There was fire, smoke and screaming. Two figures battled incessantly among the chaos, each twisting around each other as if in an elaborate dance; a dance of death. The smoke dulled the edges of the scene and gave it a dream-like softness that desensitized the harsh reality of the situation. Two figures, one great, one small, but both equal in ferocity whirled around and suddenly rushed toward her viewpoint. She heard a harsh scream and felt the sensation of falling…

"Ty!" A somewhat familiar voice drawled in concern.

She came awake with a start, panting and staring about the room looking for the two fierce warriors. When seeing the comforting walls of her bedroom she let out a shaky breath until she realized that she had been woken up by someone, and that someone would be staring at her curiously…"Gojyo?"

The red head smiled warmly, "Yes, gorgeous?"

"What are you doing in my bed?"

He feigned shock, "Why, you don't remember? You simply could not resist my charms! You attacked me the minute we got through the door and we barely made it to bed before you had your way with me." He leaned forward and brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes.

Ty snorted, "That, I find hard to believe."

"Why is that? I'm available, you're available…hey, it could happen." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Ty thought to herself, 'It most certainly could.' If there wasn't the complication called Lane that stood in her way. It was eerie that he would be following her around town all bloody night. Affection did not go to that extreme…stalking perhaps, but not genuine affection; perhaps a chat with the cowboy would help matters. And if that doesn't help, a good thorough ass-kicking would for sure. Well, it would help her feel better at any rate.

"Hellooooo…anyone home?" Gojyo drawled.

She shook her head, "Huh? What?"

"Wow, and I thought the monkey was spacey…"

"Fuck off, kappa, and get the hell outa my room so I can shower and get dressed!" She shoved the half-breed off the bed.

"Hey! No one shoves me outa my bed, usually the ladies are clawin' to keep me in!" He cried indignantly.

"News Flash Gojyo, this is my bed, not yours!" Ty flounced to the door to the bathroom, "Now get your fine ass out of my room!" With that said, saucy grin in place, she slammed and locked the door to the bathroom.

Gojyo stared a bit dimly at the door to the bathroom, "Did she just call my ass fine?" He then broke into a huge grin, "And like that, I'm back in the game!"

Leisurely, he strolled into the living room pondering his new enigma. She seemed a bit hurt and down last night and when they had gotten back to her apartment. He could see by the level of disarray that she had had a rough time of it the past couple of days; the most obvious sign being the big fuck-off hole in her bedroom wall. He would bet his last pack of smokes that it had to do with that ass wipe of a human from last night. What was his name? Oh yeah, Lane. Ugh…talk about a banjo picker. That fella was bad news and Gojyo couldn't pinpoint it, but something didn't add up to square with Mr. Wonderful. He wanted to figure out what it was before it involved Ty.

He pondered as he meandered around her living room looking at the different things strewn around. Where the hell were these protective thoughts coming from in the first place? Ty didn't need protecting, society needed protecting from Ty. She was a force to be reckoned with and goddamnit it was exhilarating. She had handed Kougaiji's ass to him without even breaking a sweat and that was just hours into her 'new self'. She seemed so confident and ballsy, utterly at ease with her new status. Everything he had not been when he had realized what he was all those years ago.

'What the hell?' He muttered softly as he peered at a reflection of himself in Ty's Pantera cd case. Was that it? Was he drawn to her because she embodied everything he had ever hoped to be? Why the urge to protect her then? Was it to protect not just her, but the characteristics that were integral to her that he had desired to see in himself those years ago? Oh sure, he projected the image of a carefree rake that could handle everything that came his way, but deep down, there was the ghost of an insecure little boy that had brought his mother nothing but pain with just his existence. However, he had fought through his demons and continues to fight through them today. He knew that he has become a better man now and was no longer that powerless little runt. Only one person had seen that Gojyo, and his brother wasn't one to spread tales.

"Gojyo?" Ty called out softly.

He snapped his head up and looked in her direction, instantly plastering a devil-may-care smile on his face, "You called, honey?"

"Ready to go see your friends?" She walked over to where he was standing and he got a whiff of a subtle fragrance of shampoo and a citrus shower gel. Tasty. She was wearing jeans and a gray baby doll t-shirt that showcased all the right curves and those mile-long legs. Her damp crimson hair was carelessly thrown into chopsticks at the back of her head and he had the irresistible urge to pull them out.

"Hello…anyone home?" She asked mischievously tossing his earlier words back at him and knocked on his temple.

He struggled to climb out of the bloody depths of eyes so like his own it was eerie. "Sure babe, for you, I'm always home." Oh, that was a lame line. He threw his arm over her shoulders in attempt to cover up his crappy joke…and to subtly cop a feel. "Let's hit the road, I need a shower and some food. I hope for once that damn prissy monk knows what to do." He took it as a small sign of affection she didn't beat the shit outa him for that 'accidental' brushing of his hand. He sniggered to himself.

Walking into the café side of the tavern/hotel where last night's tumultuous events were still fresh in her mind, Ty spotted the distinctive forms of Hakkai, Sanzo, and who could miss Goku, who was now perusing the menu intently as if he were trying to disarm a bomb and not trying to choose what he wanted for breakfast. Sanzo was reading the paper and drinking a cup of coffee and Hakkai was planning the shopping list.

Hakkai looked up and smiled warmly, "Well good morning you two. Did you guys have a nice night?"

Gojyo grabbed a chair and sighed dramatically as he turned it around and straddled it, "Hakkai, my friend, you have no idea how good my night was. If only I were able to tell you."

That got Goku's attention, the menu now forgotten at the promise of a good story, "Why can't ya tell us? Didja get in a fight and get your wimpy kappa ass kicked?" Goku snickered at the prospect.

"No, you little shit; we didn't get into a fight! I can't tell because stupid little monkeys shouldn't hear about making love to a beautiful woman…"

"EWWWWWWWWWW ! You're so GROSS!" Goku yelled.

"Spare me." Sanzo muttered.

Ty's jaw dropped for a split second before she clenched it and towered over Gojyo with eyes flashing ruby bright. "What kind of lies are you trying to tell kappa?"

Undeterred, Gojyo elbowed Hakkai playfully, "Isn't it so cute, she's so bashful!" he joked, not knowing there was a menacing shadow descending over him.

Goku calmly ducked close to the table and continued to read the menu as the red-headed kappa streaked over his head to connect with the opposite wall.

Ty sat down in the chair that Gojyo had so recently vacated and made a grab for the coffee carafe; only to have a harisen come whistling out of nowhere to connect with the back of her head. "What the FUCK was that for, dickhead!" She looked at the monk who was now putting the fan away, while she absently rubbed her head.

"Pay for your own goddamn coffee. I don't want to catch whatever you may have gotten from the bastard." Sanzo said calmly.

"Hey I heard that, you self-righteous asshole! I will be glad to share I am disease free!" Gojyo declared.

"Gee, that makes me sleep easier at night. Your whore is still not getting any of my coffee."

"I WANT MEATBUNS!" Goku crowed exultantly, and distracted the half-breed kappa from the argument at hand.

Gojyo growled, "You stupid little shit, you always want meatbuns, why you even look at the menu is beyond me!" He palmed the top of Goku's head, pushed down and mussed up the kid's hair.

"PISS OFF WATER SPRITE! I gotta see what each place has!" He shrugged Gojyo's hand off and shoved at the longhaired demon.

Ty looked on as the two bickered and fought, still seething over the priest's comment. She glanced over at Hakkai who seemed to be counting to himself.

"3…2…1…"

BANG! A gunshot echoed in the empty establishment.

Ty ducked and looked around wildly only to have her eyes land on Sanzo who was calmly putting his gun away, the argument now forgotten between the heretic and the half-breed.

"So were you going to talk or what?" Sanzo demanded.

Ty looked at the impassive monk. "Any topic that would interest His Holier-than-Thou Ass?" She quirked an eyebrow as if to say, 'If you want to throw attitude I can too.' Sanzo just looked unimpressed and went back to his paper.

"Have it your way." He paged through the business section.

Ty just glared at the monk, then sighed and began to tell the tale she told Gojyo the night before. She matched Sanzo mood for mood, keeping things terse and succinct.

Sanzo just kept drinking his coffee as Hakkai pondered the situation while Gojyo picked mercilessly on the monkey. They were ignored for the most part by the other three at the table.

"So, do you suppose that Kougaiji wants Ty for the resurrection project of Gyumaoh?" Hakkai questioned.

Sanzo lit up a cigarette and waited a moment. "It's possible. Either way we keep her away from him, and I guess he can't use her for whatever purpose he needs her for."

"You know, for a monk, that was a pretty stupid sentence. Don't they give you guys an education in those temples or what?" Gojyo needled Sanzo.

"You want to die?" Sanzo coldly informed the half-breed.

"Guys! Please! Holy shit, this would get old!" Ty spat out. She looked at her watch and groaned. "I gotta get to class. So, y'all have a good day." She stood up and started stalking for the door. Sanzo's voice stopped her cold.

"Gojyo, go with her. Learn something useful while you're there."

Ty just looked at the thorn in her side, albeit a cute thorn in her side, but a thorn none-the-less. "C'mon, I'm gonna be late as it is."

Later that day...

Gojyo looked around the busy campus with avid interest. "Talk about potential…" he said softly while scanning the sorority girls.

Ty looked over her shoulder, "You say somethin?"

"Nothing," he grinned, "Well, at any rate, it looks like you're stuck with me yet again, babe." He sidled up to her to throw his arm across her shoulders in what she was beginning to identify as his signature move. She calmly shrugged his arm off.

"Whatever, it's just because you're ballast."

Gojyo frowned, "What do you mean by that?"

Ty sighed, "It means that Hakkai couldn't come with me because it looks like he's the 'mommy' of your little group, Goku may be the age of a college student in numbers, but he's nowhere near the maturity level to portray one, and there's no way in seven hells Sanzo would play babysitter to a mistake like me.

"Just because you've got red hair and eyes does not make you a mistake." Gojyo said quietly, all humor now lost.

"Ty! What the hell is goin on? A male voice called out, preventing a response from her.

Immediately Gojyo had Ty tucked safely behind him as he scanned the quad for the guy.

Ty looked over Gojyo's shoulder—it galled her that she had to tiptoe it—and spotted Bode. "Bode? Holy shit it's been a few days!" She slipped around Gojyo to give her friend a hug.

Bode set her back away from him and took in her new appearance. "I almost didn't recognize you! Nice wig and contacts, but where is the costume party?"

Ty just laughed and shook her head, "No, they're not fake, these are the real deal…they changed."

Bode lost some of his humor, "What do you mean they changed?" He edged back some

Ty became confused, "That's why I've been gone the past day or so. I was at home and this change came over me and now I'm…" She gestured to herself.

"…a heretic." Bode finished flatly.

"A what?" Ty quirked an eyebrow in question.

Gojyo watched sadly as the friendship died in the kid's eyes. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"You're taboo; a half-breed borne of a forbidden liaison between humans and demons." Bode now sneered in disgust.

Ty took a step back as the harsh words cut into her. She was still trying to grasp what exactly was going on. "So? What does that matter? I'm still the same me! C'mon Bode, it's me!" She took a step back toward the black haired human.

He sprang back in revulsion. "Stay back demon! No, your kind is worse than a full blooded demon. At least they can claim full heritage to something." He spat at the ground at Ty's feet.

Ty felt tears burn her eyes but she'd be damned if she would spill them in front of this 'fair-weather friend'. Silently Gojyo came up and hugged Ty around the waist and she found herself leaning on his shoulder.

Gojyo's eyes glittered dangerously. "You've made your point, friend. I think you've done enough for today."

Bode just now acknowledged Gojyo's presence, and took in his red hair and eyes. "So you're another half-breed. 'Birds of a feather', huh, Ty? It certainly didn't take you long to go slummin'"

"That's enough, asshole." Gojyo growled. He had felt Ty's flinch at the kid's words.

"I agree with you, it is enough. I've wasted too much time on the likes of you two. And to think I actually liked you Ty. I wanted to ask you out, but now with your 'true colors' showing, I'm glad I didn't."

"I mean it kid, get lost." Gojyo summoned his shakujou, unaware that a crowd was now forming. Whispers of 'half-breeds' and "heretics" and "disgrace" floated among the mass.

Ty glanced around and took in everyone's faces. Few held compassion and sympathy, but the majority had several shades of disgust and contempt. They were sneering and edging in to eagerly see what would happen.

"Just like a mongrel to resort to violence. I'm unarmed, what are you going to do, attack me?"

Ty felt all of her pain coalesce into something else. Something dangerous. Rage. Slowly she pushed away from Gojyo and took a step beside him.

"Babe?" He questioned softly.

Ty silently held a hand up to silence the kappa. She had eyes only for her former friend. She brought her hand out in front of her and held it palm up. She released her anger and it appeared in the form of a bright red chi-ball. The crowd gasped and edged back.

Bode's eyes widened in fear. Ty saw this and while her heart was breaking over the lost friendship, she fed the pain into the fire of her anger. "You would be afraid wouldn't you? It's funny, all those speeches you spouted about not judging people sure are ringing hollow right about now, ain't they?" She laughed humorlessly.

"Ty…I…" Bode sputtered uselessly.

Now she snarled, "You what? You wish your 'friend' would show some mercy now that it seems that the 'mongrel' has some power over you?" She dispelled the ball of energy, "Well you have it. Your kind just isn't worth it; and by that I don't mean the human race, I mean sniveling, judgmental hypocrites like you."

She walked up to Gojyo and she sounded very tired to him when she just stated, "Let's go."

The crowd parted for the two half-breeds and as they walked through, they still could hear the murmurs of 'heretics' and 'filth' float over the assorted mumblings of the crowd. Each word felt like a lash on the back of one whom up until recently would have been proud to call herself a member of the human race.

Gojyo struggled to keep up with Ty, whose angry strides were long and quick. "Damnit! Wait up, Ty!"

She stopped cold in her tracks, "What?" Her back was ramrod straight—a sign Gojyo was beginning to recognize that meant she was upset.

Inanely Gojyo struggled for something to talk about, anything to distract her from the ugly thoughts that were no doubt swimming through her head. "Uhh…" Damn! Why was this so hard to do now? Usually lines came to him naturally and the one time he needed this talent and it deserts him. Figures. "So…what class do you have next?"

"None, I'm done for the day. Fridays are my short days. I'm headed over to Sheppard Arena to go to my Rodeo Club meeting." 'Where Lane would be' she finished to herself, however she said nothing to Gojyo on that matter.

Inside the arena, the stares and whispers were the same as back at the quad and Ty wondered to herself how Gojyo had managed to put up with it all these years! She was really to lash out at anyone or anything. She couldn't help it—why couldn't people understand that? Bode's defection hurt though—if one that had been that close to her felt like that; did that mean that perfect strangers were ready to lynch her? She shook her head in dismissal at her wayward thoughts and took her seat on the bleachers well away from the crowd. Despite the distance, people still edged away from her and Gojyo.

"What's that smell?" Gojyo wrinkled his nose.

"Wood chips and manure." Ty responded flatly and gestured to the arena where the dirt floor was covered with both.

"Don't you have to, I dunno, clean up after your pet?" The half-breed complained.

"I don't know, do you?" Ty queried with a smirk.

"Hey! The monkey is not MY pet! Talk to the monk and leave me outa that pairing!" Gojyo replied, feeling a little reassured at Ty's jesting, but she still looked upset.

The rapping of a gavel brought their attention to the meeting. Lane stood at the podium calling the gathering to order. Ty gazed at him and couldn't help but notice how hot he looked in wrangler jeans.

"Oh…if it isn't Mr. Wonderful." Gojyo muttered.

"What was that?" Ty eyed him dangerously.

"Nothing!" Gojyo gulped and laughed disarmingly.

"Thought so." Ty muttered and grinned.

"Excuse me, but would you like to share with the group?" Lane called out.

It took a minute to realize that Lane was talking to them. Ty felt herself bristle. "We'd rather not, thank you."

"Well then please remain quiet so we can discuss important club issues…"

Gojyo snickered, "like what, how much shit they can shovel?"

"…for members only." Lane looked pointedly at Gojyo.

Ty intercepted it and shot back, "New member, here's his dues," and dug in her pocket for five bucks, walked up to the podium and slapped it down.

Gojyo was scratching his head and muttering, "Did I miss something?"

Ty narrowed her eyes, "Shouldn't I get 'good behavior' points for bringing in a new recruit?" She asked acidly.

"Depends on whether or not he's a valid member or not." Lane replied smugly.

Ty furrowed her brow. "Just what in the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means if he's willing to contribute to the club in a constructive way—he'll be recognized as a valid member." Lane looked down at Ty with an intense glint to his gaze.

The crowd avidly watched in interest as the two played out this drama. Gojyo was bemused as to what was going on. He felt the auras in the room change and noticed how Hakkai, Goku and even the damn monk filed into the back of the arena. Goku spotted him and waved enthusiastically and Gojyo swiped his hand in front of his throat in the silent gesture to cut it out! The kid was gonna blow his cover!

Ty was oblivious to the addition to the crowd and planted a hand on her hip. "A constructive way? That's horseshit, Lane! You know as well as I that most of these 'members' are in name only because it looks good on a freakin transcript!"

"That's irrelevant. The by-laws for the club have been revamped in the past week and those members have been grandfathered in to the new protocol. New members only must take the competency challenge." Lane smiled with triumphant malice.

Ty's eyes widened, "Oh…so you're going to be a douche about this, huh? Fine." She said quietly then turned to the crowd. "Gojyo! Come down here!"

Sanzo, Hakkai, and Goku all watched with interest.

"Oh my, Gojyo's never really been around livestock before." Hakkai commented.

"Aside from those long lonely nights without a woman." Sanzo quipped.

Goku blinked, "What does that have to do with…on that's just NASTY!"

"Shut the hell up, Monkey, I want to see this." Sanzo threatened.

Gojyo got up to the front of the bleachers and looked back at the forty-odd people gathered there. Shit, some of these girls were hot! And they were giving him serious 'fuck-me' eyes…sweet—

"Gojyo!" Ty snapped.

"Huh, yeah, babe?" he threw on a lopsided grin.

Lane leveled a look at Ty, "Some protector you have there. He's too busy looking at other girls to even pay attention to you."

Ty looked up at Lane and could tell beneath the scathing tone there was true concern. Her brow furrowed, why would this guy be concerned for her? Her supposed long-standing friend had turned on her when faced with her true self, and this near stranger wanted to help? "I think I'll manage." She responded noncommittally.

That same sentiment went for Gojyo as well, she realized. Why did he and his friends wish to help her? She came to the revelation that she knew next to nothing about these four guys. She didn't know why they were passing through her town, or why they were traveling at all. Also, how did a rude and violent man end up a high-ranking Buddhist monk? And what was the story behind Gojyo's parents aside from the obvious tale?

"Ty, are you listening?" Lane asked.

"She spaces out regularly," Gojyo added in a familiar tone, "She keeps thinking about what we did last—oof!" A well aimed elbow by Ty knocked the wind outa him.

"Gojyo! Shut the hell up!" Ty snapped. She gave a wide fake smile to Lane, "He's a compulsive liar."

She then turned to Gojyo again and poked him in the ribs as he struggled to get his wind back, "Be quiet, and be nice! He's the one that is going to pick your task to get into this damn club!" She hissed under her breath.

Gojyo leaned down and wheezed, "And why do I want to do that again?"

Ty blinked. "Good question."

Up in the bleachers the three were watching with interest. "I should have brought popcorn, this is turning out to be quite entertaining." Hakkai laughed.

"POPCORN! Watching the kappa make an ass of himself is making me hungry!" Goku chirped.

"Can it!" Sanzo snarled, "I need to see how the dumbass will get through this one."

"I don't think it's going to be graceful at any rate." Hakkai commented.