Kyandi: Welcome back, my loyal readers!
Yuai: We have another chapter for you.
Kyandi: I'm working on updating a whole lot of my projects at the moment.
Yuai: It's a lot of work.
Kyandi: Yes it is. I never realized how many projects I have.
Yuai: And you have more in the works.
Kyandi: Yep...I write too much. But that's beside the point. Everyone enjoy and review.
Yuai: Kyandi-sama does not own Saiyuki.
Chapter 21 Passing on Comfort
"Yuai...Yuai, why are you crying, my darling snowflake?"
Five year old Yuai, looked up, small shoulders shaking with the force of her sobs A woman with the softest and kindest smile she had ever seen, looked down at her with eyes the same frosty blue-white as frozen water. She leaned forward, hands braced on knees to look down at Yuai, hair spilling over one shoulder.
"Come now, Snowflake, what makes you shed tears?" she asked.
Yuai cried even harder, pointing to a blood gash on her cheek.
"Misuo and his friends shoved me down the cliff when I was looking for big brother." Yuai cried.
"Are you crying because they were mean, Snowflake?" the woman asked.
Yuai shook her head.
"Then what is all the tears for?"
"It hurts, Mama!" Yuai cried.
The woman chuckled, scooping Yuai up in her arms. She sat down, cradling the small child in her arms. She wiped the tears away from Yuai's eyes.
"My darling, darling little girl, you'll be starting your warrior training with your father soon. Warriors don't cry over little gashes like this. You are much stronger than that. I know you are." she told Yuai
Yuai turned wide eyes on her mother, sniffling as she rubbed tears from her eyes.
"But...but I'm not strong. Big brother is strong, Papa is strong...you're strong, Mama. Not me." Yuai said.
Yuai's mother shook her head.
"Yuai, you're right. Your father and brother are indeed strong. I might be as well, but you, my gifted child, are strong in your own way. You will make a fiercesome warrior someday and make your father and I, so very proud." she told the child.
"Really?" Yuai asked, brightening up.
"Really. But you have to remember Yuai that pain isn't a weakness."
"It's not?"
By this point the child's tears had dried up and she was staring at her mother in wonder. The woman smiled brightly, swiping a piece of Yuai's hair behind her ear.
"No, it's not. It's a warning. It warns your body of your limits so you can train to move past it. It warns your body when you're life might be in danger. But most importantly...it's a sign."
"A sign, Mama?"
"Yes, darling one, a sign. It's a sign that you're still alive. You should never view your pain as a weakness, little one. It just means your alive. And if you're still alive, you can continue to fight. Never give up, my dear, sweet snowflake. As long as you fight and fight your hardest for what is most dearest to you, your father, I, and Tirin will always be proud of you. Do you understand, Snowflake?" she asked.
"Yes, Mama."
"Good. You will make a mighty little warrior someday. One the whole clan will be proud of. Just never lose sight of yourself. That will be what saves you in the dark."
Yuai came awake with a sense of longing after the dream she had just had. She found herself staring at an ordinary ceiling, pain throbbing from just about every inch of her body. At first she was dazed. The dream, a memory really, had been so real. She had honestly felt like she was five again, sitting in her mother's lap as the former goddess comforted her and encouraged her. It took her a moment to realize it had just been a dream. One of the few sweet ones she had anymore.
A loud mew sounded before Kokoro was bracing tiny paw on her shoulder and nuzzling into Yuai's cheek. Yuai smiled, glad to see that the koken'nin was fine.
"Look who's finally awake."
Hakkai appeared over Yuai, a smile on his face. Yuai was glad to see him up and about, no more injured then the last time she saw him. He looked tired though, lines of strain brancing from the corner of his eyes. She hoped those weren't because of her but had a sickening feeling that they were.
"Hakkai, you're alright. I'm glad." she said, her voice so low and dry she almost didn't recognize it as her own.
"I am, thanks to you. You shouldn't have jumped in like that, Yuai." Hakkai told her gently.
If only he knew.
Yuai shook her head. It was about the only part of her body that didn't feel like a lead weight. She knew she was going to get a scolding and might as well cut Hakkai off before he started.
"I did what I had to do to help you. I don't even want to know how many days I spent passed out before that because of the heat. Can we not do the scolding, please?" Yuai asked, Hakkai chuckling.
"I think the pain you're in is lesson enough." Hakkai replied.
"I suppose. How are the others?" Yuai asked.
"Better. Still healing, but better. You've been asleep for five days. Sanzo even woke up two days ago." Hakkai told her.
Yuai groaned. No wonder she felt so bad and her throat and mouth so dry. The door opened then, showing Gojyo.
"Hey, about time you woke up." Gojyo said with a grin before turning to call Sanzo and Goku.
Sanzo appeared in the doorway, dragging Goku behind him by the back of the shirt.
"No! She's going to be mad!" Goku complained, fighting Sanzo.
"Mad about what?" Yuai asked.
Sanzo forced Goku into the room, shoving him forward. Goku refused to look at Yuai and stared at his feet. Yuai looked to Hakkai for answers.
"He thinks you'll hate him for attack you when he went beserk." Hakkai told her.
Silence stretched over the room and Goku let like a brick had been dropped in his stomach. Then there was laughter. Goku's head flew up. Yuai was laughing. There was a cough every now and then and winces, but she was laughing.
"Oh, Goku, I could never hate you no matter what you do. You didn't mean me harm and though you don't remember, I did harm to you too. Granted, not at the level you dealt, but I still did. Don't worry about me. I'm not quite sure what was going on, but even not knowing, I couldn't hate you." she assured him.
Goku's eyes went wide and then he got a goofy grin on his face.
"Really?" he asked.
"Truly and honestly." she replied.
"I told you so, monkey." Gojyo said from the door.
As much as Yuai was glad to see them all feeling better, she simply could not remain laying in that bed like that. Slowly, and at the protest of Hakkai, Yuai pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her chest exploded in fiery points of pain. She sucked in a breath managing to make it sound like a hiss.
"You should lay back down." Hakkai told her, standing to hover over her.
His hands hovered, not actually touching her. As the blanket fell away to pool in her lap, she realized why. Yuai wasn't wearing a shirt, but considering the massive amounts of bandages wrapping her from neck to the bottom of her rib cage, she didn't need one. Not that that was what ran through her head. If her shirt was missing and her chest bandaged...
Yuai's face turned blood red and she yanked the sheet up to cover herself. She hadn't thought she had the strength to move with any kind of speed but in the wake of embarrassment, she found a reserve of strength she hadn't known she had. Her bangs hid her eyes and most of her face from view, but there was no hiding the blush on her cheeks.
"Who bandaged me?" she asked, her voice squeaking.
Gods, she hoped it wasn't any of them. The sheer idea of one of them undressing her to bandage her chest was mortifying. All of the men, save Goku, seemed to realize the direction of her thoughts and diverted their eyes.
"A local lady was kind enough to help. We didn't feel right doing it." Hakkai assured her.
"My shirt?" Yuai asked.
"I'm afraid that was torn beyond use." Hakkai answered.
Yuai heaved a sigh. She buried her face in her blanket. That was the last of her shirts. She tore through more shirts than anything and it was becoming a bit ridiculous.
"Again? That was my last shirt." Yuai muttered.
Hakkai smiled sheepishly.
"We'll find something for you to use." Hakkai promised her.
"Goku can give me his spare shirt." Yuai said.
"Wha!? Me?" Goku asked.
Yuai looked up at him and nodded.
"You were the one that ripped my shirt. Besides...you're the closest one to me in size."
Goku couldn't really argue with that and went to fetch his spare shirt. The others chuckled, but Yuai kept the blanket held up over her chest until Goku returned with the shirt. She made them all turn around and slipped into it quickly, grateful to have more covering. She heaved a happy sigh when it was in place. Even though Goku was closer to her size, his shirt still bagged on her, the collar gaping open.
"I'm definitely going to need to go shopping for clothes." she remarked, sinking back into her pillows.
"We'll come up with something before we leave. You just rest." Hakkai told her.
"Rest is all good and dandy, but what I really need right now is something to drink." Yuai replied.
"I'll get it." Goku offered, taking off to get her something to drink.
"So does anyone want to tell me what happened while I was out?" Yuai asked, raising an eyebrow.
Hakkai explained to her about finding the village they were currently resting in, about finding out about the desert demon and the possibility of the second scripture, getting trapped under the sand, the castle collapsing, Kougaiji appearing, his bet with Goku, and Goku removing his power limiter in hopes of saving a poisoned Sanzo. Hakkai left out the part about Kougaiji demanding her as part of his prize if he won the bet. He didn't think Yuai would take it too well.
"And I slept through all of this!?"
Yuai dropped her face into one of her hands, her face lighting up with a blush of mortification. Goku had returned with some water for her, sitting the glass on the nightstand as Yuai shook her head.
"Some warrior I am." she muttered.
"Don't beat yourself up over it, Yuai. The heat out there is extreme." Gojyo told her.
"He's right. Most ice demons wouldn't have even been conscious for a second while in that heat. You came through for us at a critical moment." Hakkai assured her.
"Exactly. I'm only half ice demon. I should have been of more help then that." Yuai replied.
"You can whine about it all you want, but it's not going to change the fact that the heat gets to you. Just get over it already." Sanzo told her tartly.
"Gee, Sanzo, you really know how to make a person feel better about themselves." Yuai replied, her shoulders sagging.
"Whatever."
Yuai shook her head at the monk before turning to Hakkai who had been the only one conscious by the end of the fight.
"And Kougaiji? How was he?" Yuai asked.
"He didn't look so well, but Dokugakuji took him home. I imagine Yaone is taking care of him at this point." Hakkai told her.
"I hope so. Enemy or not, I'd hate to see him suffer any lasting damage." Yuai replied.
"Tch, you're too soft." Sanzo told her.
"You don't seem to mind when it's directed at you." she replied.
Sanzo fell silent as the others laughed. He was not going to justify that with a response. Yuai would just turn it against him.
"I would hope I have some softness. I'm a warrior, Sanzo, not a sadist." she added.
Hakkai held out the glass of water. Yuai finally took it, draining the cup. Her mouth and throat were thankful for the moisture. She asked for another, thanking Goku when he brought it to her. She drank this one slower, savoring the cool slid of water down her dry throat, letting the water wash away the last taste of sand in my mouth. That was another thing she hated about deserts. The sand always seemed to find it's way into her mouth.
"Alright, so when are we leaving?" Yuai asked, when she finally sat the glass aside.
"Once you're better." Hakkai told her.
Yuai shook her head instantly, long strands of white curls dancing around her as she did.
"No. If all of you are better, then we can go." Yuai said.
"Yuai, please-"
"I'm not going to be the reason we're delayed, Hakkai." Yuai told him stubbornly.
Hakkai turned to Sanzo for help. Sanzo stormed up to the bed and placed a hand on Yuai's face, shoving her back into the pillows. Yuai gasped in pain and struggled against him, but Sanzo held her down easily, Hakkai laughing nervously and reminding Sanzo that Yuai was injured.
"You are going to lay there and get better. Nothing else, you got me? You'll only slow us down if you trying running about now." Sanzo told her sternly.
"What Sanzo means is that he's still injured himself and needs just as much rest as you. So it's not like you're holding us up." Hakkai told her.
Sanzo shot Hakkai a look. Hakkai held his hands up and gave him a sheepish smile in return. Yuai finally managed to push Sanzo's hand away from her face and looked up at Hakkai.
"Honestly?" she asked.
Having those wide, icy eyes look up at him with such innocence, nearly had Hakkai admitting that he was lying and Sanzo was ready to go. But that would hurt Yuai and make her feel bad. And if she felt that way, she would push herself into moving sooner and she would never get better. No, it was better to stick to this lie.
"Honestly. Don't worry, Yuai. Just rest." he told her.
Yuai, who trusted Hakkai fully, heaved a sigh, wincing at the sharp ache in her chest, but didn't try to get back up.
"Fine. I'll rest. Just a few days though. I'm not going to stay in this bed long." Yuai warned him.
"I'll keep that in mind." Hakkai told her.
He agreed with her now, but this made twice she had been injured badly. He wasn't going to let her push herself. She insisted that she was a warrior and injuries were part of the job but she was also a young woman and a dear friend. He wasn't going to sit back and watch her continue to get injured like this. Especially not if she got the injuries from protecting him. He would protect her just like he would protect the others. And that was a promise, whether she liked it or not.
-0-0-0-0-
"Yuai, come on already! Stop it!"
"No! Let go!"
Five days in bed and Yuai was about to go stir crazy. She had never been this inactive in her life. Even as a child she had been up and around every waking minute of the day. But between Hakkai and Sanzo, she had been forbidden from leaving her bed. Now that the two had stepped out for moment, she was going to take advantage of it. To her displeasure though, Hakkai and Sanzo had ordered Gojyo and Goku to keep her in bed.
Which led to the current situation between Yuai, Gojyo, and Goku.
Both males currently each had a hold of one of her arms, trying to drag her back to her bed and Yuai was fighting them tooth and nail. It hurt but she didn't want to go back to that bed. She was going to obtain bed sores at this rate. She had gotten half way across the house before they had caught her and even though there was two of them, Yuai was slowly, very slowly, making her way down the hall.
"Hakkai said to stay in bed!" Gojyo told her.
"I've been stuck in that bed enough." Yuai replied.
She was almost to the door that lead to the main part of the house. Just a little further and she'd be able to turn the door knob. She was almost able to touch it when the door opened. Standing there, looking down at her, was Hakkai and Sanzo.
She was so in trouble.
"Uh...hi Sanzo. Hakkai." she greeted, giving them a sheepish smile.
"What's going on?" Sanzo asked, his twitching eyebrow giving away his annoyance.
"We caught her trying to get out of bed and were trying to put her back, but she's stubborn!" Goku rushed.
"Thanks, Goku." Yuai replied.
"Yuai, really. You should be resting." Hakkai told her calmly, sweat dropping as Sanzo pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I'm tired of resting. I have never, in my life, been this inactive before. If I lay in that bed any longer I'll obtain bed sores. I'm fine, Hakkai, I swear." Yuai said, trying to reason with Hakkai and Sanzo.
Hakkai looked at Sanzo. The blonde was staring at Yuai who was giving him big, pleading eyes. While she liked having Hakkai take care of her, she couldn't lay in bed any long and they had already lost a considerable about of time staying there. She had figured out, the second day after waking up, that Sanzo was better than he was letting on and had argued with the men since. She would drive them up the wall before long.
"She does have her strength back, that's for sure." Gojyo remarked.
"Yes, but the heat effects you extremely, Yuai. If you go out in the heat not fully healed, it could be worse on you." Hakkai said, trying to reason with Yuai.
"I talked to the boy who lives here. If we leave at night fall, when it's cooler and travel all night, we'll be out of the desert by sunrise. I can deal with that much heat for that long." Yuai insisted.
Kokoro popped up on top of Yuai's head, letting out a mewl of agreement. Two stubborn women who knew what they wanted. How could Hakkai argue with that? He looked at Sanzo who heaved a sigh. He took one look at Yuai and her pleading eyes and he broke.
"Fine." he agreed.
Yuai cheered, throwing both Goku and Gojyo off her and throwing her arms in the air. A pain in her chest had her wrapping her arms around her chest with a wince.
"But you have to spend the rest of today in bed." Sanzo added.
Yuai hung her head, but she wasn't going to argue. Hakkai chuckled as he shooed her off to bed. If it meant getting back on the road, she would waste the day in bed, but Hakkai and Goku were going to keep her company. As she passed Goku, she grabbed him by the back of the shirt.
"You're keeping me company." she told him.
Goku would have complained but Yuai gave him a bright smile and he caved. It was kind of his fault she was stuck in bed anyway. So he owed her.
END
Kyandi: I would probably go stir crazy too.
Yuai: It really is awful being stuck in a bed all day for so long.
Kyandi: Tell me about it. I was stuck in a bed all day for a week after my four-wheeler crash.
Yuai: Well it was your fault.
Kyandi: Oh hust it. I have to keep this short because it's almost four in the morning here, so everyone enjoy and review.
Yuai: We will be back as soon as possible.
Kyandi: Bye, bye!