Ok, so here is chapter 2. I have chapter 3 and part of chapter 4 written already, but I have one review and am not posting anymore until I get some more reviews. I will keep writing, but none of you will see any of it until you start reviewing. Enjoy… and leave a review…
Chapter 2: Waves of Change
"Well, that was unexpected," Gojyo gasped at the unlikely to happen again sight. At the sound of witnesses Nobuku jumped and resumed her work. Sanzo turned around and glared the most hostile glare in the entire world. "I'm sorry, did we ruin the moment Sanzo?" Gojyo taunted. Sanzo then pulled out his revolver and pointed it at the half-Youkai's head. Hakkai immediately jumped in between the two men.
Hakkai threw his hands I the air as if he were the victim. "If I may intervene," He glanced in Goku's direction.
Goku stared at the other man blankly for a moment and then a spark lit in his eyes. "Sanzo, I'm huuuuuungryyyyyyy," He whined with a trace of shock still in his voice.
"Then eat a fucking sunflower!" He shouted at Goku. "Hakkai, step aside and let me shoot the damn kappa!" He ordered. Goku curiously looked up at the sunflowers.
"That would be a bad idea," Nobuku said turning to face the odd group.
"And give me one reason why I shouldn't blow out all of their brains right here," Sanzo sneered, still facing the men. Goku took a step towards the sunflower and put a hand around the stem.
"Fine, I will! One, you would be kicked out of my inn and end up having to go to the other end of town," She began.
'Well, that sounds horrible for you." The sun shone down on them. The day had began to get extremely hot.
"And Goku please don't eat that sunflower," She said pulling the boy away from the towering flower. He smiled at her innocently. Then, she picked up a half barrel of seeds and shoved it into Sanzo's hands. "You all are helping me get these half barrels of seeds back to the inn."
The remaining Sanzo party picked up the seeds and walked at a brisk pace back to the inn. Nobuku grabbed the last one, which barely had any in it and followed the men back to her inn.
"Hey, Sanzo, what possessed you earlier?" Hakkai asked with a smile. He definitely was up to something.
"Gojyo," Sanzo replied with a smirk.
Hearing his name he joined in on the conversation, "What?"
Sanzo glared at him, "It must have been you!"
Goku reached into the half barrel and shoved a handful of the seeds into his mouth. "How do you figure?" Gojyo asked trying to clear his name of anything that could potentially harm his well build reputation. "I wasn't even there!"
"You are the only pervert in this group you stupid cockroach!" Sanzo shouted causing Goku to jump and choke on the seeds. He dropped the barrel and fall to his knees. Hakkai set the barrel down and ran to Goku and began pounding on his back. The only thing Gojyo wanted to say would get him shot, so he kept walking while Hakkai attended to the choking boy.
"Goku, I need you to relax and take a deep breath," Hakkai ordered kindly. He kept pounding on the boys' back and eventually the seeds came out as a soggy half chewed blob on the ground. "See, all better," He remarked. Nobuku ran past them and into the inn before the others could ask any questions.
"Hakkai, how is Hakuryuu?" Gojyo asked hoping that the change of subject would calm Sanzo down a bit and keep him from being shot.
"Yeah, I want to know when we can get out of this town," Sanzo said rather loudly.
The inn was clearly in sight now and Hakkai looked around, "Not good, we'll be here for about a week, maybe more," Hakkai said looking up in the window of their room. The little dragon was staring at him with a smile. They all walked up the steps of the inn and into the backdoor. A note was on the door for them:
Just leave the barrels on the floor by the door.
And thank you for the help.
Lunch will be ready soon.
-Nobuku
Her handwriting was perfect , but the paper looked like Goku had tried to eat it earlier. But, that wouldn't be a surprise if he had. "Do you still think she is a tight ass?" Gojyo asked as he stacked the barrels on top of each other.
The Priest thought for a moment and paced around a table, "Yup." Then he walked towards the front of the inn.
Nobuku walked to the front desk. A hooded man was standing at the desk taping his skinny fingers on the desk top. "May I help you?" She asked politely. He seemed to have been there for a while. "I am sorry for the wait; I had an affair to attend to."
"I need a room for the night," He demanded. She looked in her book and skimmed for a decent room that wasn't falling apart and that didn't have flowers in it. "Well?" Nobuku rolled her eyes at the rudeness of this hooded man. She hated rude people.
"That is going to be 2,100 yen."
"Not bad for one night," He sneered, obviously displeased, and he handed her the money.
"May I ask your name?"
"Kougaiji, now may I have the key to my room?" She handed the key to him. "Now, can I ask your name?"
"Nobuku," She replied and he walked to the stairs and went up alone. "Wow, two parties in one week. This is good… But, that name, I've heard it before," She thought out loud.
"What name?" Sanzo asked as he walked up to her and tried to peer at the book over her shoulder. She snapped it closed.
"Curiosity killed the cat," She teased.
"Well, than I'm glad I am not a cat. So, who is the man with the name that you recognized?" He asked.
"I cannot give out customer information to anyone but the judge," She said leading him to the dining room.
Seeing Sanzo enter the room Goku began to whine at him, "Sanzooooooooo fooooooood… I am sooooooo that I could eat Gojyo!"They were all sitting at the table closest to the kitchen. Goku had picked the table hoping that the closer he was to the kitchen the faster the food would come. Nobuku ran to the back. "I hope the food is as good as last night! This has got to be the best food place I have ever been to!" He exclaimed excitedly. Hakuryuu limped up to Hakkai and the man put him in his bag.
She returned with the food and set in on the table. They began to fight over the food and Kougaiji walked down into the kitchen and set a hand on Sanzo's shoulder. "So, Sanzo, are going to give me the sutra today? Or do I have to take it off of your cold dead body?" He asked laughing.
"What the Hell are you doing here Kougaiji?" Sanzo demanded with ferocity.
"I am here for the sutra… What else?" He asked sourly. "Give it to me!"
"Over my dead body," Sanzo challenged. He pushed the Youkai's hand off his shoulder and rose to his feet.
"If you insist, I will oblige with great pleasure," He shrugged with a smirk. He braced himself for a good long fight that would end with the death of one of them.
"WAIT! STOP! TAKE WHATEVER THIS IS OUTSIDE! AND PLEASE LEAVE MY INN STANDING!" Nobuku screamed at them. The other three Sanzo party members rose to their feet as well. "Get outside before you start fighting," She ordered pointing at the front door. They all ran outside and Nobuku made her way up the stairs to watch from a safe spot.
Once they were outside they faced each other and reset their angry fighting faces. "So, where did we leave off?" Hakkai asked rhetorically. Kougaiji removed his hood and threw the cloak on the ground. The sun made his hair look like blood on top of a body. The towns people scrambled into buildings suspecting a fight. They children screamed and ran after their parents.
"Shut up Hakkai!" Sanzo shouted. Kougaiji smiled victoriously/ "What are you smiling about?" Then he began to laugh. 'I have my sutra so, do you want to clue me in on what the Hell is so funny?" A blood curdling scream erupted from the inn. "Oh, you bastard. Let her go!" Sanzo yelled through gritted teeth. His gun hand was shaking and sweat rose on his brow.
The Youkai laughed harder, "Come and get her… If you care that is."
Anger swelled up in Sanzo and he pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. "Damn it!" HE yelled and realized that he hadn't reloaded it since they arrived in the town. Kougaiji ran off with a group of Youkai holding the fighting Nobuku.
"Sanzo! Help!" She screamed and they disappeared.
"Please tell me we don't have to walk the whole way," Sanzo growled. Hakuryuu flew out of Hakkai's bag and wit a bright light he turned into the green Jeep.
"Well, no, but we could all use the exercise," Hakkai said as they got in and sped after the Youkai group. "Do we have a plan of action?" Hakkai asked speeding to the large forest that bordered the town.
"Kill the fucking bastard!" Sanzo yelled.
"That is always a good strategy," Gojyo replied sarcastically from the back.
"Shut up!" Sanzo exclaimed putting bullets into his gun. Next to him Hakkai was smiling. "What are you so happy about?"
"Oh nothing," Hakkai said as a huge rapidly flowing river stopped them. He slammed on the brakes and he and Sanzo gaped in awe.
"Why is the water moving so fast?" Goku asked crouching down farther into the seat.
"Waterfall…"Hakkai and Sanzo said in disbelief.
"Well, that's wonderful," Gojyo said as he chugged a beer. They looked around trying to find Kougaiji and Nobuku. "Shit, looks like we lost him."
"Keep your negative remarks to yourself!" Sanzo ordered jumping out of the Jeep with his loaded gun.
"Yeah Gojyo," A loud echoing voice called. Across the river stood Kougaiji and Nobuku, who was being used as a shield. "Just do as the Priest commands." He stood across the river smiling triumphantly. "So, Sanzo it looks like you are fond of the damsel, who is now, in distress. Are you planning on sweeping her off her feet and taking her away on dragon back oh-so-gay-one?" Kougaiji taunted with his grin getting larger. "Or, you could just give up," He paused "But how much you really care about her is the real question…" Kougaiji mocked and then threw her into the river.
"You fucking bastard!" Sanzo shouted and shot all of the rounds at him. With a splatter of blood one of the bullets embedded itself in his arm.
She flailed her arms wildly as the river pulled her towards the massive waterfall. She grabbed onto a large rock that was sticking out of the water and clung to it for dear life. Her eyes were wide and her teeth gritted in frustration as her grip on the slippery rock began to loosen. "Sanzo look!" Goku yelled pointing at her. The Priest stared horrified. "Don't let her die. Do something Sanzo!" Goku yelled. "Hurry Sanzo!" Sanzo ignored him, trying not to give Kougaiji the pleasure of winning. "SANZO!" He yelled. The Priest reluctantly took his shoes off and waded into the water. He swan to her side and grabbed on to the rock. Her fingers slipped off and he grabbed her wrist. He yanked her back to him and she regained her grip on the rock.
"Sanzo," She began, "Just let me go. I've fallen down this waterfall before. I'll make it."
"I am going to get you out of this," He promised.
"SANZO! Look out behind you!" Hakkai yelled from the shore. Suddenly a long blade flew to the rock and cut Sanzo's fingers. He let out a cry of agony and let go of the rock. Blood gushed out of his fingers.
"Sanzo, are you alright?" Nobuku asked holding onto him and the rock. He nodded and buried his hand in his white robed. "My brother pushed me into the river before. I'll be fine. Save yourself."
"Swim towards shore," He ordered and pushed her towards the bank where Hakkai waited for them. Without her knowledge he stuffed his sutra into her pocket and swan with her.
They drifted closer to the drop and swam closer to the shore. "Sanzo, I can't make it. The current is too strong. The priest grabbed hold of her and pulled her close enough to shore that she could swim the rest of the way. Satisfied that she had made it he let the current drag him to his death. After all Kougaiji would be disappointed if someone didn't die and he hoped that Hakkai would figure out that the sutra was with Nobuku. But that was a lot to ask for in his last minutes of life. Seeing the priest being carried away Nobuku's eyes filled with tears and she screamed, "Sanzo! No!" Sanzo floated limply in the water as the thundering sound of the waterfall drew him near. They all watched helpless as he fell over the side without a single sound.
"Sanzo…" Gojyo, Goku and Hakkai exclaimed sorrowfully. Nobuku tried to run after him, but was stopped by Hakkai. He let go as she fell defeated to her knees. Tears rose in her eyes and cut paths down her cheeks.
"He'll make it, right Hakkai?" Goku asked with tears in his eyes. Even Gojyo had watery eyes. They continued to stare at the waterfall as if he would float up and call them all stupid. Hakkai shook his head at the question and his gaze dropped to the grassy bank. "He has to. He just has to. Who's going to stop Kougaiji? Who's going to protect the sutra?"
Kougaiji stared utterly shocked. He just couldn't believe that he would sacrifice himself to save a worthless inn keeper. He cautiously walked towards the waterfall. "The sutra is mine!" He exclaimed returning from his state of shock.
"You're not getting the sutra as long as I am here!" Goku yelled about to sprint to the waterfall. He reached up towards his golden limiter and was filled with temptation. He wanted badly to kill Kougaiji, he wanted Sanzo to be alive and he believed that without his limiter this could be achieved.
"Goku let him go. Leave your limiter on. I don't want to have to kill you after this," Hakkai ordered noticing the sutra in Nobuku's pocket.
"First one down gets to keep the sutra!" Kougaiji challenged and disappeared down the waterfall.
"Hakkai are just going to let him get it?" Goku whined with tears running down his cheeks.
"Yes Goku. It was Sanzo's job to protect the sutra. It was Sanzo's job to stop the crazed Youkai. Not ours, it was his job and he failed," He said pulling Nobuku off the ground. He led her towards the Jeep and pulled the sutra out. He hid it in his bag and opened the door for her. She got in.
"Hakkai, do you think there is even the slightest chance that he survived?" Nobuku asked through tears.
"It is highly unlikely; he looked like he gave up. But, who knows? He is a stubborn bastard," Gojyo answered when Hakkai didn't. They all got into the Jeep and gloomily drove back to the inn.
"Do you guys have any further plans?" Nobuku asked staring at her run down inn. Hakkai shook his head. "You are welcome to stay here for free. I may have to close down my inn anyway. I never get any customers anymore." She offered.
"That would be wonderful," Hakkai said without a smile, without even a glance in her direction. He was starting to become more like Sanzo, in a creepy gloomy way. He wanted nothing more to do that hide the already hidden sutra and do something, anything, to occupy his mind. There must have been something that he could have done to save Sanzo, there must have been. But his stupid plan of getting him to like someone stopped him from saving a friend. He had failed Sanzo, and worse he had failed Gojyo, Goku and Nobuku as well. He just wanted to forget what had happened. Every time he looked at Goku it made him feel like Goku was sad because of him. The boy's loss and pain was because of him. He wished that he could be in Sanzo's place. No one would miss him… Would they?
"Yeah," Goku began. The word had answered two of Hakkai's questions. Was Goku's pain his fault and would they miss him. "And, we can fix it up and make it better so you don't have to close the inn!" Goku said trying to hide his sorrow. She hugged Goku and Hakkai slipped away to the room that he had once shared with Sanzo.
Hakkai looked around. The room was empty, not just because he was the only one in it, but the aura that helped him sleep was gone… and it was all his fault."Why was I so stupid? Why did he have to die? This is all my fault. Worst of all Goku can't even see that it is my fault. He keeps blaming himself when it was me! IT WAS ME!" Hakkai cursed at himself. He fell onto one of the beds face down and sobbed. "Why?" He would never forget how much he loved Sanzo… nor would he forget how the Priest's death could have been avoided if he, Hakkai, had done something. He was weak, he now saw.
Ok, so I really love writing death scenes. I have a lot of fun with it… Which is not really a good thing in a way. But, leave a review and I'll update with chapter 3 when I am satisfied. I must give credit to Ashed-Starlight for this sentence (and many others… but mainly this one) "So, Sanzo it looks like you are fond of the damsel, who is now, in distress. Are you planning on sweeping her off her feet and taking her away on dragon back oh-so-gay-one?" That sentence was by far my favorite one in this entire chapter. Keep a look out for chapter 3. I would have updated sooner, but the power went out. I typed it up on my laptop, but I didn't exactly had internet… Which caused my great pain.