A/n – not mine/etc/same old same old. Whatever/enjoy.

Chapter 4 – Far from Home

"Stupid monkey" and "Stupid water sprite!" along with "Okay guys, calm down." Were the lullaby that Sanzo fell asleep to, and the alarm clock which rudely awakened him from his sleep. Hakkai, Sanzo was sure, had only stepped in on both occasions for Sanzo's sake; he had once confided in Sanzo that he sometimes found their arguments quite amusing. Sanzo, of course, didn't. He found them irritating. More than that, he found them downright aggravating.

So he once again started his morning with the words, "Will you two shut up? Your little love affair is getting on my nerves. Again!"

The shocked expressions on their faces almost brought a smile to Sanzo's face and evidently brought one to Hakkais. The way the two of them always shut up almost instantaneously after he had said the words 'love' and 'affair' always had Sanzo pondering on whether there really was something festering beneath the surface there. And if their constant bickering really was a façade. Then when their next fight about something petty stated again, he would retract that thought.

Thinking about Gojyo and Goku's incessant arguing reminded Sanzo that he would once again have to put up with it in the Jeep. All day. He wished he could do something; anything, to shut them up for even an hour. He and Hakkai had tried anything and everything that they could think of, but the arguments only stopped when Goku fell asleep. They started up again when Goku was abruptly awakened by Gojyo in a rude fashion – usually by him deciding that drawing on Goku's face, of sticking things up Goku's nose was a good idea. Sanzo sighed; they'd even tried sitting Gojyo in the front, and having himself sitting in the back. However, as soon as Goku had discovered the idea of 'poking' this plan had quickly dissolved into chaos. Not for the first time, Sanzo wished that he and Hakkai could complete this mission alone, or at least with some, less undesirable companions. Other times he wished he could just shoot the dammed idiots.

He was up now though, and it was time to start another day. He pushed himself out of the bed, and yanked his robes up his torso, whilst mentally preparing himself for another day in hell. Maybe today Kougaiji would actually manage to do away with Goku and the dammed Kappa. He could only live in hope after all.

Breakfast went the same way as usual. It started well. Sanzo ordered his tea and newspaper, and settled down in his chair, waiting for the food to arrive. Hakkai and Goku were having an in depth discussion about cartoon characters that Goku liked, while Gojyo was smoking a cigarette. Which meant that, mercifully, the two idiots in the group weren't fighting, for once. Sanzo was enjoying the peace.

However, once the food came, the peace and quiet rapidly disintegrated into…well…no peace, no quiet. Sanzo knew it was over the moment he saw Gojyo's chopsticks heading towards Goku's plate. He calmly put down his newspaper, and reached into his sleeve to wrap his hands readily around his gun – ready to use it when he needed to.

As soon as Goku realised who's gullet his missing food was going down, all hell broke loose. It wasn't long after that Sanzo pulled out his gun and shot of almost a whole round, in order to get them to stop. They were soon asked to leave, and did so without complaint. (Well, except for Goku, who always had a complaint).

For some reason, Sanzo couldn't help but feel that today was not going to be a very good day.

She was so hungry. All she could think of was her stomach. And how good an apple would taste now. An apple…a big red juicy apple…

She felt a pang somewhere in her chest as she remembered the man that had gotten hold of that apple she had wanted so badly. Dam him, she thought to herself. It looked so good. Maybe I should have been a little nicer though, he might have bought me some food. Oh god. Food.

She kept on thinking about the one thing she wanted. She had half a bottle of water left; she was trying not to waste it, and so drank it sparingly, but at least she had some. She needed food. Even with her almost constant thoughts of food though, her thoughts kept returning to the beautiful man. His hair; and his eyes. They had been so appealing. She hadn't seen anyone else like him. Ever. Sure, she knew there were other half demons in the world. But she had never seen proof. She had always wanted to meet one. But when she did, she had pushed him away. She had needed to push him away. It was better this way. Maybe when she wasn't lying so low her stomach was on the floor, she could search for him. Maybe he wouldn't even recognise her, she'd had, as she had now, dark green hair. And contacts. She hadn't been able to afford another pair; but that was okay, red eyes were less noticeable than red hair. Or she hoped so, at least.

She reached up and felt through her hair longingly. It was short. Too short. It felt odd against her hands, so used to running them through long, thick strands of hair. Short hair didn't feel right. Damn it, she thought to herself.

Violet eyes. Rain. Fire and a sword. And the sword was swinging. Swinging towards her back. Could she dodge?

She shook her head, and pulled her hand away, pushing it into her pocket, as she tried to think of better times. There weren't many. She was almost too young to remember the better times. She was too young when the good times happened. Almost too young.

Her memories took her back to the beautiful purple eyes which haunted her dreams. Not the violet ones which glared at her through her current nightmares. Beautiful eyes which gleamed with sincerity and honesty. Eyes she missed like mad. Feeling erupted in her chest. She missed home. She missed home terribly.

She adjusted the cloak over her sleeve, and trudged onwards, her stomach aching, her feet aching, and her back burning in the heat of the sun. Her journey continued.

It's boiling today, thought Hakkai, as the Sanzo party headed towards Jeep, who was currently parked behind the hotel at which they had decided to spend the night at. It had been a nice place, and now they had to move on. The show must go on, he thought grimly, and what a show it was, he hoped it would end soon; the stories of youkai that the villagers were telling got worse from village to village. All were terrible in this village. Small children being ripped apart in the youkai's rage, supplies being raided, houses with respectable families burning to the ground…

Hakkai shivered, the thought of such atrocities made him feel ill, and cold; even in the blistering heat of the morning. After yesterday's storm, the hot weather was almost unbearable; but bear it they would; they had a mission to attend to.

"Let's go Jeep", Hakkai murmured softly, once the four heroes were settled inside. He reversed out and onto the dirt road which lead out of the town. Once they had passed back through the gates which they had entered through, he worked on circling around the outside; when he reached the back he turned off and onto the road leading to the next habitation. Always heading West.

"Feel free to go a little faster Jeep", Hakkai told his pet, smiling to himself, they might get quite far today, past the next two towns at least. He looked round at his companions; still smiling. The nearest was Sanzo, who sat with one leg up on the seat; his head turned away from Hakkai, watching the miles melt away in the heat of the day. An unopened packet of cigarettes was clenched in his visible hand, which hung over his knee; on which his arm was leaning.

"Don't hold back for my sake Sanzo, I don't mind the smoke, really, Gojyo certainly isn't sparing much thought for it", he said, chuckling.

"You should know me well enough to understand that my reasons aren't so petty Hakkai", Sanzo replied, turning back to look at Hakkai, his purple eyes piercing through Hakkai's own. "It's to damn hot to smoke, the damn Kappa is just a stupid addict." He added, turning back to stare out at the view.

Hakkai just laughed, "Then what would you class yourself as then Sanzo?" He really was a little bit curious, Sanzo's unusual dismissance of smokes had peaked his interest.

"Hmph" the other man sighed, "If we didn't have those two idiots in the back, I wouldn't need to smoke."

A chuckle escaped Hakkai's lips when he heard a snort from behind him. Gojyo was obviously listening in. He smiled at Gojyo in the front mirror. He turned back to Sanzo, still smiling, and muttered, "We'll see" softly.

Hakkai returned to looking at those around him, and turned next to Goku. The youngest of the four was sleeping; his mouth wide open for all the world to see. His hair was in disarray, probably due to his arms being folded behind his head, which were being jolted around by the constant movement of Jeep. Hakkai chuckled once again; at least Goku wasn't fighting with Gojyo. Admittedly he found their childish banter amusing at times – most of the time in fact – however, it was nice to have the peace and quiet restored for once.

Next he turned towards the front of the car, and glanced towards the mirror, to catch a glimpse of the last member of their party; the fiery redhead, Kappa, and his best friend; Gojyo. The man that never failed to amaze him; a serious womanising child. That was the only way to describe him. Such irony, he was sure. Though he had lost Kanon, a thought that made his heart clench as familiar pain shot through him; he was glad that Gojyo had saved him. He was happy to be alive; now he had good friends, and a life to live which brought something new and invigorating to him every day. Although at times along this journey he had wished to just go home, he had enjoyed most of it. It had given him an opportunity to see more of Sanzo and Goku; and the banter shared by his three friends.

Hakkai leaned back in his chair, watching the road once again. A town was ahead, around ten minutes away, judging by the distance. They would have to stop for lunch there, Goku would wake by the time they got there; he was always awake for lunch. Scrap that, he was always awake for any meal.

Thinking of Goku always brought about thoughts of his strict guardian. Hakkai had to wonder, as always, if it wasn't Goku who had saved Sanzo; rather than the other way around. Sure, Sanzo had brought Goku from his earthly prison, but Goku had been there for him to love and help. He'd saved Goku like his predecessor had saved him. Maybe that had done him some good at least; relieved his feelings of guilt over his master's death a little. Hakkai knew that Sanzo felt that he should have been the one to die; even if Sanzo didn't show it.

The sound of a loud yawn pulled Hakkai out of his musings, "Hey, hey! Sanzo! When are we gunna stop for lunch huh!"

"Stupid monkey; you missed lunch, you'll just have to wait for dinner", Gojyo replied, helpfully.

"Shit! No way bastard! Sanzo would never do that to me!"

Hearing a loud swatting sound made Hakkai turn around, doing so caused him to see Sanzo, standing with one foot on the back of his seat, leaning forward menacingly; while the two in the back nursed their heads. "If you two don't shut up I will do that to you, got that monkey boy? Kappa?"

Hakkai chuckled, turning back to the road. Knowing the answer already. He felt Sanzo sit back down in his seat a few moments later, and heard the sound of paper brushing against his clothes as Sanzo shoved it back down his sleeve. It was going to be another long, long day.

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