Chapter Two: The Legend Begins
Ashura yawned as she roused up from a nap. Beneath her, she could feel the rhythmic bumping of Jeep's tires on the road; the very thing that had put her to sleep in the first place.
"I find it amazing that you could possibly sleep through this racket, Ashura." Sanzo muttered, startling Ashura slightly when she realized that she was now sitting on his lap with her head just beneath his chin.
"Well, Ashura-chan is our resident kitten, after all." Hakkai teased, getting a mock glare from the female youkai as a response. Then she sighed silently and smiled; she could never truly be angry with Hakkai (or any of her rather odd friends, for that matter). Beside and before her, she could hear yet another argument unfolding.
"Ne, Gojyo! You can't get shotgun! Your stupid smoke keeps blowin' in my face!" Goku shouted, angrily.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I completely forgot we had a kid in the back." Gojyo retorted, sarcastically.
"What did you call me?.!.?" Goku asked, furiously.
"You heard me!" Gojyo replied.
"Then what does that make Ashura?.!" Goku asked, as he pointed out the only female in their group.
"The next lucky customer." Gojyo sneered, playing up his lecherous tendencies before his friends. Ashura was quick to wake the rest of the way up and punch Gojyo right in the back of the head.
"Ow! Dammit! That hurt Ashura!" Gojyo shouted angrily, as he turned and gave her the finger (and Ashura was quick to respond in kind).
"Hit 'im harder next time, Ashura! That'll make 'im stop smoking for a while!" Goku encouraged.
"Damn it! Would you three give it a rest? Or do I need to make you get out and run to India?" Sanzo growled, irritably; much to Hakkai's amusement.
"Now, now. I'm sure we'll reach a town soon." Hakkai reassured, then added, "It will be nice to sleep under a real roof again."
"You can say that again!" Ashura silently agreed, as she gave Gojyo her version of a 'Bite me' look when he glanced back at her to make sure she wasn't going to hit him again.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)
They reached a town late in the afternoon (much to the group's relief). Ashura sighed as she watched the townsfolk mill past Jeep; not even giving the living vehicle a second glance as they did so. She flinched when Goku and Gojyo found some more trouble by stepping in and rescuing a young woman from being beaten up by bullies.
"Goku! Gojyo! I thought I told you to keep a low profile!" Sanzo shouted, irritably, as he stood up in the vehicle and glared at the pair.
"We stand out fairly well ourselves, Sanzo, so we have no room to talk." Hakkai stated, with a laugh.
"And I really stand out in a crowd!" Ashura silently added, as she ran the fingertips of her left hand along the edge of one ear. Even though she also wore power limiters like Hakkai and Goku, she still looked like a youkai...And no one seemed to know why.
"Guess it has something to do with my lost past." Ashura mused, listening as Goku asked the woman about food and an inn.
"'Scuse me, but could you help us out? We've been on the road for ages, and could really use an inn and some good food." Goku said, as he helped the woman pick up her groceries (she had been in the middle of returning from grocery shopping when the local hoodlums had started causing problems).
"And a parking lot, if possible." Hakkai added. Completely taken aback by all that was going on, the woman nodded and hesitantly answered them.
"I...uh...Sure. My family runs an inn. I'll show you the way, if you need directions." the woman said, getting another smile from Hakkai in response.
"Much obliged." Hakkai said, amiably, as he revved Jeep's engine a little bit (a signal for Goku and Gojyo to get back in) and offered a hand to the woman so she could safely step up and into the vehicle.
"Count on Hakkai-san to be a gentleman!" Ashura thought, as she smiled slightly about that.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)
"Chew with your mouth closed, you disgusting little monkey! This ain't no zoo!" Gojyo shouted, at dinner that evening. Ashura sighed and put a hand to her face in exasperation. Almost every meal started and ended now with an argument; and it was enough to even give her a headache!
"Look who's talking, you 'C-Class Perverted Kappa'!" Goku retorted, furiously, getting the finger from Gojyo for that comment.
"Maybe baby monkey will understand the ladies better when he reaches puberty!" Gojyo snapped, before something hard hit both him and Goku.
"Dammit, Sanzo! Did you borrow the damn broom to hit us this time?.!" Gojyo snarled, as he turned his blazing eyes onto the priest.
"It wasn't me this time, idiot." Sanzo growled, as he pointed out the scowling Ashura to them.
"Shit. I knew the kitten's been hanging around you too long! She's picked up your rotten personality!" Gojyo mumbled, getting smacked on the head again for his troubles.
"I think Ashura-neko-chan just wants to have a quite meal for a change. Isn't that right, Ashura-chan?" Hakkai asked, as he smiled calmly at her. Ashura just nodded.
"Wonder what she would have said if she could talk?" Goku mused, as things started to calm down around the table.
"Who knows?" Sanzo muttered, as he sipped his tea and sat back; but not before patting Ashura's shoulder to silently commend her for trying to silence the constantly arguing pair.
"She's been mute since before I found her. I wonder why that part of the seal hasn't been broken yet?" Sanzo silently questioned; looking up when the owner of the inn entered the room.
"Honored guests! As my thanks for saving my daughter Houmei, please, eat all you like." the man said, warmly.
"We appreciate this, sir." Hakkai said, gratefully.
"Oh, it's nothing. You are travelers from the East, are you not?" the man asked, curiously.
"Yeah, that's right." Sanzo replied, quietly.
"Really? That's most unusual." Houmei said, then added (when Ashura gave her a curious look), "The Eastern Desert is quite dangerous. Not many humans cross it...It's a wonder you made it here in one piece. All of you must be very strong...Especially since, recently, there's a band of bloodthirsty youkai on the loose. They say five monsters leave mountains of youkai corpses in their wake. It's like there's a war going on, youkai against youkai." Houmei said, grimly, as she remembered what she'd heard.
"That's weird! Hey, guys, you don't suppose they're talking about...!" Goku said, before getting interrupted by Gojyo (he bashed Goku's head onto the table to keep him from revealing anything about them).
"Sorry. Fly on your head. Think I got 'im." Gojyo said, with a tense grin that Ashura knew was related to the subject that had narrowly been avoided.
"Oh darn, it got away." Sanzo muttered, smirking slightly when he heard grumbled cursing from Goku.
"Please, don't pay them any mind. They're harmless." Hakkai said, with an embarrassed smile, as Ashura held up a sign that said 'Who says?' in response to that.
"As long as we're on the topic...Have you noticed any unusual behavior among the youkai in this area?" Sanzo asked getting right back to the business at hand.
"'Unusual'? That's one way of putting it. Until just a little while ago, they lived peacefully alongside humans as part of the community. Then, one day, they all disappeared without warning...leaving only the remains of the humans they had eaten! We still have no idea what caused them to go berserk, or where they went afterwards." Houmei's father murmured, as Sanzo nodded thoughtfully. Ashura could tell that he was thinking of what the Three Aspects had told him about the Minus Wave, and what it was doing to the youkai of Shangri-La.
"After all of our journeying is over, will humans be able to live alongside youkai? Or has too much damage already been done?" Ashura wondered, startled when Houmei rejoined the conversation.
"I hate youkai!" Houmei shouted, angrily.
"Houmei, please. Not in front of guests." Houmei's father said, trying to placate his daughter. He went unheeded.
"They eat humans! They're nothing but monsters! It's impossible for humans and youkai to live together! Everyone in town says so!" Houmei continued, painfully, before finally quieting down again.
"I'm sorry, all of you. This wound is close to her. One of her friends was a victim of the youkai attacks." Houmei's father said, in apology.
"It's understandable, sir." Hakkai murmured, then added, "Well, now, that meal was delicious. Did you make all of this, Houmei-san?"
"Uh...hai." Houmei replied, a little taken off guard by the sudden change of subject.
"No way! Really? You're amazing! I haven't eaten food this good in ages! Arigato!" Goku said, enthusiastically, as Ashura held up a sign that agreed with him.
'You're awesome!' the sign read, as the smiling Ashura held it aloft.
"A-arigato..." Houmei stammered, obviously not used to getting so much praise about her cooking.
"You're very welcome." Hakkai responded, giving her a calm smile, as he and his companions started to leave the table and head upstairs to their rooms.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)
"A great disaster is eroding this world. The reason for the sudden frenzy in the youkai is because someone is trying to revive Gyumaoh. Your mission is to find out who is performing the yujutsu experimentation and why...and you have to stop them. All the answers lie in India! Go to the West, Genjyo Sanzo!"
"As you command."
Sanzo jumped slightly when a hand touched his arm. He'd been so deep in thought, that even the sounds of Goku and Gojyo arguing in the background had been drowned out. Upon looking to his left, he saw the concerned expression on Ashura's face, and heard when Hakkai asked him a question.
"Are you all right, Sanzo?" Hakkai asked, as he handed him a steaming mug of coffee.
"Yeah." Sanzo murmured, allowing a slight smirk to appear on his usually dour features, and ruffling Ashura's silky black hair in an effort to assure her that he was all right.
"You know, our chat with the innkeeper and his daughter made me realize something; humans really distrust youkai right now, don't they?" Hakkai questioned, getting a nod from the priest in response.
"It seems that way. The average person doesn't know why this happened, and they can only assume the worst; that the youkai are only showing their true natures." Sanzo stated, snickering when Ashura held up a sign that said 'Guess telling them to get a clue won't work, huh?'.
"No, Ashura-chan, I don't think it will." Hakkai said, thoughtfully; laughing softly at the mute youkai's input, and giving her a warm smile while doing so.
"Never mind Gojyo's half-blood...If Goku and I didn't wear these limiters, we wouldn't even be able to walk down the street." Hakkai added.
"Yet it still doesn't answer why Ashura's appearance hasn't sparked off any fireworks yet. She's wearin' limiters, but she still looks like a youkai." Gojyo pointed out; giving voice to the doubts Ashura had been having about herself earlier that day.
"It could be that her limiters give everyone else the illusion that she is human, but, to us, she appears unaltered by them." Hakkai suggested. Sanzo could only shrug half-heartedly, and ruffle Ashura's hair again to reassure her.
"It's as good a suggestion as any." Sanzo muttered, his thoughts again turning to the mission at hand; going to the West and stopping the resurrection of Gyumaoh.
"Can we really do this?" Sanzo wondered, his expression deadpanning when Gojyo and Goku again started arguing, and noticing when he saw some movement outside the window.
"Gypsies?" Ashura silently asked, as she went to the window, and looked out.
"Oh, yeah. They'd said that there was a big group staying here tonight. A group of gypsies or somethin'. Look at 'em." Goku said, his and Ashura's expressions deadpanning when Gojyo started drooling over the dancing girls that were just now walking past.
"Believe me, I'm looking! They are hot! Wonder if I can get 'em to dance on my bed?" Gojyo leered, ignoring Ashura when her face turned a pale green, and she held up a sign that said 'WAY too much info!' over her head. Sanzo only snickered at this, then returned his attention to their current problem. Since the caravan had reserved all of the larger rooms, they were left with only the singles...a disaster waiting to happen if ever there was one.
"You never know when we might get attacked by youkai. It's a good idea to stay as close together as possible...at least, that's what I should say. But, on the other hand...I'm sick of looking at your sorry faces, so screw it! Dismissed!" Sanzo muttered, ducking when Ashura threw her last sign at him; narrowly having it miss his head.
"I think Ashura-chan took offense at your last remark, Sanzo." Hakkai said, with a laugh.
"Feh." Sanzo retorted, smirking slightly when Ashura blew a flying raspberry at him for an added measure.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)
"Ashura..." a voice called; echoing slightly within the darkness.
"Who are you?" Ashura asked, stopping short when she realized that she had just spoken.
"You and your friends are in danger, Ashura. You must hurry." the voice replied, urgently; ignoring her question completely.
"Danger? Are Sanzo-san and the others being attacked?" Ashura questioned.
"Yes." the voice responded, as alarm raced through the young youkai at this.
"Then I've gotta wake up! Thanks for warning me!" Ashura shouted, getting a chuckle from the voice.
"Don't mention it." the voice replied, as the dream started to fade, and as consciousness returned to the slumbering youkai.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)
Ashura bolted upright just as a sword buried itself in her pillow. With a silent scream, she leaped from her bed, trying to make for the door. She only got about halfway before her attacker caught her and pinned her to the floor.
"Such a pretty little thing, aren't ya? Too bad I can't take my time having some fun with ya before I do ya in." the intruder purred, as he ran a hand through Ashura's silky black hair; his eyes shining with lust.
"Help me! Someone, anyone! Please HELP!!!" Ashura's mind screamed, as helpless tears leaked from her eyes. Her arms were pinned to the floor, so she couldn't summon Shurato, and the intruder was an adult youkai, making him physically stronger than her.
"That is quite enough." a male voice growled, before something whirled in and killed the youkai that had been about to do the unspeakable to Ashura. Finding herself free from the now-dead youkai's grasp, Ashura backpedaled away from the gruesome scene, and right into her rescuer's arms.
"Are you all right, little one?" he asked, when Ashura had looked up at him with frightened, tear-filled eyes. She nodded slightly, then shakily stood back and allowed him to stand again.
"It's a good thing I came by when I did...Though it was very careless of Sanzo to leave you alone like that, youkai or otherwise." the man stated, seeming more than just a little irritated by the priest's irresponsible decision to place Ashura in a room by herself.
'Who are you?' Ashura asked, (via a sign, once again). The man smiled slightly, and leaned in towards her.
"My name is Kujaku." the man replied, warmly.
'I'm called Ashura! Pleased to meet you, Kujaku-san!' Ashura silently greeted, getting a soft laugh from Kujaku for that.
"And it's good to meet you, as well, Ashura-chan. Now, let's see if we can be of any assistance to your friends, okay?" Kujaku asked, getting a nod from Ashura before they both ran from the room and in the direction of Gojyo, Hakkai, Goku, and Sanzo's rooms.
"I hope we're not too late to help!" Ashura thought, summoning Shurato and taking up the lead in the mad dash.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)
Sanzo could only glare up at his captors as they tried to beat him into submission. Across the room, the innkeeper's daughter, Houmei, lay unconscious; having been captured by the youkai not too long before.
"That's enough." the she-demon leader of the spider demon tribe ordered, making her underling (the one that had initially attacked Sanzo) stop beating the priest, and let him drop to the floor.
"You have good eyes, priest...Too good for a human." the female youkai snickered, when Sanzo had directed his hate-filled glare at her, instead.
"You know...they say that eating the flesh of a virtuous priest can lengthen one's life. It's just a legend among youkai...maybe nothing more. But I do wonder...Would devouring the highest of priests, the one they call 'Sanzo' make me immortal?" the youkai crooned, then added, as she held Sanzo's chin in her hand, "Still, I think you might prove delicious, boy, either way. Up close, your face is quite pretty."
"And, up close, you look like a shriveled old hag." Sanzo growled, not even having time to brace himself when she slammed his head into the floor in response to that remark.
"I'm going to mince you! I'll slice you into pieces so small that no one will know just what you were!" the youkai yowled, furiously; baring her claws as she said that. But, before she could put into action what she wanted to do, something came flying through the air at her, forcing her to step back away from Sanzo in surprise.
"Trust me, lady, you really don't want to eat him. He's too tough to chew!" Gojyo sneered, as he retracted his weapon, and stood ready for a fight. Beside him, stood Goku, Hakkai, Ashura, and a man Sanzo did not recognize.
"No matter how you cook him, there's no helping it." Hakkai said, with his usual smile (even though it was so late at night).
"I don't need your help." Sanzo grumbled, as he slowly got to his feet; wobbling a little and almost falling down again before Ashura rushed in and caught him, "And don't expect any thanks from me."
"Wouldn't want 'em, anyway." Gojyo muttered, giving the woozy priest a skeptical look in answer to his comments, and as he continued to lean on Ashura for support until he got his equilibrium back.
"But you do repay your debts, right?" the stranger asked, smirking very slightly when Sanzo gave him a 'Don't start with me' look, and then nodded.
"Of course." Sanzo grumbled, as he shook off the dizziness, and stood on his own; begrudgingly giving the female youkai a nod of thanks as he did so. Ashura smiled, then returned to her usual position in the group (that being on Hakkai's right hand side). The newcomer took up a position between Gojyo and Hakkai; his own golden eyes focused on the spider youkai tribe's leader; trying to find any weaknesses.
"Quit the tough guy act! As long as we have this hostage, you can't touch us!" another youkai nervously said, as she picked up the unconscious girl, and unsheathed her claws.
"Then I suppose I should remedy that" Hakkai said, suddenly appearing behind the youkai, and, in a move just as quick, rescuing Houmei in one felled swoop.
"Hostage safely recovered!" Hakkai stated, his smile not faltering in the slightest.
"Well done! I couldn't have done any better!" the newcomer commented, with an equally easygoing grin.
"You're too kind, Kujaku-kun. Now..." Hakkai said, his green gaze gaining just a hint of anger as he returned his full attention to their enemies, "A game's no fun if the board isn't even." With a snarled curse, the youkai leader called more of her tribemates to her, then ordered them forward.
"Kill them! I want them all dead!" the she-demon screeched, her rage at being called an old hag by Sanzo having not abated in the slightest.
"Hey! Endangering an innocent person is bad enough, but taking our cook hostage...!" Goku shouted, angrily, not even noticing when Sanzo and Gojyo muttered comments behind his back. Ashura only sighed and shook her head, while Kujaku laughed it off; all of them watching when Goku leaped into action.
"Looks like fun. Mind if I 'cut' in?" Gojyo asked, as he whipped the chain sickle part of his staff effortlessly around him; cutting through the mass easily.
"Heads up." Kujaku growled, as he wove in and out through different opponents, his katana flashing as he fought. Right beside him, Ashura also cut a swath of death; her bright amber eyes almost glowing with rage as she paid her enemies back for the fear their comrade had instilled in her only a few moments before. And yet, they kept coming.
"Persistent buggers, aren't they?" Hakkai muttered, ending up, for the briefest of moments, back to back with Kujaku.
"You know it." Kujaku agreed, then added, "And yet, this is the first good work-out I've had in a long time! I couldn't very well pass it up!"
"Keep traveling with us, my friend, and you will get all the 'exercise' you could ever want, and more." Hakkai stated, smiling when the other actually grinned eagerly at the prospect.
"I will definitely consider it!" Kujaku said, panting slightly as he drove another youkai back; preventing an attack to Hakkai's blind spot.
"Now, to try and finish what I've started...Death Blow! Gaichuu Kujyo!" Hakkai shouted, as he sent a powerful ki blast hurtling at the youkai that stood in front of him. They didn't stand a chance in hell.
"Useless fools! Can't you do anything right?.!" the she-demon screamed, angrily, before a fist impacted with her face, and sent her sprawling.
"Payback from earlier. Interest's a bitch." Sanzo growled, still managing to look intimidating, despite the cuts and bruises to his face. The female youkai only sneered.
"Don't underestimate me, baggy-eyed priest." the youkai warned, before the unexpected began to happen; she began to change form!
"Impossible! A metamorphosis!" Hakkai muttered, as they all watched the youkai changed into a gigantic spider.
'EWWWW!!!!' Ashura's sign read, as her face paled, and she almost dropped her sword.
"I quite agree, Ashura-chan." Kujaku mumbled, also managing to look disgusted at the sight.
"I bet that thing tastes gross!" Goku added, as Gojyo gave him a bizarre look for that comment.
"Must be nice thinking the way you do, monkey!" Gojyo said, before the spider spat webbing all over them, entrapping them before they could even react.
"Hey! I can't cut the web this time!" Goku yelped, as he struggled vainly to get free.
"I can't either! Even my Shurato is too dull!" Ashura thought; fighting to keep herself from panicking.
"The transformation's made her much stronger." Sanzo stated, as they all stared at what could be their last opponent.
"If that's the case, then how're we gonna get out of this mess?" Ashura wondered, as he trapped hands gripped Shurato tightly; determined to not go down quietly.
Author's Note!
Hmm...Not exactly happy with the way this chapter came out. I can only hope the next one will be better.
Gemini14