"Shangri-la: a place where people and demons, along with science and magic, have established coexistence; a chaotic world. However, that state has ceased to be. The experiments to resurrect the great demon, Gyuumaou, who was slain 500 years ago, have created a negative aura. Influenced by this negative aura, demons have lost control over themselves and have gone berserk. This mysterious and abnormal change in circumstances-"
"Hey, hey. What the hell are you explaining things for now?"
"Thus, a group of five youths have been compelled to journey westward, to India, in order to stop the suspected cause of this effect that the experiments to revive Gyuumaou will have, and reestablish peace in the world."
"For the sake of the world? That's definitely a new development. You don't need to attribute arbitrary reasons for that. Now, are you ready, punks?"
Sanzo's POV
It's hot as hell. No, hotter than that. I've never sweat so much in my life, and I'm sure the others haven't either. . . . I take that back, that water sprite has in many different ways. This is a first for us, Tori and I, but a wall is currently separating her from the rest of us.
"I'm telling you, you've passed a thousand already," Gojyo tells me through his panting. "A thousand, I tell ya." I ignore his useless chatter and focus on my breathing.
"Indeed. If a human being kills one thousand demons, they will become a demon," Hakkai adds in. Cockroach grins and wipes the sweat from his cheek.
"I'm not sure about Tori, but Sanzo-sama is pretty damn close to a thousand by now. Right, Goku?"
Our eyes turn to Goku, whose cheeks are redder than the rest of ours and is sweating the most. His eyes seem to be staring off into space.
"It's not use . . . trying to trick me . . . " he mumbles.
"No, I'm serious; totally serious. It's gonna happen sooner or later."
"Or, perhaps he's already become a demon and we just haven't noticed."
"That's definitely a possibility."
"No, it's not . . . "
"Stop trying to complicate things with this stupid conversation. If you can't handle it, just leave already!" I yell at them. This sauna is unbearable enough; I don't need this worthless chatter to make things any more difficult.
"I must say, this is some battle of will power," Hakkai comments.
"And apparently, no one is willing to leave first," Gojyo adds in, then turns and knocks on the wall behind him. "Hey, Tori, you still alive?" he calls.
"And kickin'!" Tori's voice sounds through the wall. "I'll be damned if I'm the first one out!"
"Heh, like brother like sister . . . "
"They are twins, after all. Anyway, you must admit, it's quite rare that we get to stay at an exquisite place like this. Let's enjoy it mor—"
Finally one of us dies, and the first to go is Goku. He's collapsed off the bench and is face-down on the floor. Two kids that ran by earlier have returned and are squatting down and poking at the dead body.
"It would seem Goku has retired," Hakkai comments.
"All right!" Gojyo cheers and knocks on the wall behind us, "Goku's out!"
"Somehow I knew he'd be the first! You're next, Gojyo!"
"Hah! You and the monk are going down next!"
"Don't bet on it!"
Chapter 10: Demons Genjyo Sanzo and Genjyo Tori
Goku's POV
The heat is gone now, but for some reason . . . my forehead is really cold . . . With a soft groan I open my eyes and see that I'm no longer in the sauna. As I sit up, an icepack rolls off my forehead and falls into my lap.
"Huh? I . . . "
"The heat got to you and you fainted."
I look to my right and see Sanzo and Tori sitting next to me, both dressed in the Yu Yu Nation's clothes. Both the shirt and shorts are blue with Yu Yu's dark blue winking panda on the back of the shirt.
"Oh, okay. Where are Gojyo and Hakkai?" I ask.
"They're next door at the rec center," Sanzo answers. He sets the thin newspaper he was reading aside and reaches out to pick up the fallen icepack, but suddenly the bag breaks and the water and ice spill out. I stare at Sanzo's hand and my eyes widen as I notice the long and sharp nails, almost like claws. Sanzo scowls and grips the bag in his palm, then when Tori reaches out to take the bag from him I can see her nails are the same as Sanzo! Both of them have claws . . . Sanzo and Tori . . . no way . . . I bite my lip as I think back to the conversation in the sauna and I quickly stand up.
"I-I'm gonna go see what Gojyo and Hakkai are up to," I say and quickly walk away.
Tori's POV
Sanzo and I watch the jumpy Goku walk off and I wonder what's gotten into him suddenly. Did the icepack breaking scare him suddenly . . . ?
"I guess they grew a bit," Sanzo comments on his nails. I look at them, then I notice my own nails are the same length.
"Me, too. Jeez, we really do everything together, don't we?" I ask. Sanzo only smirks in amusement and I mirror it, then I notice one of the workers walk by and I call out to them. "Excuse me, we need some nail clippers."
Gojyo's POV
"Are you ready, Gojyo?" Hakkai asks me with a competitive smile. The two of us are about to begin a serious game of ping-pong, and he's servin' first.
"Ready when you are!" I say to him as I swing a few practice hits. I'm definitely ready to hit the ball—
Wind flies by my head and I hear the ball lodge itself into the wall behind me. A couple heads turn in our direction, but Hakkai is only standing there and smiling as if hitting a ping-pong ball into a wall is the most natural thing about the game.
"That's not fair!" I yell at him.
"But you said you were ready," he replies.
"Why, you . . . Looks like you've lit the fire of my ping-pong soul!"
"Hey, Hakkai, Gojyo!"
Our heads turn to the entrance of the Game Corner and Goku flies in the room like it's no one's business.
"I see you have awakened, Goku." Hakkai comments.
"Hey, do you wanna play, too?" I offer. Goku shakes his head quickly.
"About what you guys were saying earlier . . . "
""Saying earlier"? What the hell are you talking about?"
"When you were talking about Sanzo and Tori turning into demons!"
"Did something happen?" Hakkai asks.
"Well, umm . . . their nails got really long, and umm . . . "
"Really? That's not good . . . " I say seriously.
"Indeed. That's definitely a sign that they are becoming demons." Hakkai adds in, equally as serious as I.
"Really?"
"Was there anything else?" Hakkai asks.
"Anything else?"
"Like their ears getting pointy, or weird patterns showing up on their bodies?" I explained.
"Uh . . . Umm . . . I don't think so, but . . . I'm gonna go check!"
Goku backs away, then he turns and breaks out into a run back to wherever the twins are at. Hakkai and I watch him leave, then as soon as he's gone we begin to snicker and eventually break out in laughter.
"He's totally panicked!" I exclaim happily.
"Perhaps we scared him a little too much," Hakkai comments with a guilty smile.
"You guys are horrible."
Our laughter ends and we look to see the beautiful Genjyo Tori enter the room~ Ahh, what a sight for sore eyes~ Her bright blond hair is down, the shirt is hugging her chest perfectly, and those shorts . . . Her other shorts are much better on her since they're much shorter than these.
"Hey, pervert, eyes up here," she says and snaps her fingers in my face. I give her a sheepish grin and say nothing.
"Have we gone too far with our jokes?" Hakkai asks sincerely.
"Actually, it's kinda funny, but please don't get him too paranoid so that he'll stalk us for the entire stay. It's bad enough I have this one stalking me and any other woman he sees," Tori answers and points a finger at me.
"You know, Tori, I could stalk you exclusively if that's what you want~"
I smirk at her and step close into her personal bubble. She only looks up at me and reaches her hand up to bop me on the head.
"Bad kappa. No stalking."
"But—"
"No buts. Go sit in the corner, 'cause there's where bad things usually go when they're being punished apparently."
"Well for me, I'm usually 'punished' in bed~"
"Hakkai, can you put this horny bastard on a leash?"
"I will most certainly try."
"Thank you. Good boy, Hakkai."
Tori pats Hakkai's head softly, then she chuckles to herself and leaves the room. I feel myself pouting as Hakkai laughs softly.
"Oh my, have we become Tori's pets?"
"At least you're the good boy . . . "
Goku's POV
Pointy ears or weird patterns . . . No way, I'm sure I won't find anything like that. There's absolutely no way that Sanzo and Tori are becoming demons! As I reach the lounging area, I skid to a stop and think. I can't just walk up to them and ask: Hey, can I see if your ears are pointy or if you have any weird patterns? Definitely not, Sanzo will hit me for sure . . . Instead, I peek around the corner and I see Sanzo sitting alone in his chair with his back to me. Where's Tori . . . ? It's strange to see them not together . . . Maybe she's sleeping? Or maybe she's . . . Uh-uh, no way. Everything's okay, I know it! Let's see . . . Pointy ears definitely stick out, right? I'm sure I can see them from here, if there's any. I concentrate on Sanzo's head and I don't see anything, but before I can relax I see his ears get pointy suddenly! I gasp and back away, then I quickly run back to the Game Corner to find Gojyo and Hakkai.
Sanzo's POV
I don't know what this kid's problem is, but he's irritating the hell out of me. Randomly he came up to me and started rubbing his mask on my face. I'm waiting for him to stop and go away on his own, but now I'm impatient and I move his hands away.
"Cut it out," I tell him and he glares and sticks his tongue out at me.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry!" he mother apologizes as she takes her son away and doesn't bother suppressing her giggles.
"Tch."
Goku's POV
"Gojyo, Hakkai!" I call out as I hurry into the room, but it's empty right now with no sign of my friends. Dammit, where the hell did they go at a time like this? I turn around and continue searching for them, looking in every place where they could possibly be. So far I can't find them at all, but then I notice one room I haven't checked yet—the theater room. I hurry to the doors and without thinking of anyone else, I slam the double doors open and see my friends right away.
"There you are!"
Gojyo and Hakkai scream and popcorn flies everywhere as they jump, but when they look back at me Gojyo looks ready to kill me.
"You scared the crap out of me! Hey, what the hell? You know, there are such things as manners in this worl—"
"They're pointed!"
"Huh?"
"Goku, why don't you sit down, too? This movie is pretty entertaining."
"I'm trying to tell you that Sanzo's ears are pointed!"
"All right, already. Just shut the damn door."
"This isn't the time to be watching a movie! Come on!"
"Hey!"
"H-Hey . . . "
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Hurry up!"
"Let go, you idiot! I can't breathe!"
By force I drag both of them out of the theater room. Well, I dragged Gojyo out and he had Hakkai trapped in his arm. Either way, I dragged them both to the lounging area to where I saw Sanzo last, but he isn't here anymore. I haven't seen Tori anywhere, either.
"Sanzo's not here," Gojyo comments.
"Perhaps he went back to his room?" Hakkai suggests.
"Maybe he completely turned into a demon! I can't find Tori anywhere, but I bet she turned into one, too!" I exclaim and hurry off to find Sanzo and Tori, but Gojyo grabs my arm and drags me back.
"Wait a second, damn it!"
"But!"
"Hey, Goku, do you know what a joke is?"
"A joke?"
"There's absolutely no possibility that Sanzo and Tori will turn into demons," Hakkai tells me.
"But . . . "
"You probably just thought you saw something else," Gojyo says.
"I-I guess . . . I probably just saw it wrong," I say and as I ponder this I smile and relax. "You're right."
"Now that that's settled, I'm gonna take another bath," Gojyo announces as he pats my shoulder and walks away.
"Would you like to come too, Goku?" Hakkai asks me. I think about what I want to do, then I look up at him and smile.
"No, I'm gonna go check their room."
Hakkai nods and he follows Gojyo to the baths. I watch them leave the lounging room, then I take off in a run towards our rooms. Did I really just misinterpret something? I don't know anymore . . . Even if Gojyo and Hakkai were joking around with me, the things I saw were too coincidental! Well, either way, it won't hurt to check on them, right? I need to be sure of it myself. As I turn I corner, I suddenly bump into someone.
"Whoa!"
I fall back on my butt and rub my hip.
"Ow . . . "
"Goku? You okay?"
I look up and I see Tori in front of me and holding out her hand. I smile as I take her hand and she helps me up.
"Yeah . . . Sorry. Are you okay?" I ask.
"It's okay, I'm fine," she answers and as I observe her I smile in relief. There are no weird patterns or pointy ears or claws; Tori's completely normal now.
"I'm glad . . . Ah, where's Sanzo? And where have you been?" I ask.
"Back at the room. Sanzo's relaxing and I was gonna check on the children. I found you so far, so now I gotta find the other children," she answers. I laugh softly, but as Tori lifts her arm to tuck her hair behind her ear my laughter ends and I stare with wide eyes. Under Tori's arm are three red arrow-like patterns! I take a step back as I stare at the markings. It . . . It couldn't be . . .
"Hm? Goku, you okay?" Tori asks me, but I don't answer as I turn and run away.
Tori's POV
"Hey!" I call after Goku as he runs, but he doesn't stop and the boy disappears around the corner. What the hell happened suddenly? I lifted my arm and he freaked out . . . Now that I think about it, there's something cold and wet on my arm. I look and I see three arrow-like patterns on the underside of my arm.
"The hell . . . ?"
"I'm sorry!"
I look at the voice and I see one of the workers looking and me and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Did you get some of the paint on you? We're open 24 hours a day, so . . . Sorry for the trouble," he explains.
"Oh, no, don't worry, it's fine. I hope I didn't mess it up," I say and glance around at the three-layered zigzagging design going across the wall. Luckily I don't see a smear.
Hakkai's POV
Gojyo holds up a small, transparent water gun that seems to shine in the light for dramatic effect. He points it at me and grins.
"Fear the power of my water gun!" he exclaims and pulls the trigger, but the stream barely reaches me. I smile as I pull out a much larger water gun—a super soaker, I believe is what it is called.
"You're too soft, Gojyo," I tell him and pull the trigger, spraying the water in his face.
"Gah!" he cries out and ducks away from the stream. "You sure don't give a guy a break, do you?"
"Gojyo, Hakkai!"
Oh dear, this is going to become routine all day, isn't it? I look ahead and Gojyo looks back as Goku hurriedly runs to us, a panic look as his expression.
"What now?" Gojyo asks with a grin and uses his water gun on Goku. He dances around to try to avoid the water, then when Gojyo runs out of ammo, Goku looks at us again.
"Sanzo and Tori are in trouble after all! There was a pattern on Tori!" he exclaims. Gojyo and I look at Goku for a few seconds, then Gojyo grins and chuckles.
"Now you're trying to lead us on," he says.
"That's not it, damn it!" Goku yells at us, but Gojyo and I share the same idea and we use our water guns on poor Goku.
"We're not going to fall for that," I tell him.
"Damn it, never mind!" Goku yells in frustration and runs off again, leaving Gojyo and I stunned.
"Is that idiot serious?" he asks.
"It seems so . . . "
Goku's POV
Sanzo and Tori are turning into demons . . . What am I gonna do? I'm hurrying to their room right now, but . . . but . . . I stop running through the hall to think about this whole crazy situation. Even if they turn into demons, it's not like they're gonna go berserk right away, right? I remember a particular group and smile to myself.
"Yeah. I mean, there are demons like Kougaiji who have control over themselves and are still normal. Sanzo and Tori should be fine."
I nod to myself and smile more with this positive thought, then as I take a step forward I hear movement behind me and freeze. Slowly I turn around and I see two demons walking by, a man and a woman with dark skin and long, blonde hair. Seeing the color of their hair makes my heart stop and my eyes widen. The demons stop and look in my direction; immediately I notice the arrow-like marks on their arms! They're the same . . . Is . . . Is this coincidental . . . ?
"S- . . . Sanzo . . . ? T-Tori . . . ?"
The demons share the same grin, then they crouch and jump through the ceiling!
"Sanzo! Tori!"
I hurry to the hole and look up, but they're already gone.
Hakkai's POV
After our swimming and water gun fights, Gojyo and I have returned to the men's locker rooms to dry ourselves of the water and to change back into Yu Yu Nation's uniform. Currently Gojyo is sitting on one of the benches and using a towel to dry his hair while I . . . Well, I'm just standing by as I usually do.
"I wonder what in the world it was that Goku thought he saw," I wonder aloud.
"I'm sure it's just some stupid misunderstanding," Gojyo comments.
"I'm going to head back," I tell him.
"All right."
That said, I leave Gojyo behind in the locker room and make my way towards our rooms. I'm not entirely sure that I will find Goku there, but it's a good place to begin looking. As I turn down a hall, I begin to feel disturbed. No one is in the hallway, and everything seems too quiet. I walk forward, then freeze and quickly look back. I felt something behind me just now, but there doesn't seem to be anything there . . . Now I'm beginning to spook myself. With a frown I look ahead and continue forward. It was all just a joke in the beginning, but Goku seems a bit too serious now, even though Gojyo and I confessed we were only playing with him. Just what did Goku—
A strong aura presents itself below me and the floor begins to bulge. Quickly I jump back just as an arm breaks through the floor and stretches out to grab me, but I am already too far away before the hand can clench closed. I look ahead at the arm, but then it suddenly slips down and out of sight. My eyes have widened; the arm had markings and the fingernails were long, sharp claws—I can automatically assume the arm of a demon. A demon . . . It couldn't be . . .
Gojyo's POV
After Hakkai leaves me behind, I take the towel off my head and stare at it. The damn thing barely soaked up any of the water in my hair, so I have to find other means to dry off. Tossing the towel away, I walk over to a row of chairs sitting against the wall, each chair holding a hair dryer. I grab a magazine from a basket, take a seat in a random chair, tilt the dryer at the perfect angle, then relax and read as the hot air begins to dry my hair like a professional, unlike the stupid towel. I relax and read and relax and read and relax and read . . . Damn monkey, what the hell was he so worked up abou—
The wall to the left of me breaks and an arm thrusts out, makin' me jump and cuss loudly. The wall to the right of me does the same and I scramble out of the chair, then turn around and observe the arms stretching out of the wall.
"What the hell?"
"Gojyo, move!"
I glance back and see Hakkai standing in the doorway and forming a ball of chi, then quickly I duck as he extends his arms and uses his qigong on the chair. The arms disappear, but assuming there's no blood, whatever the thing was isn't dead.
"His presence is gone. I guess he ran way," I tell Hakkai as I stand, watching as he walks over to the destroyed wall and chair.
"A yellow strand of hair . . . Blonde hair?" he asks and turns around to show me a lock of golden hair.
"But, it couldn't be . . . "
"It's them."
Hakkai an' I turn back and see Goku standing before us with a serious face.
"Did you see the demon, too, Goku?" Hakkai asks.
"Both of them! Sanzo and Tori turned into demons!" Goku answers.
"Would you give that up already?" I ask him.
"It's not a lie! Look!"
Goku holds out his hand and reveals a shredded piece of a purple cloth. My mind immediately turns to Tori, and for once not in a perverted way.
"That . . . That could be anything . . . " I say.
"Anyways, putting the possibility that it might be Sanzo and Tori aside for a moment, we can't just let them run around like this," Hakkai explains.
*gunshot* Saiyuki Reload - Love for a Water Sprite
Goku's POV
We all agree with Hakkai and quickly return to our rooms to change back into our normal clothes. After that, we run through the hallways to find the two demons . . .
"Sanzo . . . Tori . . . I can't believe they really turned into demons!" I exclaim.
"Would you stop saying that? You're making me start to think that it's true!" Gojyo yells at me.
"You still don't believe me?"
"You two can argue later," Hakkai interrupts us. "We should probably split up, and . . . "
Hakkai stops talking and at the same time we all stop running as we feel a sudden demonic aura around us. Our eyes look around the hallway, but we see nothing.
"Do you feel that?" Gojyo asks.
"Yes," Hakkai answers.
"Which way is it coming from?" I ask.
"They're up above!" Gojyo exclaims and he uses his shakujou to stab through the ceiling above us. With a jerk he pulls the blade out and the two demons fall through the ceiling and onto the floor in front of us. They give a wide grin and take turns knocking us away so they can run off.
"Damn you, wait a minute!" Gojyo yells and chases after them, Hakkai and I follow close behind. I call out for Sanzo and Tori, but they don't answer me and seem to disappear. Gojyo, Hakkai, and I follow them into the bathing area, but suddenly they're gone from our sight. Even though they're gone, we stay on guard because they're definitely here somewhere.
"They're not here," I comment.
"You can feel their demonic aura," Gojyo adds. "Where the hell are they . . . "
"They're right there!" Hakkai exclaims and Gojyo and I watch as he sends a chi ball towards one of the pools. The demons are forced to jump out of the pool and they both land in front of us, but facing away. I call out to both of them and they both turn their heads to look back at me, but do nothing else.
"Hey, no matter how you look at it, they can't be them, Goku . . . " Gojyo tells me.
"It's pretty difficult to distinguish a connection between the four of them," Hakkai comments.
"It's just that they're all blonde! And that female demon looks nothing like Tori at all; the figure is completely wrong."
"Gojyo, I don't believe now is the time to be talking about such things."
Ignoring my friend, I call out to Sanzo and Tori and together they reply to me with a snarl. "See, look! They answered! It has to be Sanzo and Tori!"
"I must admit, that's superb timing, especially for them to answer in unison," Hakkai comments.
"I don't think we have the time to be admiring that," Gojyo comments, then we quickly jump away before the demons smash us into the ground. "They're pretty strong, aren't they?"
"We have no time to waste, Gojyo. If they escape from here, they will cause a huge panic," Hakkai explains and throws a chi ball at Sanzo and Tori, but they jump out of the way in opposite directions before they get hurt.
"You shouldn't be running around with ugly bodies like that," Gojyo tells the demons and send the blade of his shakujou at the demons. Instead of hurting them, the chain only wraps around their arms several times and holds them tight together. "I've got 'em, go for it!"
"Leave it to me!" Hakkai says to Gojyo and begins to form a ball of chi.
"Don't!" I cry out and bump into Hakkai's side purposely, making the ball fly in a completely different direction and safely away from Sanzo and Tori.
"What on earth are you doing, Goku?" he yells at me.
"Are you trying to kill Sanzo and Tori?" I remind him.
"Er, Goku. That's not our twins."
"Where's your proof?"
Hakkai stays quiet for a moment, then he turns away from me and glances over at Sanzo and Tori.
"Now that I think about it, there's no proof that it is Sanzo and Tori, but there's also no proof that it's not them."
"Hey! This isn't the time for chit-chatting!" Gojyo yells at us, but then suddenly Sanzo and Tori attack him and he dodges to the side. As he regains his footing he sends the blade out again, but this time he's trying to stab them!
"I told you to stop it!" I exclaim at him and use my nyoi-bou to hit the shakujou's blade away.
"Goddamn it, whose side are you on?" Gojyo yells at me as the blade returns to his weapon.
"Right now, Sanzo's and Tori's!" I answer defensively. Up above us and hanging from the lights, Sanzo and Tori snarl loudly after I call out their names.
"Goddamn it, would you stop answering him?" Gojyo yells at them.
"I'd really like to know where the real Sanzo and Tori went off to," Hakkai wonders as he and Gojyo run forward to close the gap and ready their weapons. Standing between them, I look up and focus on Sanzo and Tori.
"Grow, Nyoi-bou!"
I hold my weapon up straight and watch as it quickly grows, then as Gojyo and Hakkai jump up, I hit them away from Sanzo and Tori. As soon as their feet hit the ground, Sanzo and Tori swing and fly in opposite directions; Sanzo flies towards Hakkai and Tori towards Gojyo. Before they're attacked, Gojyo and Hakkai jump away and dodge each attack Sanzo and Tori throw at them.
"This is another thing, Goku! Tori would never come at me like this yet!" Gojyo comments.
"Stop making such comments at a time like this, Gojyo!" Hakkai exclaims, then suddenly Tori abandons Gojyo and she and Sanzo begin to chase Hakkai around together.
"Hakkai!" Gojyo calls out, but before he can hurry to the action I throw my nyoi-bou down and trip him.
"Goku, you little . . . " he mumbles and glares at me, but I only grin and twirl my nyoi-bou before holding it with both hands.
"I'm going to protect Sanzo and Tori!"
"I'm going to smack that rock you call a head and make you behave!"
Gojyo readies his shakujou and I ready my nyoi-bou, both ready to attack and bring the other down no matter what. Suddenly, our serious tension breaks as Hakkai runs between us with the demons chasing him.
"Hakkai!"
"Sanzo! Tori!"
"I don't have enough time to gather energy!" Hakkai cries out as he runs. Gojyo hurries and throws his blade at Sanzo and Tori, but I move quickly ahead of the crescent blade and hit it away with my nyoi-bou.
"Oh, no you don't!"
"Don't underestimate me!"
Suddenly Gojyo pulls his shakujou back and the blade is sent upward to the ceiling right above Sanzo and Tori. He jerks on his shakujou and the damaged area of the ceiling falls in Sanzo's and Tori's direction.
"You're too soft!" I say happily as I jump up and turn the ceiling chunks into bits.
"That would be my line," Hakkai says with a smile as he begins to gather his chi into a ball.
"Why, you . . . "
I hurry after Hakkai, but my footing suddenly slips with a bar of soap and I slide right past him.
"Ack! Hakkai! Time out, I call time out!"
I lose my footing completely and go crashing into the wall, but not before I hear the sound of the qigong hit its target. Quickly I regain my composure and cry out for Sanzo and Tori, but as I look back, the two are on the ground unmoving with Gojyo and Hakkai standing on either side of them.
"It's finally over," Gojyo simply comments.
"Indeed."
I stare at the bodies with wide eyes and begin to feel tears burning. Soon, then fall down my cheeks and I let out soft whimpers. Gojyo and Hakkai look at me, but my eyes are on the bodies of the two most important people to me. Slowly I walk over to them, then collapse to my knees in front of the bodies. I look at them and reach out to touch their hair, the beautiful blonde hair . . . "Sanzo . . . Tori . . . " The tears fall faster down my cheeks and I cry out for my lost friends.
"Sanzo . . . ! Tori . . . !"
"What?"
My tears stop immediately and with a gasp I pick my head up and look back to see Sanzo and Tori standing in the entrance, both dressed in their normal clothes.
"Wha? Huh?" I look between the demon bodies and at Sanzo and Tori as the approach us.
"See, I told you it wasn't them," Gojyo tells me and Hakkai laughs softly.
"Apparently, because we teased you earlier, you were led to believe that these demons were Sanzo and Tori," he explains. The reality sinks in and I laugh softly to myself—Sanzo and Tori are alive, and definitely not demons.
"Did you two still tease him after I told you not to?" Tori asks as she eyes Gojyo and Hakkai. Both of them put up nervous smiles and Hakkai raises his hands to defend himself.
"No, of course not. We definitely stopped," he answers.
"Good," Tori says and she and Sanzo look over the demons behind me.
" . . . You thought those things were us . . . " Sanzo says.
"Oh, you don't look anything like them, nothing like them at all! You don't look anything like them! You two look nothing like these demons!" I say nervously and wave my hands to try to defend myself, then suddenly I hear snarls behind me and I look back to see the demons sitting up and ready to attack. Before they could get the chance, Sanzo shoots the female demon and Tori stabs Tsuki forward to kill the male demon. The female falls back immediately, then the male follows when Tori pulls Tsuki back.
"Well, I must admit, these demons were rather full of energy," Hakkai comments.
"They definitely resembled some twins we know, in that respect," Gojyo adds and grins.
"They might look weak, but they're rather strong," Hakkai continues. I smile and stand up.
"But, if Sanzo and Tori really turned into demons, we'd seriously be in a lot of trouble."
"Let's give that a rest already."
"That's definitely something I'd rather not think about."
The three of us laugh together, glad that the nightmare is over. Sanzo and Tori smirk to themselves, but suddenly their expressions change and they hold their heads in pain. Then, their breathing changes and they begin snarling . . .
"Sanzo? Tori?" I ask worriedly.
"It can't be . . . " Hakkai says.
"What if those demons were their thousandth?" Gojyo asks.
Sanzo and Tori pull their hands away, then as they lift their heads they snarl loudly as they show off their new demonic features. My eyes widen and I scream, "No! Sanzo and Tori are . . . Sanzo! Tori!"
"Shut up!"
Suddenly I feel a smack to the back of my head and my screaming stops. I look around at my surroundings and find myself in the lounging area, exactly where I was when I first woke up after passing out in the sauna. I look back in confusion and see Sanzo and Tori standing together, both dressed in Yu Yu Nation's clothes again.
"Goku, are you okay?" Tori asks me.
"What the hell are you babbling about?" Sanzo asks. I blink and look at them curiously.
"You're the normal Sanzo and Tori . . . " I say softly.
"Of course, you fool." Sanzo says.
"Oh, it was just a dream," I say in relief and smile.
"That must have been one stupid dream," he comments.
"Yeah, it was weird. You guys turned into demons . . . "
"Us, demons?"
"I-I said it was just a dream, a dream!" I exclaim and cover my head to protect it from the harisen.
"But it's not a dream," Tori says.
"Huh?"
I look up and suddenly Sanzo and Tori have pointy ears again and fangs and claws . . .
"Not again . . . "
Tori's POV
"He sure does sleep a lot, doesn't he?" Gojyo comments, looking down at Goku as the poor thing is sleeping with his head resting on Gojyo's leg and his own legs sticking out the side of the jeep.
"I wonder if it's time for his hibernation," Hakkai jokes.
"That's a possibility. He stored up enough food in the last village," I comment and grin slightly.
"Well, he's been having a nightmare this whole time," Gojyo tells us.
"If it's a nightmare, why don't you wake him up and be a hero?" I ask the redhead. He looks over at me and smirks.
"A hero, eh? I could go for that, if that's your type of guy~"
"Shut up or die," Sanzo threatens, then Hakkai chuckles.
"I wonder what kind of dream he's having," he says.
"He's probably not gonna remember it when he wakes up. Probably," Gojyo comments.
"You never know. Dreams are . . . Well, they're bitches like that," I comment and watch in amusement as Goku begins twitching on Gojyo's lap.
"Well then, we're almost there," Hakkai announces. We look ahead at the large building in front of us and it turns out to be a large bathhouse called Yu Yu Nation, it's mascot a winking panda.
"So, this is where we're staying tonight?" Sanzo asks.
"Looks like. If they have saunas here, we should try a test of endurance," I suggest, and since it's me that spoke, Gojyo immediately chips in his two cents and flirts.
"A test of endurance, eh? Let's hope there's a coed room so we can keep an eye on each other to make sure no one cheats~ OWW!"
"Shut the hell up or I'll kill you right now!"
"Hey, Hakkai, do you think you can keep Mr. Pervert on a leash during our stay?"
"I will most certainly try."
~ PREVIEW
Gojyo: Hey, Goku! If you come out, I'll give you a bean jam bun! Tori! Where are you? Damn it, I could have sworn they were around here . . . They totally disappeared into the fog. Well, they fell off a cliff first . . . Damn it, where the hell did they go? Next time on Saiyuki Reload - Love for a Water Sprite, "Spirited Away Mountain." Hey, Goku! I'll throw in a meat bun and some potstickers! Come out! Tori! Hey!
Ura Sai
Tori, Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai: Ura Sai.
Sanzo: Shut up.
~ Bill
It is now morning and it's time for the Sanzo Party to leave their inn and continue on their adventure west to the next town will a hopefully equally lovely inn. Before leaving the inn, the group stands at the front desk and ask for their bill.
"May we please have our bill?" Hakkai asks.
"To whom should I make it out to?" the woman asks.
"The Sanzo Party," Tori answers. [How Tori answers is "Sanzo-ikkou-sama", and the group are going to begin a play on words again. They're playing with "sama" and some words that go with it.]
"The almighty me," Gojyo answers. ["Ore-sama"]
"Then I'm—"
"A little brat," Sanzo and Gojyo answer before Goku can finish. ["Noko-sama"]
"Pardon us, the first one will be just fine," Hakkai tells the confused woman.