Downstairs, Goku and Sanzo watched Gojyo enter the lobby and consult briefly with the concierge, then nod once and stride to the revolving door and out into the night. Sanzo remained silent and took another drag while they remained in the lounge. He ignored the looks that other patrons gave him at the sight of a supposed holy man smoking a Marlboro and sipping on the finest sake to be had in the joint. The public's looks increased a few degrees in heat when they saw that he had what appeared to be a minor in the lounge with him. The rest of humanity could go very well fuck off for all he cared.
"Hey Sanzo, where d'ya think Gojyo's goin?" Goku excitedly asked. He gulped some more tea and looked to the blonde man for an answer.
"Hell if I know." Sanzo replied. He sighed in irritation because he knew this answer wouldn't appease the chimp, and a barrage of questions were about to follow. He shook out a fresh cigarette, noticed it was the last one and crumpled the pack in his fist before tossing it negligently to the table near the glass ashtray.
"Well, what if he gets his nasty kappa ass in trouble? How will we know where he is? And if he does get in trouble, can I be the one to kick his ass?" Goku fired off the questions one after the other.
"Be my guest, I don't have time for such stupidity." Sanzo said as he exhaled a steady stream of smoke. There was nothing quite like the first drag off a fresh cig.
"All right!" Goku crowed and threw a fist in the air, startling the table nearest to them. "Imma kick the roach's ass, Imma kick the roach's ass," He chanted in a sing-song voice that drew the stares of a few patrons by their table.
Sanzo rubbed his face in a frustrated manner at the absurdity of Goku's antics. "Will you just shut up already?" He ground out between clenched teeth.
Goku, for once, listened to him. "Ok…sorry." He giggled a little and hummed the same sing-song tune that he had used for the lyrics.
"Excuse me, Master Sanzo; is there anything else that I can get for you?" A polite masculine voice brought Sanzo out of the inane conversation he'd been stuck in.
"What do you want?" He asked neutrally, which to any normal human, sounded pissed off.
It was the host of the lounge, a man about ten years older than Sanzo, of medium build who had his black hair slicked back and was wearing a freshly starched tux. "Uh…um…I was just wondering if there was any,"
"I heard you the first time. And short of another bottle of sake, there's nothing else I need." Sanzo cut in tersely. Goku's prattling had given him a headache.
The host's nondescript brown eyes widened in surprise at the monk's rudeness, he straightened his already centered bowtie and stammered on. "B-but of course, your Excellence, how absurd of me. I will make sure that another bottle of sake will be delivered shortly." He looked down at the table where the holy man was ignoring him, and the youth that the host could not believe was old enough to be in here was pleading for meatbuns? The host sniffed in annoyance. Meatbuns, really, this would be the last place that would serve such provincial fare. It was a peasant dish and nothing more. His lounge would not stoop so low. "I am sorry sir, but meatbuns are not on this menu." His reverent tone from earlier was fast losing its awe and ire was taking its place.
Sanzo chuckled once, "Sorry chimp, looks like you're out of luck. Now shut up."
Goku's eyes, instead of getting angry, got wide and sad. "No…meatbuns?" He looked from Sanzo, who was just grinding out his last cigarette, to the host who still hovered over Sanzo's left shoulder by their table.
"I'm very sorry." The Host said, feigning sincerity.
"Is there any spring rolls?" Goku asked expectantly, looking from Sanzo up to where the Host stood.
Sanzo didn't say anything, merely turned to look as well up him with an arched eyebrow. The look seemed to shout, 'Well?'
"Uh…I do believe they are listed as an appetizer on the menu." The host stammered under the weight of the look Sanzo had sent him. He tugged on the tight collar of his dress shirt, "I shall see to your bottle of sake, Master Sanzo." He turned on his heel and left. He took note of those patrons still in the bar…most ignored the Holy man and his sidekick, but the host began to get angry at Sanzo's presence. A monk of the highest order, a Sanzo, should not be smoking, and drinking, and flaunting these vices in front of the masses that look up to someone of his standing; and especially at this upscale hotel/lounge. Why should people look up to that? He was an elaborately dressed ruffian and nothing more, and his little pet was disgracing the image of this lounge.
He stalked to the bar and snapped at the barkeep to grab another bottle of top-shelf sake for the charlatan priest. Honestly, how dare a monk behave himself so atrociously? On the way back to the table with the promised bottle of sake, the host now saw other patrons eying Sanzo's table in askance, with whispered comments behind menus and hands. And the man was shamelessly ignoring the lot of them as his partner prattled on noisily about miso soup. Why did they have to be in his lounge? He dropped the sake unceremoniously onto the table in front of Sanzo. "There, your sake, sir."
Sanzo reached out and steadied the bottle before looking up curiously at the furious host. "Thanks."
"I want SPRING ROLLS!" Goku cheered suddenly.
"Honestly, can't you keep your pet on a leash?" The host added under his breath.
"What did you say?" Sanzo asked in a deadly quiet tone.
The host refused to be swayed from his mission. His eyes held contempt and condescension as he looked down his nose at the monk. "It is your young…servant, Sir."
Sanzo felt himself bristle at the pipsqueak's tone, so his own voice got a little harsher when he replied, "Yeah, what about him?" The "servant" in question was quiet for once in his life and watched the conversation with wide golden eyes.
The host sniffed indignantly. "The other patrons are taking offense at having him in their presence. Perhaps if one was to send him to your room to ready your quarters for the night?" He ventured primly.
"Oh, believe me; I take offense at having him 'in my presence' every damn day," Sanzo replied dryly, "but so far no one has come along to take him off my hands, so I'm stuck with him."
"SANZO!" Goku squawked, "That's not very nice!"
"It wasn't meant to be, monkey! Now zip it." Sanzo hissed at Goku. He knew what this prig was trying to insinuate. And he'd be damned if he'd let some jackass run him out of the lounge. He was stuck in this town for a couple days to re-supply or whatever crap that Hakkai had made up. He knew the real reason why. It was because of her. The pain in his ass herself, Ty, who was supposedly sister to Kougaiji, needed some time to do…whatever. Sanzo didn't know and he didn't care. All he wanted was a good bottle of sake and some peace and quiet. But now this bastard was trying to look down his nose at him. The little prick didn't stand a chance.
"I think you're misunderstanding me, sir. The boy is obviously underage…and poorly trained, if he is to be your servant." The man faltered.
Sanzo seized the opportunity. "Goku is fine here. As my servant, he is to be at my side at all times, no matter who complains." He said simply.
The host's jaw dropped and he gaped like a landed trout. "But…I mean...I'll have to see ID to believe this." He recovered his decorum.
Sanzo growled under his breath, the man was persistent. However Sanzo had to thank Hakkai for being a paranoid soul. "Goku, show him."
Goku grinned, "Okay!" He dug in his tunic with his right hand, his teeth chewing on his bottom lip. He began by pulling out a bag of cookies, dumped them on the table, followed by a pack of gum, three candy bars and a bag of peanuts. Finally a small leather bound wallet was produced.
"Jeezus, what do you carry in there?" Sanzo demanded.
"Well, Hakkai says I gotta have 'mergency rations." Goku grinned and flipped the wallet in the general direction of the snooty host.
The host daintily brushed the assorted crumbs and lint off the outside of the wallet as he flipped it open. There sat a picture of the youth in question….sure enough it was a legally binding ID card that stated he was of age to be in this establishment. He refused to be dismissed so easily though. "This may allow him passage; however there is the matter of your conduct." He placed the wallet down on the table and wiped his hands on the pristine pants of his tux.
"What conduct? He's loud, but we're not bothering anyone else. Would you care to be a bit more specific as to what conduct is offending the good people of this town?" Sanzo found himself playing along with this man's game and as much as he hated it, he wanted to beat this snob at his own game.
"Surely you don't want me to bring to light your…relationship…in public? Just what kind of holy man are you?" The man was aghast. He took a step back from the table.
Sanzo was wishing he had another cigarette to light up to blow smoke in this bigot's face. But he'd have to settle for pouring another shot of sake. He exuded an air of nonchalance and as he raised the cup to his lips he locked a steady gaze onto the host that promised pain, lots of it.
The man backed up another step, just who was this Sanzo Priest? Now he was threatening violence? Sure, he didn't voice it, but just the look in those purple eyes made goosebumps pop up all over the host's skin. He gulped audibly and looked over to where the young man sat next to the monk. He too was glaring at the host as if he had picked up his lead from the monk. But Sanzo hadn't said anything overtly violent to clue the youth in….how did they…who…were these people? "Um…uh…I'm terribly sorry sir, I shall leave you be at once." He gave a slight bow and backed fully away and turned in mid stride. He was so agitated that he accidentally bumped shoulders with a tall dark haired man in a green tunic. After a mumbled apology, he scurried back to his podium at the front of the lounge and once again assumed his pretentious air.
Hakkai glanced at the clearly agitated man as he hurried to resume his post. He glanced back the way the host had come and sure enough there sat Sanzo and Goku. Hakkai chuckled in a resigned manor as he approached the table. "Now what'd you two do?" He pulled out a chair to Sanzo's left and glanced from the silent man to the boisterous youth sitting at his right. He saw a crumpled pack of cigarettes on the table and made the mental note to pick up some more in the morning.
"I got CARDED!" Goku piped up excitedly.
Hakkai lifted an eyebrow at Sanzo, "For real?" The monk hadn't said much of anything, only lifted the sake to his lips and back down again.
"Pretentious bastard of a host thought Goku was underage, among other things." He said straightforward.
"Goodness, Goku is older than all of us." Hakkai murmured. "What were the 'other things?"
"Oh, the fact that I am drinking, smoking, and if I had interpreted it correctly, I am a lover of men." Another shot of sake washed the bitter taste of those last words away.
"Oh my. It's been an eventful evening here as well." Hakkai mentioned casually.
"As well?" Sanzo asked the same time as Goku.
"Hey, 'Kai! Where did that nasty kappa go?" Goku asked around a mouthful of spring rolls that had been set in front of the youth seconds before Hakkai had walked up to the table.
"Why do I continually think that buying the chimp food will shut him up?" Sanzo asked to no one in particular.
Hakkai ventured a guess, "Because one can always hope for the best?" He shared a look of dark amusement with the blonde man before glancing at Goku, "He went to go look for Miss Ty. I'm sure they'll be back soon."
"Oh, then…I guess he's not such a nasty kappa if he's watchin' over Ty." Goku reasoned cheerfully. "But don't tell him that I said that!"
Hakkai laughed, "My lips are sealed. Sanzo?"
"I've nothing to say to that imbecile." Sanzo snorted in derision.
"Well I think you have our silence on that matter." Hakkai commented.
"So where did she run off to then?" Sanzo said the pronoun that he used for Ty with a sneer; he refused to acknowledge her in any significant way.
"Why, I wasn't aware you cared where she went." Hakkai found himself toying with the placement setting in front of him.
"If it gets her away from me permanently, I don't." Sanzo added snidely.
"See, right there is what stumps me, just what is the cause for your animosity towards the girl?" Hakkai asked, his voice was still mild, but carried an edge to it. He'd grown weary of this constant bickering and pot shot taking of Sanzo's. It just wasn't like him to be so verbally cruel to anyone outside their little group.
"It's not your business, Hakkai, just stay out of it; if you need someone to mother, go take care of the worthless kappa." Sanzo took another shot of sake.
Hakkai stiffened. "Excuse me?" He asked curtly. "I'm afraid I don't understand you." He was shocked; Sanzo really was in a mood over Ty.
"I think you understood me just fine. You hover over all of us…especially her like a goddamn mother hen. We're all adults, we can manage just fine." Sanzo stated coldly. He held the almost empty sake bottle up to signal a refill.
Goku had quit eating and looked to Sanzo, "Hey, that's not true! Yeah, Hakkai takes care o' us, but who else,"
"Goku, shut the hell up." Sanzo harshly cut in. "This has nothing to do with you."
"What? Ty's my friend an' I don't like you sayin' bad things about her or Hakkai. Hakkai is awesome 'cuz he cooks better than any of us, and poor Ty is caught up in all of this, an' she loves Gojyo, and she's scared, and doesn't know what's goin on, an'," Goku babbled in agitation, until Sanzo cut him off again.
"Save it for someone who wants to hear it. I don't." Sanzo said in dismissal.
"No, I think Goku has some valid points." Hakkai stood, green eyes flinty sharp with anger. "I think that you have been unreasonably hard on Ty. I realize that she is indeed a wild card and we don't know yet why the enemy wants her, but that is no reason to treat her like you have been."
Sanzo looked at the dark haired demon and Goku sitting on him. He stood as well and rolled his shoulders, "Fuck this, I'm going to my room." He turned on his heel, wavered a split second before righting himself, stalked to the frightened barkeep, ripped a bottle of sake from the guy's hands and left the lounge.
That left Hakkai and Goku staring after him, then turning almost as one they looked at each other. Hakkai could see the concern in Goku's eyes, and he was sure that Goku could see the same reflected in his own. The fact that Ty was Kougaiji's sister, or an unknown asset to the enemy's plans had colored Sanzo's view of her, and as much as Hakkai thought it unfair of him, he would not change his opinion. All they could do is hope like always that Ty could withstand the verbal assaults while she was with them. Hakkai's eyebrows furrowed in thought, perhaps he should take over this vigil of the lobby in order to warn either Gojyo and/or Ty of Sanzo's surly mood. It was the only fair thing to do, besides, he was rather angry with Sanzo over the things he'd said about himself. He did not mother any of them; he merely helped out with the details of the trip.
Hakkai snapped out of his trance when the smell of deep fried rice paper and flavored beef hit his nostrils…he looked down and there was Goku offering him his plate.
"Wanna spring roll?" Goku asked politely.
Hakkai found himself smiling, "I think I might have one, thank you Goku." And he sat down in Sanzo's chair waiting for the two to return to the hotel.
"You're my brother?" Ty asked slowly, her voice wavering just a bit. Her mind refused to let it sink in. Kougaiji kept staring at her, watching her reaction, but to be truthful, there wasn't much of a reaction. It was all too new, too surreal. She kept her gaze locked on his face, trying to sense if he was lying or not. His pulse remained the same; she caught no scent of fear off of him. Besides, his words carried the truth. She didn't know how she knew that, but she did.
"Yes, I'm your brother." Kougaiji repeated patiently. He tried stifling his smile, but he couldn't succeed. They were both still sitting on the lawn of the small park, away from the city's busy tavern section. He didn't know if he had just made things better or worse for the both of them, but he knew that he felt better by telling Ty who she was. Now he just had to go about getting to know her, and seeing if she wanted to see the other side of her heritage. He had already decided that he would protect her from Koushu. That woman was up to no good, and he didn't want Ty to be harmed.
"And you say I'm over five hundred years old?" She asked again. This was the part she really didn't understand. "How can I be five hundred and twenty-four years old and look only twenty four?"
Kougaiji sighed, they had been over this a few times now, she understood who and where she came from, but the whole magical shrine thing was escaping her grasp of understanding. "The War God, Prince Nataku…"
After wandering down the club district following Ty's faint residual aura, Gojyo paused by the Lyin' Eyes Saloon. He stood on the curb outside the joint and looked both ways, back up the street from the direction where he came, and down the opposite direction where clubs gave way to residential areas. He couldn't decide where it went to from there. He uncharacteristically chewed his lower lip trying to decide. If he were a girl trying to get away from everyone, where would he go? He closed his eyes to try and get in the right mindset. Hmm…loud crowded dance floor, swaying bodies moving as one to the trance music. Palms sliding up sweat slick skin, and lips nibbling on the long column of a random girl's throat as he eased up behind her, moving to the tune…
Shaking his head, he realized where he wanted to go, not necessarily where Ty would go. He opened his eyes and looked toward the darkened streets leading to suburbia. She would want to get away from all the loud sounds and drone of people. Gojyo grinned with the knowledge and lit up a cigarette, taking a couple minutes to admire a brunette and a red-head in full club gear saunter by, he let out a cloud of smoke as he watched their swaying walk. "Hate to see ya go, but love to watch you leave, ladies." He said under his breath before returning to the task at hand. It wasn't bad of him to admire the sight of beautiful ladies if he was in love with the prettiest of them all, was it? His grin slipped a peg or two, it probably was. He sighed as he began to walk down the crowded streets, lost in thought. However, he didn't think Ty was the type of girl to put blinders on a guy and lead him around by the nose…she seemed a lot more laid back and Gojyo was grateful for it.
Was Hakkai right? Was he really in love with Ty? If so, when did this happen? They'd only known each other a few weeks; it wasn't supposed to happen that quickly, was it? He had so many questions, but already he found himself warming to the concept, which again was strange for him. He was the type of guy to not let others, especially females, get close to him. He couldn't stand to see a person he cared for in pain or hurting, and he didn't want to be the cause of that pain. So he kept things casual, brief, and detached, for want of a better term.
"If you don't fall, you don't get hurt." He murmured as he walked down the street. The clubs were thinning out to commercial stores now, he noticed. The crowds were significantly less here as well. He continued to walk; hands in his pockets, shoulders slightly slumped in thought. His cigarette hung out of partially open lips, forgotten in his pursuit of insight and reflection. "But if I have fallen…I have yet to hurt." He mused to himself, taking a drag on the cigarette that he suddenly remembered.
Gojyo looked around; he was in a total residential area. The clubs and stores had long passed. The streets were dark and quiet, save the occasional bark from a dog. He suddenly picked up a feeling that wasn't natural to the area and stopped dead in his tracks. The cigarette fell to the asphalt as he scanned the area. He felt…demon aura, from….over to the right….close. Gojyo took off at a steady but silent lope to close the distance. He summoned his shakujou and took to the shadows, darting between trees and parked cars.
He came to the edge of a park, and just through the mess of jungle gyms, see-saws, and merry-go-rounds he could see the forms of two people. Were these his demons? Another assassin group out to get Sanzo, or maybe Ty? He used every shred of demonic power in himself to strain to see through the inky darkness. What he saw made his jaw drop. It was Ty...with…Kougaiji? What in seven hells was going on?
Ty understood it all finally…she thought. After all, who was she to try to reason out magical spells and seals? She had better things to think about. She looked at her half brother and searched his features for anything that reminded her of her.
He sat beside her on the cool grass and said nothing. She started at the top of his head and looked at the mahogany red tresses as they trailed down his back and over his shoulder. Pointed ears poked out from the mass of hair and indigo eyes gauged her as she scrutinized his face. The shape of his eyes were similar to hers, narrow nose, thin lips hard jaw line…there was some of her as well with that jaw line. He had broad shoulders and clawed hands, narrow waist and hips tapering into long legs.
As remarked, her build was similar with long legs and a wiry build. Her hair was of a similar shade, though had more of the pure red of the half-breed stigma rather than the mahogany shade of Kougaiji's, and her eyes were blood-red to follow with that taboo. But she had the clean strong jaw line, aquiline nose and almost identical eye shape and facial features that must have been carried down through Gyumaoh's line, not necessarily Gyumaoh himself; if what Kougaiji said was true and he was an Ox Demon of huge proportions.
"So…now what?" She asked bluntly.
Kougaiji chuckled, "Took the words right out of my mouth." He sobered, "I honestly don't know. Someone on my side wants you for some reason, it could be for that extraordinary amount of power you have."
Ty scoffed, "Yeah, what power is that?" She picked up a leaf and twirled it absently in her fingers. "You seemed to have kicked my ass pretty easily."
Kou lifted an eyebrow at her from his position sitting next to her on the grass. "So? You're relatively untrained in the ways of battle, little one. Despite what you may think, you do have an unbelievable wealth of power lying dormant inside you. Far more than is normal for a typical person with both demon and human traits." Kougaiji reasoned.
"Why don't you just say half-breed…it's shorter and what I am. But thank you for trying to say it nicely." Ty muttered.
"You are more than a 'half-breed', you are descended from nobility and this air of depression does not suit you." Kougaiji added haughtily, trying to evoke a smile from her.
"Nobility, huh? I suppose so…now that I think about it." A grin erupted on her face. "Heh…now I really can order that kappa around. Maybe get him to address me as "Your Majesty"…yeah that will work wonders!" She giggled.
"Kappa?" Kougaiji asked, turning fully to her. "You mean Dokugakuji's brother, Gojyo?"
Ty was surprised, "Gojyo and Doku are brothers? I thought they looked similar." She looked at Kougaiji, "Yeah, I was talking about Gojyo, why?"
"Does he bother you, or does any of the Sanzo party bother you?" Kougaiji asked solemnly.
Ty laughed, "Huh, sudden big-brother protection? Yeah, Gojyo bothers me all the time, but I think you were being serious when you asked that, so the true answer is no, Gojyo doesn't bother me." She stared out into the space.
Kou looked at her and her vacant look out into the darkness. "You made that sound as if someone was bothering you."
Ty shrugged, "Oh, it's not a huge thing. It's just…well…Sanzo. But I understand why he's being harsh." Despite her nonchalant tone, Kou noticed that she drew her knees up to her chest to wrap her arms around her legs and rest her chin on her knees. His brows furrowed in concern at the obviously defensive position.
Kou felt the spike in the surrounding auras and heard the distant rattle of a shakujou, and realized that Gojyo was on his way here. Kou was not going to alert Ty to this fact just yet. He wanted to see what she meant by Sanzo being harsh. "Go on." He prodded gently.
"Well, he's the leader of his group, and they have some sort of a mission that I'm involved in somehow. I'm not exactly sure how, or why you need me, or why Sanzo wants to keep me from you. That and I am always in his way, and I am distracting Gojyo, and…" She drifted off.
"I told you before; this morose attitude doesn't become you." Kougaiji gently admonished. So Sanzo and the others had kept her in the dark about most of it. The majority of her knowledge came from him this evening, Kou was chagrined to realize. If he had known that she knew next to nothing, he wouldn't have been so forthcoming with details.
He lifted his head to look in the general direction to where Gojyo was skulking. He was still of a distance that Ty would have a problem in detecting him, but the kappa may as well have brought a marching band to announce his presence to Kougaiji. Just who did the kappa think he was sneaking up on, Lirin? Even his youngest sister would have seen through and called him out as soon as the jingle of chain had been heard. Kou hoped that Gojyo didn't butt into his time with Ty. He didn't know when he would have another chance like this to visit with his sister before the ideals of enemy and comrade separated them again.
"I'm sorry Kou, it's just that…" Ty dropped the sentence again.
"Just that what?" Kou coaxed.
"I care for him so much; yet, I know I don't belong there." Ty murmured.
"You…care…for Sanzo?!" Kou was shocked. The man was an ass, and had about as much emotion as a rock.
Ty jerked her head up to look at Kougaiji with shocked, wide eyes, "Sanzo?! Hell no, where did you get that idea?! That man has the personality of a fence post! I was talking about Gojyo!"
Now it was Kougaiji's turn to be surprised. "Gojyo? The man is nothing but a rake, Ty. He'll only use you and move on. Doku has told me of Gojyo's reputation." Kou replied, pitching his voice so it would carry.
Ty swiveled her head around to focus over Kou's shoulder. "Did you hear that?" She asked.
"Hear what?" Kou asked innocently, successfully smothering his grin.
"Sounded like someone shouted or swore or something." Ty panned the area again before focusing again on her brother. "Getting back to the subject, Gojyo is not a rake. He's…" She looked around and past Kougaiji, "…here. Oh gods." Her eyes widened when she saw Gojyo striding up to where she and Kou sat.