Student of the Teacher
Summary: The Sanzo group has been traveling for only a short while, but suddenly they come upon a figure from Hakkai's past—a young girl of about twenty, who apparently knows more about Cho Gonou then most. Who is she? Why is she here? And….why is Gojyo acting so strangely all of a sudden? Time is shortly after Yaone.
Pairings: whatever. you tell me what you want; i'll try to use them. it all depends, though, on if its gunna work with the story….
&
Notes: Right, well, let's get to it! ONWARD!.!.!
&
((authoress talking))
"character talking"
'character thinking'
flashback scene
"chanting"
writing
singing
"telepathy"
Drop a Bomb
"Oh! There you are, Kougaiji-sama," Yaone said as she walked into Kougaiji's mother's tomb (1).
"What is it, Yaone?"
"I'm afraid Lady Lirin is missing."
"So what else is knew?" Kougaiji asked with a roll of his eyes. "She's probably just wandering around."
Yaone looked worried. "Yes, but….I haven't seen her since last night. The maids can't find her anywhere."
"It looks like on of the long-distance dragons is missing, too," Dokugakuji said, walking into the room. "You don't think LIRIN took it, do you?"
"Yes," a woman with bright red hair and green eyes said as she walked in, stopping next to Dokugakuji.
She was relatively short, with shoulder-length, strawberry-colored hair (she was without bangs, apparently) pulled back into two ponytails and away from her ivy-green eyes. She was wearing a sky blue, short-sleeved belly shirt that had a series of sparkles in a swirl design radiating from the middle of it, black shorts under a navy blue skirt that went down to her knees with a slit all the way up until it was only a half inch from the top, a thick silver choker with diamonds set into it, completely covering her neck ('A power limiter?' Kougaiji asked himself for the hundredth time), and five silver bangles jangling around her right wrist. She had no shoes, and dark purple butterfly wings (each about the size of her body) sprouted from her back in a surreal way. She had furry red antenna about an inch long sprouting from her hairline with green on the end, and her short-cut fingernails were painted a sparkling blue. However, her ears were not pointed, she had no youkai mark to speak of, and she was fangless, suggesting she wasn't a youkai at all.
"I'm positive," she said, pulling a purple rose petal out of her pocket. "I left this by the dragons just in case, and it says that she took number 26."
"Hanasuta," Yaone said, blinking (2). "When did you get back?"
Hanasuta shrugged. "Dunno. Hour ago, at best."
"Where would she want to…." Suddenly, something hit Kougaiji ((a banana! okay, not really. X3)). "DAMMIT!.! THAT FOOL!.!.!" Kougaiji shouted.
"Hm?" the other three said with a blink.
&
"Wow, coool!.!" Goku shouted as he looked around the town. "Lookit all th' people!"
"There are a lot," Yaiba agreed with a blink, her new cuts healed. She had re-wrapped her arm so that no one would stare, but she noticed the boys (except Gojyo) glanced at it whenever they thought she wasn't looking.
"It's been a while since we've been to such a busy town," Gojyo agreed. They glanced at each other then blushed, quickly looking away.
'They've been doing that since that episode with what's-his-face,' Sanzo thought as he vein-popped. 'It's getting really God-damn annoying, too….'
"This place seems mostly unaffected by the youkai problem," Hakkai said pointedly.
"Mm," Sanzo grunted, still thinking.
"Sanzo!.!" Goku shouted, sparkling as he looked at a stand that had meat buns. "I wan' those!"
"No," Sanzo said bluntly.
"Waah!" Goku cried. "Mean ol' priest!"
"I hear nothing."
"Droopy-eyes! Baldy!"
"Wait, who're you callin' bald?"
Goku went running to Hakkai and Yaiba, whimpering between them.
"Now, now," Hakkai said with a sweat-drop. "What's wrong with buying him a meat bun?"
"A spoiled child develops bad habits, Hakkai," Sanzo said pointedly.
"Spoken like a good Mommy," Gojyo said with a smirk, patting Sanzo on the shoulder.
"Do you have a death wish?" Sanzo asked, deadpan.
"I think he does," Yaiba said with a laugh, her back to the meat bun stand.
She slipped the guy some yen and he gave her three meat buns. Sanzo started thinking as he pulled out a cigarette. While he was distracted, Yaiba snuck over to Goku and handed him a meat bun as she signaled for him to be quiet. He nodded with a smile and scarfed down the food like he hadn't just eaten five minutes before.
She offered one to Hakkai, but he denied (politely), so she shrugged and bit into it herself. She was finally eating after five days (or so), and Hakkai was happy that she wasn't starving herself anymore. Gojyo twitched (she hadn't offered him any, after all that he did!) and Yaiba smirked, holding out a meat bun.
"Want one?" she asked him. When he pretended not to care, she shrugged. "Fine. I'll give it to Goku."
"Hey, wai—" Gojyo gaped as Goku grabbed the meat bun from her with a happy smile.
"Yaaaay!" he cheered, stuffing his face. Yaiba snickered and shoved the last bite of hers into her mouth before Sanzo could see.
"Hello, hello," a cheerful man next to Sanzo said. "You sirs, and young lady. Over there."
"He called me young," Yaiba said, stifling a laugh as Gojyo snickered. The others gave her a questioning look, but were interrupted when the man (who was apparently a fortune teller) continued.
"You are travelers, yes?" the man continued. "Chin Yisou will tell the future of your journey."
"No thanks, pal," Gojyo said with a smirk as the others (except Goku) turned. "Telling fortunes with Mahjong tiles is a crock, thank you."
"How cruel! And here I see….that your faces foretell DEATH. How frightening. Hm, hm!"
'What?.!' the boys all thought as they spun around. Yaiba rolled her eyes and turned around, sighing deeply.
"You're living close to death, yes? I can tell. Especially….yes." Chin Yisou lifted finger and pointed at Hakkai and Hakuryu. "YOU." Yaiba started examining her nails uncaringly.
"That lovely false smile hides it so nicely," Chin Yisou continued. "But your eyes, good sir, are those of a SINNER." Now it started getting dark, and Yaiba tried to look at her watch before remembering she had broken it earlier in the week. "And the scar on your belly. The symbol of your sins. You've committed crimes you can't atone for, yes? And against the young girl." Yaiba suddenly looked up from her nails, turning to Hakkai (who was sweating as he stared in disbelief) with shock.
"Me?" she asked weakly, turning from Chin Yisou to Hakkai and back again.
"SHADDUP YA GROSS OL' CRINKLY!.!!" Goku shouted, slamming his hands down on the table. Yaiba blinked.
"Oh my," Chin Yisou said, apparently not scared (since he didn't even flinch).
"IF YA WANNA FIGHT, LET'S GO!.!.!"
"I'm just a fortune teller," Chin Yisou reminded him. "And not a very reliable one….yes?" He pulled out a mahjong tile as Gojyo glanced at Hakkai and Yaiba watched both of them do so. "See? The tiles tell your destiny."
Chin Yisou showed it to the five, and everyone (except Sanzo and Yaiba) stared at it in shock. It said 'devastation'.
"Calamity follows thee. And yet, it's up to you whether or not you believe."
Yaiba shook her head slowly, sighing as she turned away from them and watched a black figure approach. She arched an eyebrow, but didn't sound the alarm.
"Wha's THAT supposed ta—!" Goku was cut off when someone screamed behind them. Everyone (except Yaiba and Chin Yisou) turned and stared in shock/horror as a shikigami rose in the distance (3). Yaiba glared over her shoulder at Chin Yisou, who shrugged with a smile and Yaiba rolled her eyes and turned back to the creature.
"Huh?" Gojyo asked loudly. "What the hell is THAT?.! Don't tell me it's another of Gyumaoh's assassins?.!"
"I don't know about that," Sanzo said calmly as everyone else ran around in a panic.
"The sanskrit on its chest means it's a shikigami," Yaiba observed boredly (4).
"A shikigami?" Gojyo asked loudly. "THAT big?"
"Ack! This's terrible!" Goku exclaimed loudly.
"Way to state the obvious," Yaiba said with a roll of her eyes.
"Damn," Gojyo said with a scowl. "I don't know who you're working for…." He summoned his shakujou and threw the blade at the shikigami. "….BUT YOU'VE GOT A LOTTA NERVE BLOWING OUR DAY!.!.!" The blade hit the shikigami….only to bounce right off.
"!!….ah, shit." Gojyo brought back his blade with a curse.
"You losing your touch, Gojyo?" Yaiba asked him, lightly hitting him over the head. "That didn't even scratch it!"
"That ain't no ORDINARY shikigami, thank you!" Gojyo shouted defensively.
"What is it MADE of?.!" Sanzo asked with a glare.
Suddenly, a chunk of cement flew towards them, although only Hakkai and Yaiba noticed it.
"Everyone…." Hakkai stared.
"WATCH OUT!.!" both of them yelled as it fell towards Gojyo, Goku, and Sanzo. However, Goku jumped out of the way and it missed.
"AAAGH!!" Goku shouted as he landed on his ass. "THAT WAS CLOSE!.! I thought I was gunna die."
"Whatever it is," Gojyo said with a smirk, picking up on their previous conversation as he stuck up his middle finger at it, "it's big and hard and purple….but that wouldn't remind you of anything, would it, priesty?"
"How can you squeeze in vulgar jokes at a time like this?" Sanzo asked with a sweatdrop and a glare. Yaiba smirked.
"The same way the Gods squeezed that tiny brain into his thick head," she said, folding her arms as she looked at Gojyo expectantly. Hakkai cut in before they could kill each other (or worse—get along).
"Sanzo, try the Maten Sutra!" he suggested as he walked up to them.
"I suppose I have to," Sanzo said with a sigh. He glanced over at Goku. "Goku! Go distract it."
"On it!" Goku shouted with a smile as he summoned his Nyoi-Bo. Yaiba smirked as she summoned her scythe (to her left hand, the boys couldn't help but notice).
"I'll help," she offered as she and Goku charged it.
"COME AN' GET SOME, ALIEN CRAB!.!.!"
Yaiba rolled her eyes and was about to hit it when the two heard a meow behind them. A cat was rubbing itself against Goku's leg.
"A kitty?" Goku said, confused. Yaiba glanced up at the same time as Hakkai.
"GOKU, LOOK OU—!" they both shouted. A figure cut them off as it flew through the air and hit the crab in the face, knocking it over.
"Uh….what the hell was that?" Gojyo asked as Sanzo started rolling his Sutra back up. The crab was apparently dead when the figure picked up the kitty.
"Kitty better be more careful next time," Lirin said with a smile. She started laughing as the cat licked her face. "Nyahahaha! That TICKLES, Meowsie!"
"A LITTLE GIRL?.!.?" Gojyo exclaimed, staring at her.
"She wrecked that crab like nothing," Hakkai observed nervously. Yaiba sent away her weapon with a sigh and moved behind Sanzo so that it was harder to see her. Lirin apparently heard them as she set the cat down, since she put a hand on her hip and pointed to them with the other.
"Ah-ha!" Lirin shouted in triumph. "The Sanzo gang! THERE you are!"
"Huh?" they all asked (except Yaiba, who just pulled out her notebook and a pen from her side pack and started sketching something).
"My name's Lirin!" Lirin shouted with a smile as she laughed in 'victory'. "I came to beat you up for Kougaiji Onii-chan!"
"'Onii-chan'?" Hakkai repeated with a nervous smile as everyone else's jaws dropped (except Yaiba's, since she was still sketching). "Oh boy."
"YER KOUGAIJI'S LI'L SISTER?.?.?.??" Goku repeated in disbelief.
Lirin winked with a smile. "Time to die! Nya ha!.!"
&
"Egad!" Yaone shouted, shocked. "She went to find the Sanzo-Ikkou?.!" She sweat-dropped.
"I'm sure of it," Kougaiji said as he started shaking with fury and vein-pops started covering his head. "We ride!"
"Easy, Shaky," Dokugakuji said with a smile as he sweat-dropped. "You're making ME nervous." Kougaiji started across the room, not really processing what was happening.
"Kou-sama! Don't destroy the—" Hanasuta was cut off when the sound of shattering china filled the room. "—flower vase," she finished with a sigh as she sweat-dropped. "Oh shit; now I'm not so sure I should go anymore…."
&
(1): It's not really a tomb, but it's where his mother is sealed forever (or not, depending), so it works.
(2): Her name means 'Flower Star'. It's just a very interesting thing to know, and it might help some things later on make more sense.
(3): Shikigami are inatamate objects animated and pieced together with magic by ying-yang masters to do their bidding.
(4): I'm not quite sure what a sanskirt is, but I'm assuming it's a symbol to show something's a shikigami.