Disclaimer: Not mine, making no money, purely having some fun with these characters!

Green & Gold

Chapter 4 – Attraction

Hours earlier…

Three sets of eyes bored into his as jeep rolled to a slow stop in the middle of the dense forest. "I'm sorry, Jeep is just too tired to go any farther," Hakkai said by way of apology. "Surely it wouldn't hurt to stop early today and let him rest?"

Sanzo ran his hand over his face. "Whatever…" he ground out tersely; glaring at Hakkai and at the jeep.

Gojyo huffed and pouted slightly, "Man, there's no chicks out here."

Goku looked at him and whined profusely, "But what about food, I'm starving."

Hakkai looked at each of them and sighed. For grown men, they were certainly accustomed to getting their own way. "Sanzo, you look as if a rest would do you some good, Gojyo, you chase too many women as it is, and Goku, there's plenty of food for you to eat."

Still grumbling, they left the main path and sought a more sheltered grove of trees for a place to pitch their tents and set up camp for the night. Sanzo took out a book and began reading even as he gave orders. "Goku, go find water."

"Oh man, why does it always have to be me? I'm super starving and I can hardly walk."

"Now," came the harsh reply, punctuated by a sharp rap over the head with a paper fan.

"Alright I'm going, but you guys better not eat all the food while I'm gone."

Gojyo and Hakkai laughed briefly at their antics. Hakkai took pity on the youngest member of their group and tossed a meat bun to him. "I promise we won't eat until you get back. Take this with you."

Goku caught the flying bun with one hand and smiled his thanks as he disappeared.

Work continued to prepare the campsite for their stay. Firewood was gathered, tents were pitched and blankets were unrolled. Work went on quietly and no one noticed Goku had not returned for quite some time. The stillness was finally broken by Jeep's chirps of pleasure as he stretched out on Hakkai's blankets.

Looking around quietly, Hakkai remarked on the growing fog bank, "Say does it look like it's getting foggy to you?"

Gojyo looked up from the fire he was building. He glanced at their surroundings, noting the white mist that was creeping in from all directions. "Yeah, it does." He looked around the campsite again, "Where do you suppose Goku's at?" He stood swiftly and called out to the forest, "Goku?" Only silence greeted his call. "I'm going to take a look around."

Looking up from his book, Sanzo glanced around quickly and returned to his reading, "You're wasting your time, he'll come back when he's hungry you can count on that."

Gojyo broke from the nearby brush. "There's a decent stream about 100 yards through that brush. Goku's not there, no sign that he's ever been there."

"Maybe we should look for him." Hakkai asked swiftly.

"You morons can go look all you like; he can take care of himself."

"Leave his holiness alone, Hakkai. Let's go take a look around."

They trotted off in the general direction Goku had gone only to find that with in a short time, they were deep inside the fog bank. They called out to him but heard no response. "This is getting us no where. Let's split up and see if we can find him."

Gojyo focused his senses on the surrounding forest. "I don't sense any youkai presence around so I don't think anything has happened to him. He's probably sittin' under a tree somewhere, lost as hell and whining about being hungry."

The two friends split up, each going a different direction. Hakkai wandered through the thick fog, hoping nothing had happened to Goku. His ears picked up the sound of a familiar voice, calling out through the fog. "Lirin Sama! Lirin Sama! Where are you? Please come out now."

Yaone was close by. He smiled in anticipation of seeing her again, even if it was only for a few minutes. It was almost a pity she was so devoted to Kougaiji. He would have liked to get to know her better. She was so different from his sister, Kannon, that he sometimes wondered why he was attracted to her. She was tough and strong and didn't back down from a challenge and yet she had a gentle heart and caring way about her. How often had she been the one to tell them to take care every time they had met even when they all fought?

He thought about her occasionally and wondered how he had managed to become attracted to her if the first place. It had taken him by surprise since he usually paid little attention to women. He thought about the time the army had taken her prisoner. The others had not questioned his desire to rescue her. They had just smiled at him and asked what the plan was. Yes, he was definitely attracted to her, but he was also smart enough to realize that it would probably not lead to anything.

"Lirin Sama! Please come out now." Yaone called again. She was very close to his current location. Hakkai moved to cross her path, hoping for a chance to see her again and spend some time with her when they were not fighting. He stood patiently as her voice drew nearer in the fog.

"Lirin Sama! Please… oh! Hakkai-san, what are you doing out here by yourself? Are you lost?" Yaone bowed deeply as she greeted him with a slight smile. He always made her slightly nervous. She knew she was attracted to him, but didn't understand how it had happened. There was no comparison between Cho Hakkai and Lord Kougaiji.

He returned her bow and smiled at her. "Goku is out here somewhere" He explained further, "Gojyo and I are looking for him. Is Miss Lirin lost as well?" Hakkai asked as he stepped over to a nearby tree and leaned against it. "It's hard to find anything in this fog."

Yaone followed his movements, impatiently waving at the mist that clouded the still air. "No, that girl left the castle without permission again and Lady Koushu has a fit every time it happens. You know, the last time we let Lirin out of our sight Dr. Ni put her in a tank and tried to run some sort of experiments on her. Lord Kougaiji was extremely upset and now he is very particular about letting his sister out of his sight for very long." Yaone waved at the mists again. "I wish Lirin would learn to stay in one place or at least tell someone where she is going," she finished in an exasperated tone.

Hakkai shook his head. "I can see why you all want to protect her, but I'm sure she is fine." He added in a helpful tone, "Maybe Miss Lirin and Goku are lost together in this fog."

Yaone grinned at his statement, "We would probably hear them fighting a mile away. Those two are so alike it's almost funny."

Hakkai looked at Yaone, smiling easily at her. "I don't know; we don't always fight when we're together. Maybe they are just sitting under a tree somewhere just talking or laughing together. They could be playing knowing those two."

Yaone looked skeptical at the thought of Goku and Lirin playing together. "I am not sure, I honestly thought Lirin-sama was bothering Master Sanzo again."

Hakkai shook his head. "If Lirin were anywhere close to Sanzo, we would have never stopped no matter how tired Jeep was." He smiled easily at her again he slid down the trunk of the tree until he came to rest in a sitting position. "We might as well wait a while before continuing the search for them. This fog sure appeared out of nowhere." He patted the ground beside him briefly and suggested, "I wouldn't mind having some company."

Yaone regarded him suspiciously for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "You're right; it is pretty pointless to wander around in the mist." She replied as she too sat next to the tree trunk. "It is nice to be out of the castle away from Lady Koushu and her creepy scientists. I really can't blame Lirin for wanting to get away sometimes."

The sat close together and chatted idly about Lirin and Goku, each of them sharing and laughing over some bit of foolishness the two youngsters had managed to get into.

Yaone smiled, "It's good to hear you laughing. I mean… You always seem so sad. She looked at Hakkai's suddenly serious expression. "I'm sorry; it's not really my place to ask you such personal questions."

"What do you mean I always seem so sad?"

"Your eyes, they give it away. I can tell that something troubles you because your smile doesn't reach your eyes. I think it's a front that you show the world." Yaone paused briefly as Hakkai gaped at her. "I'm sorry, I seem to have upset you and that was not my intention."

Hakkai sighed, "I should have died 3 years ago, but Gojyo wouldn't let me. I lost someone very important to me and the fact that I lived and sought out meaningless revenge haunts me with every breath I take."

"You should never apologize for living. You should always be glad you are alive. Would the person you lost want you to always be so sad?"

Hakkai shook his head. You are right; she would not want me to be sad." He lightly punched her on the shoulder. "I'm glad we ran into each other. It takes my mind off of everything that is going on."

Yaone smiled at him again and nodded. "Let me tell you about the time I was 7 or 8 and blew up a kitchen because someone put sulfur powder in the spice cabinet." She immensely liked having a normal conversation about everyday things. She got tired of hearing the latest plans for the revival or how to stop Sanzo's group, or where was Lirin? She laughed again as Hakkai related some ridiculous story of Goku and Gojyo fighting over the last spring roll at a tavern and how Jeep had ended up eating it as they were arguing.

They laughed easily together. Hakkai smiled, enjoying the way her red eyes gleamed and the way her purple hair fell down her back. He wondered briefly what it'd be like to loosen the bands she wore in her hair and let it flow through his fingers. He was shocked to find himself thinking such thoughts.

Yaone blushed as she realized that he was silently studying her. "What are you thinking about?"

Hakkai smiled easily into her eyes, "It's nothing, just… nothing."

"Come on, tell me…" she persisted lightly.

"Well, you'd probably be angry if I told you."

"I promise I will not get angry. What are you thinking?"

"I was just thinking that I'd like to see you with your hair down around your shoulders."

She gasped at his reply. What ever Yaone had been expecting him to say, that was certainly not it.

To Be Continued…

Sorry about the lack of updates! Thanks for all of the emails and reviews. In my defense, I can only say that sometimes being an adult and having adult responsibilities can suck.

Stay tuned for part 5…. Arousal….. coming to a computer screen near you!

Love & Peace,

Lady Blackhat