Once more, not my computer. Or house. At least I have spell check this time.
- Okay, note that half of this was written at my cousin's house, and the other half at my house. And also not that it took a long time
START CHAPTER
Although she hated the word, Yumi couldn't help feel guilty about the way she treated the Sanzo party over the next few days. The bad mood spurred by a man she had known for twelve hours seeing her weeping had continued, and led to her eventual isolation from everyone around her. Not saying more than a few words at a time was actually backfiring when it came to Sanzo. He enjoyed not having to bother with her sarcastic humor and rude remarks.
Gojyo had tried several times to talk to her, and had elicited the best response yet. She had even made eye contact more than once, and called him several rather creative names.
The guilt overcame her at the end of a week, but instead of apologizing directly, she treated them all to dinner at the most expensive restaurant she could find. The loss of money didn't bother her – it was actually the allowance she had saved over the years, and had a small fortune amassed – even with Goku's voracious appetite. She actually seemed, although the word didn't fit her, pleased to be engaged in a discussion with people her own age. An explanation for the sudden change in mood was never offered, but hints were dropped from time to time.
Yumi mentioned fleetingly that she was sometimes awkward around strangers, and then later spoke of a friend attacked by demons just outside the town limits.
Hakkai, in Yumi's mind considered the most sensible, was not the only one to put two and two together. They were strangers, and three of them were at least part demon, hence her nervousness.
The whole truth, Yumi kept to herself. It was, after all, none of their business that the business deal keeping her hometown safe was partly due to her.
After her friend was attacked, Yumi developed a strong fear for the personal safety of those close to her. As a result, her father paid the demons a hefty bribe to steer clear of the town. Never fully trusting demons, however, Atsumo Saturo made a plan for his daughter to be sent away. Unfortunately, the plan was not enacted soon enough.
A powerful demon lord named Isamu, who would have been of a similar rank to Atsumo were he a human, happened to spy Yumi at one of the negotiations. Her haunting, distrustful eyes were magic to him. It was lust at first sight. He caught her by herself one night, and promised to leave the town alone if she would become his woman. The term disgusted Yumi, and the insult she spat back was enough to make him both desire and loathe her all at once.
By leaving town, she was fairly sure that he would follow, doing more than her father's dirty money ever could. The only downside was that she was risking not only her own life, but the lives of four others who had nothing to do with the situation. In her mind, they were innocents to the chaos that she knew would soon hit.
Her mind was not yet made up about what she would do once Isamu caught them. She was torn between running away in hopes of sparing the Sanzo party, or accepting his demands without a fight.
She selfishly wished that he would just direct his attention to someone else and leave her alone, but her conscience took over whenever that though snuck into her mind to bash it back. She could accept that she had no ties anywhere, and the only person that would have cried upon hearing of her death was already dead herself. Better Yumi than some other girl with a bright future.
Although her own thoughts struck her as being rather morbid and depressing, Yumi couldn't help but think them anyway.
For this reason, all four men – including Sanzo, who just paused to wonder why she'd stopped bitching out Gojyo – noticed that she had become very distant.
When she was by herself, Yumi would sometimes take out the sutra that she had offered in payment for the trip. It was clearly worth enough that the stubborn priest had swallowed his pride upon sight and offered her a ride to an undetermined destination somewhere in the west.
She half considered handing it over to them and apologizing for her initial rudeness, but that much of a character change in that short of a time span was somewhat disconcerting, even to her. Naturally cold in nature, Yumi could picture herself dressed in a bunny suit and tossing confetti far more easily than she could even begin to find the words to apologize. What Yumi was best with was starting and continuing arguments, not trying to excuse herself for anything that came out of her mouth.
On one of these such moments, Gojyo happened upon her. She hurriedly tucked the sutra away, and avoided his gaze. Despite having been traveling with them for nearly two weeks, Yumi still wasn't at ease around any of the Sanzo party.
Unable to think of anything to say, Yumi held her silence as the redhead made himself comfortable on the ground beside her.
"Whatcha doin'?" he asked her casually.
"...Thinking."
"Whatcha thinkin' about?"
Yumi made a face at him. "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that we were dating."
Gojyo grinned good-naturedly. "Can I just ask which one of us wears the pants?"
"Me," Yumi replied without hesitation.
As Gojyo chuckled, he couldn't help but notice that she barely even cracked a smile. "You can laugh, you know."
"What?" Yumi turned and fixed him with a confused look.
"Laughing. You know, that thing people do when something funny happens?"
"I know what it means, you waste of carbon," she snarled in reply.
"I like talking to you. Your insults are much more intellectual than Monkey Boy's."
"I'm glad you think my IQ is higher than his. It's a real compliment," she replied sarcastically.
Gojyo chuckled, smiling at her. She didn't return the expression, but simply bowed her head and directed her attention to a blade of grass. Tearing it from the ground, she sliced it neatly in half with a fingernail.
Gojyo watched her progress through an entire fistful of grass before plucking the final shreds of greenery from her hand.
"Jesus, woman, quit that already!"
Yumi pulled her hand back towards her stomach. "Sorry..."
"Whoah, whoah, whoah, hold up. Did I just hear you apologize? Who are you and what have you done with Yumi?"
Yumi shifted abruptly away from him. "I must have spaced out. I'm just...thinking, that's all."
"Still?"
Yumi glared up at him icily. "One is capable of having a thought lasting more than thirty seconds."
Gojyo grinned impishly and shifted back next to her. "There we go, that's more like it."
Yumi sighed and pressed her hand on her forehead, her eyes directed sightlessly ahead of her. "Gojyo...There's something I need to say...just so that I can get it off my shoulders."
"You wanna sleep with me? Okay, just lemme grab something..."
"No, you stupid fucker!" snarled Yumi, punching him hard in the shoulder. "There's a demon after me. His name is Isamu, and if you don't watch yourself, he's going to kill all of us. He's probably been after me ever since we left."
Gojyo was silent. Momentarily, he said, "Just one guy?"
"No, him and the rest of his brainwashed little cronies."
"How many?"
Yumi squeezed her eyes shut, and hugged her arms to her chest.
"I'm gonna guess that means a lot?" Gojyo asked momentarily, interpreting her silence correctly.
Yumi nodded.
Gojyo shrugged one shoulder. "That's not too bad, we've taken on tons of demons before."
Yumi shook her head, agony written upon her face. She looked up at Gojyo desperately. "You don't understand! You have to get out of here. You need to drop me off and run. I'm not going to let any of you get hurt because of this. Don't think that means that I care about any of you," she added, catching Gojyo's small smile. "I just don't want the guilt on my head."
Gojyo flung an arm around her shoulder. "Uh huh. I get it. You're starting to like us in ways you're not ready to deal with. The cold hard bitch is letting down her barriers, and she's not sure what to do next. You just can't stand the thought of making friends, can you?"
Yumi pulled away from his touch as though she had been burned, and sprang to her feet, her expression one of extreme emotional pain. "Gojyo, I have to get away from here. Away from all of you! If Isamu finds me – with other men, no less – his rage will be like nothing you've ever dealt with before. Here," she cried, jerking the sutra from her sleeve and thrusting it at Gojyo. "Take it! I've paid my dues, and this is where you get to leave me, Gojyo! This is my stop!"
The noise of her yelling at them had drawn the attention of Hakkai, Goku, and Sanzo; all of them were now watching in silence.
Gojyo kept his arms at his sides, not even looking down at the sutra she had pushed into his chest. "No," he replied stonily. "You're not doing this alone. I know what's going to happen if he finds you, Yumi, and even if you don't give a shit, I'm not going to sit idly by while he kills you. Take back that damn sutra, and don't even try giving it to us until the demon after you is dead."
Shocked by his outburst, Yumi stood as though rooted to the spot. "G-Gojyo..."
The half-demon shook his head firmly. Raising his arms, he placed one hand on her cheek, and with the other pushed the sutra back towards Yumi.
"You're not changing my mind on this, no matter how much you bitch. I feel like kicking some demon ass. It's been too quiet lately."
Yumi turned her head away in silence, and unexpectedly she noticed a slight scurrying in the high branches of a nearby tree. Her violet eyes locked upon the glint of an arrowhead a second too late. As she opened her mouth to yell a warning, the arrow imbedded itself into her arm with a sickening thud. Her mouth opened in a gasp, and she fell forward to her knees. With her uninjured arm, she shoved the sutra down the front of her shirt.
She could hear the sounds of the ensuing fight behind her, but her head was spinning. The blood was rushing from the cleaved skin and trickling down her arm. Blindly groping, her fingers hit the arrow shaft. A new wave of pain riddled her body. Gritting her teeth, she seized the arrow shaft and pulled. With a horrible squelching noise, it came loose. She dropped the arrow to the ground and clapped her hand over the wound, squeezing her eyes shut to prevent any tears from escaping. She stayed kneeling until the ground rushed up to meet her, and the world dissolved into blackness.
END CHAPTER
I feel really floaty right now...which sounds weird, but I'm in that kind of mood where I could picture myself happily drifting around the neighborhood waving to strangers.
