Wasn't this wait fun?

Credit goes to ry0kiku-chan for giving me an idea for a better title name.

Words: Flashback


Chapter 8: Cats and milk

"Look guys! It's Yaone and... those other people..." Meng-Xin said as she pointed to the group.

"We have names you know!" Lirin exclaimed.

"You guys never told me your names," Meng-Xin pointed out.

"Well my name is Dokugakuji," said... well you know.

"And I'm Lirin!"

"My name is Kougaiji."

Meng-Xin burst out laughing. She laughed loudly and for no aparent reason. So naturally, everyone was staring at her like she was insane. She kept laughing until she could barely breathe.

"What's so funny?" Lirin asked.

"Kougaiji is my cat's name!" Meng-Xin managed to reply before laughing again, this time she was not alone.

"Shut up," Kougaiji said while clearly embarassed.

"Ok, ok." Meng-Xin managed to say while trying to calm down.

"So what are you guys doing here?" asked Gojyo.

"We owe Meng-Xin a meal, remember?" Yaone reminded them. "We knew that you would stop here so here we are."

"That makes you guys sound like stalkers..."


'I save Lirin, and they try to pay me back,' thought Meng-Xin. 'That much I can understand, but how did I end up eating with them? Gojyo is such a horrible parent! It's too bad that Hakkai is sick at the hotel. He wouldn't let me be here!'

Flashback

"Well, if they want to feed you I have no problem!" Gojyo said with a smile.

"You're going to let me eat with the people who try to kill you?"

"Yup."

End Flashback

'He is so dead!'

"So what are you going to order?" Yaone asked.

"I don't know," Meng-Xin shrugged. "I can't read most of this."

"You can't read?!" Lirin gased.

"I'm not from around here. How we can understand each other is still a mystery to me," she replied calmly.

"So how did you end up with those guys?" Dokugakuji asked.

"They found me on the side of the road." Meng-Xin answered. "Sanzo agreed to let me stay with them until we reached this town. So, as soon as they leave this town, when Sanzo and Hakkai get better, I'll be left here."

"That's so mean!" Lirin slammed her hands on the table. Some people turned their heads.

"It's understandable," Meng-Xin reasoned. "I'm just dead weight to them. I won't try to stop them when they leave."

There was an awkward silence between them. She was acting so calm about it that they really didn't know what to do or how to respond.

"Are you ready to order now?" a waitress asked with a notepad and pen in hand.


"More tea please!" Meng-Xin said as she held her cup out for Yaone. "Thank you."

"Meng-Xin, you said they found you on the side of the road. What were you doing there?" Kougaiji asked.

"I have no idea," she replied. "All I know is that I'm here right now eating with you guys."

"Is Meng-Xin even your real name?" he asked.

"No," she answered. "More rice please."


Later

"So how was your meal?" Gojyo asked when Meng-Xin came back from eating.

"The food was good," she replied. "You abandoning me, was not. So when I heard those girls debating whether or not to 'spend some time with you' I told them not to."

"You what?!"

"I told them that you were gay," she calmly answered.

"You...! I could've...! WHY?!?" he screamed at her. "How could you be so cruel?!"

"I can set you up with some other girls if you do me a favor."

"Like what?"

"Go to the store and get me a few things..."


Later

"Sanzo, Hakkai! Are you guys awake?" Meng-Xin asked as she walked into the room. A tray with two mugs of a steaming hot liquid and a plastic bear shaped container of honey was in her hands.

"Yes, we're awake." Hakkai answered. "What is it Meng-Xin?"

"I feel really bad about getting you guys sick," she said quietly. "So I made you something so you guys can get better."

"How thoughtful of you." Hakkai smiled as he sat up in his bed. She walked over to Hakkai's bed and handed him a mug full of hot milk.

"I don't know how much honey you want in it, but remember to stir it so the honey doesn't all end up on the bottom," she said as she handed him a spoon. "It helps to pour it in slowly."

"Thank you Meng-Xin."

She then walked over to Sanzo's bed and held out another mug. Surprisingly, he took it.

"I don't know if you want any honey in it at all, but it's fine either way..."

"Whatever," Sanzo grunted.

"Ah, Meng-Xin!" Hakkai gasped. "I jst remembered something I forgot to ask you earlier!"

"What is it?"

"What's your real name?"

"Then what is your name?" Lirin asked.

"Christy."


Hardly worth the wait if you ask me. To each his own...

The milk and honey is a referance to Card Captor Sakura. When one of the characters gets sick, another one gives them warm milk with honey. Saddly, when I do it, the honey all ends up at the bottom...

I'm mean to Gojyo aren't I? I should find a way to make up for that...

My cat really is named Kougaiji. My sister first named him Captain Jack Depp (because he's not a sparrow). My dad and I called him "Kitty" and after a while, I called him "Neko-chan." "Neko-chan" at some point became just "Kou" and then somehow became "Kougaiji." My poor cat...