her bed back to her.

He stepped out of the bed, stepped over to her, and picked her up. She was lighter then he thought she would be; he figured that her baggy pants made her legs look bigger then they really were. He then brought her over to the bed and set her down gently. She groaned when her body hit the bed but instead of waking up, she grabbed the blanket and rolled over to face the wall.

"Sleep," he whispered.

Gojyo moved away from the bed and over to the painting the strange woman had been sitting in front of. It was the same one from before, the one of a younger looking Goku with chains around his wrists and ankles only now the name "Goku" had been written on the bottom of it.

"One of the Gods happens to look and have the same name as Goku."

Little monkey better not be a God or I'll kill him. Gojyo thought.

Before Gojyo could think or anything else to think or say about Goku, he felt his stomach rumble. Another reminder of the monkey, Gojyo walked away from the painting and began to look through the kitchen for something to eat.

"Hungry?" Hakkai's voice asked in a whisper.

Gojyo turned around and saw Hakkai walking towards him with his usual smile on his face. Gojyo grinned and continued to search through the cabinets. Hakkai stepped up beside Gojyo.

"Maybe we should go out for something and take a look around his place," Hakkai said. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Gojyo sighed. "I don't think goin' out without Blondie would be a good idea. People here don't see to like us youkai."

"True," Hakkai said as he cupped his chin. "I'll make us something then with the food here."

"Well hurry up!" Gojyo teased. "I'm stravin'!"

An hour later Sanzo, Goku, and Gojyo were playing a quiet game of cards up in the bedroom while Hakkai cooked dinner downstairs. Hakkai was doing his best to keep his actions silent, but a few pots and pans did clank together once in a while. After working away in the kitchen, Hakkai had finally finished dinner.

"There," he whispered to himself. "Now if I can get the others…"

Hakkai turned around and looked over towards the woman to see if she was asleep to see her looking back at him with her eyes half open.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," Hakkai said with a bow. "I've made plenty of dinner, will you join us?"

She pulled the covers over her head. "This bed smells like youkai," she hissed.

He chuckled. "I can do some washing tomorrow morning if you'd like."

"No," she said from under the covers. "You've done enough."

Hakkai gave a smile she didn't see, and walked over to the bottom of the stairs. "Come get something to eat!" he called. "Dinner's ready!"

The sound running footsteps echoed down through the upstairs hallway and down into the living room. Goku quickly appeared at the top of the stairs with his eyes wide open in excitement.

"Food!" Goku cheered.

Behind Goku came Sanzo, and then Gojyo. Goku jumped down the remaining stairs, and ran into the living room. Sanzo twitched; annoyed that Goku was running around a place as if it were his own home.

"Where is it?" Goku asked as he looked around the living room.

"Right over there," Hakkai said.

Goku ran away from Hakkai and over to the counter where the plates of steaming food stood. Sanzo walked over to Hakkai as Gojyo ran over to join Goku in scooping up large amounts of food.

"At least it smells good," Sanzo mumbled.

Hakkai grinned. "Why thank you! Now please go enjoy your dinner."

Sanzo stepped away from Hakkai and over to the food where made his way through the piles of rice with Goku and Gojyo. Hakkai moved over towards the young woman's bed and sat down on the side of her bed.

"Are you going to be eating?" he asked.

"Yes." She nodded her head underneath the blankets. "Thank you, I was worried about what we were going to eat."

"No need to worry about us," Hakkai said with a slight laugh.

A few minutes later, Hakkai stood and began to place food in bowls and onto plates he had found in the kitchen cabinets. The rest of the group: Goku, Sanzo, and Gojyo retreated to the back of the room and began eating. Just as Hakkai finished filling his plate with food, the strange woman pushed the covers back.

Hakkai turned to face her. "Are you coming to eat with us?" he asked.

"No." She shook her head. "I eat by myself."

She stood, gathered her food, and walked over to the back of the room. There she opened a hidden door that led into the backyard, stepped through it, and closed the door behind her.

"Damn," Gojyo said. "What's up with her?"

"She's just one of those people," Hakkai said as he sat down beside the red head. "Some people eat alone."

"But," Goku paused for a moment, "isn't that…lonely?"

Sanzo placed a large amount of rice in his mouth. "Some people like it that way," he said.

"I guess," Goku said, still a bit confused.

Together the four ate the dinner that Hakkai had cooked for them, and began to drink the saké the woman had left out for them, or rather, herself. As they finished eating, Hakkai took in a large breath of air.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked.

"We're going to see where the Sutra is," Sanzo answered. "One of us needs to go with her to see it, and I want to go."

"But Sanzo," Hakkai began, "I don't think it would be a good idea to leave us youkai alone. Do you think we should all go?"

"I wanna go!" Goku added. "Let's all go with her! Can we go?"

"I don't care," Sanzo said with a twitch of his eyebrow. "We're heading out in a few hours."

"Good a walk after dinner!" Goku said with a large grin.

"Perhaps," Hakkai turned to the door to the backyard, "I should go inform her."

Hakkai stood, grabbed two cups of saké, and walked over to the back door. He opened it, stepped out, closed the door behind him, and saw the woman sitting on a small wooden bench against the wall with a bowl of rice beside her.

"Excuse me," Hakkai said. "I was wondering if you'd come with us to find that Sutra you were talking about earlier."

"Tomorrow morning," she said. "The temple it's in is locked up now. Not even I can get in and my family used to hold it."

"Oh." Hakkai blinked. "I'm sure we can head out early in the morning."

She nodded. "That would work much better. We can get there before all of the morning ceremonies."

"Alright then." Hakkai walked over to the bench and sat down. "Drink with me?"

"Sure."

She took the small cup the saké was in, and drank it without a pause. Hakkai did as well, and then let out a large, comforting sigh.

"Thank you," Hakkai began, "for picking up Gojyo."

"He needed help," she said with a shrug. "I couldn't let the people here get rid of someone just because of his hair color."

"I found him," she let her shoulder droop, "all torn up. Some child villagers were messing around with him. They were throwing rocks at him, and poking him with a stick."

The image of children poking Gojyo made a small giggle escape from Hakkai's mouth. He did his best to hide it, but before long he giggled out loud. She let out a small chuckle in response but then went quiet.

Hakkai leaned back against the wooden bench and moved his head against the back of the wall. The sun began to set around them and the dark night sky began to devour the bright sky. A cold breeze came over them, and the girl shivered a bit.

"Cold?" Hakkai asked.

"Yeah." She shivered again. "It gets cold around here at night. I'll give you extra blankets tonight; I think it might rain soon."

"Rain." Hakkai sighed. "Thank you for letting us stay here."

"It's alright," she said. "It's a bit nice to have people running through the house again. Ever since my family moved away I've been lonely."

"Then why are you eating alone?"

"It's something I've grown used to," she answered. "Eating with strangers…"

He chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm not forcing you to eat with us; I'm just saying that I would like you to eat with us. You've done us a favor by letting us stay here for free."

She crossed her legs. "Thank Goku. Seeing him reminds me of the Gods that used to visit here."

"Alright." Hakkai nodded. "I'll thank Goku. By the way, you haven't told me your name yet."

"Is Asai," she said with a slight smile, "Asai Senzai."

R&R please!