kakashiiswifey: The last line was from the manga. I wish I had been clever enough to come up with it myself.

Sakura02: I love Sanzo. He's so silly in his own way.

Thank you: AdaYuki, Saiyuri Haruno, SaiyukiSucker, HiddenXEmotion, Princesa de la Luna, and The white dragon demon Hiryu for reviewing!

The next chapter will start Saiyuki Reload!


"I'm gonna kill Kami-sama when we find him." Meika grouched out. She did not find the way Kami-sama had built his home amusing at all. There had been fires, labyrinths, and a particularly nasty tiger. Needless to say, Meika was tired, hungry, and extremely cranky. "Are we on the top floor yet?"

"Do you see anymore stairs?" Sanzo snapped. He was just as irritated about the whole situation as Meika was, if not more so. Sanzo pushed the door open, eager to be done and over with the whole Kami-sama business.

"Congratulations!" The strange and creepy doll from the first floor was there, grinning eerily at all of them. "You've reached the top floor in record time!"

Gojyo snarled at the strange doll. "How the hell did you get up here so fast?"

"I took the elevator." The doll giggled.

Meika could feel herself getting more and more annoyed with each passing moment. "Where is that creep, Kami-sama?"

The doll cocked its head to the side, its smile never leaving its face. "You mean my master? He's on the first floor."

It took Meika a moment to realize the floor beneath their feet was no longer there. She took in a deep lungful of air and screamed. The feel of the wind whipping about as the group fell at a breakneck speed frightened Meika. "I don't wanna be a pancake!"

Hakkai reached out and pulled Meika close to him. "Hold on tight, Meika!"

Meika buried her face in Hakkai's neck and whimpered. This was not at all how she'd envisioned herself dying. A small yelp tore from her mouth when they hit the ground. After a moment, she reluctantly opened her eyes. She looked warily around and saw they had landed on a floor completely covered in stuffed animals and toys.

"Are you okay, Meika?" Hakkai asked worriedly, sitting up with the little girl still held tightly in his arms. He brushed her hair from her face and was relieved to see she looked confused, but not hurt. "Is everyone alive?"

"Where the hell is that damn Kami-sama?" Gojyo snarled, standing up and rubbing his sore butt.

"I don't like this place." Meika whispered. She slid off of Hakkai's lap and stood on her own two feet. She looked up when an annoyingly familiar laugh filled the room.

Kami-sama stood at the top of the stairs in the room, laughing at all of them. "Wow, you're the first ones to make it to my toy chest! You guys are so much fun!"

Meika snarled up at the laughing man. Water was already wrapping around her arm. She was ready to attack at any given moment. She watched Kami-sama carefully, never moving from her spot beside Sanzo. She didn't even move when Sanzo shot at Kami-sama only to have the irritating man appear behind him. She knew Goku would handle him. While Kami-sama was distracted with dodging Goku's attack, Meika lunged forward and shot a water dragon at him.

Kami-sama frowned, barely managing to avoid Meika's attack. "Hey, you guys aren't being very fun today!" He was surprised when Gojyo was suddenly right beside him. Kami-sama moved out of the range of Gojyo's kick just in time. He turned around only to come face to face with Hakkai shooting an energy blast at him. Kami-sama snarled at all of them. "What's going on?"

Hakkai chuckled good naturedly. "It's simple really; you get close when you want to attack, run away when you get scared, and lash out when you are angered. It's easy to predict the actions of a child. I have plenty experience with juveniles, you see."

Goku laughed and poked Meika in the cheek. "He's talking about you, MeiMei!"

Meika glared up at Goku and stuck her tongue out. "No he's not. He's talking about you and JoJo. You two are the most childish in the group."

Hakkai would've commented on their conversation, but he was preoccupied with Kami-sama's beads wrapping tightly around his neck. He wasn't worried, though. He was soon released by Sanzo shooting a bullet straight into the beaded necklace and breaking the part that had a hold of Hakkai.

Kami-sama took a hesitant step back when the group surrounded him, all of them looking at him with cool eyes. "Don't look at me like that! You're all weak! Not me!"

Meika tried to hold in the yelp of pain when Kami-sama shot all of them just like he had done before. They all fell to the ground, but Meika was surprised to find it didn't hurt as much as last time.

Kami-sama pouted angrily at the group. "You guys are mean! Why won't you just surrender?"

"You still don't get it." Sanzo grit up, slowly pushing himself up into a kneeling position.

"Can you stand up, Meika?" Hakkai asked, holding his injured arm.

Meika nodded and shakily stood up without Hakkai's offered help. She held her side which hurt more than anywhere else. She could feel the blood rushing out between her fingers, but she didn't care. All she cared about was beating Kami-sama once and for all. "We're not the weak ones, you are!"

"Listen you psychotic shit." Sanzo hissed out. "You may think this life and death thing is just a game, but we're gambling here. We aren't gambling our lives here, though."

"When did we start gambling, HaHa?" Meika asked, confused.

Hakkai chuckled and patted her head. "Don't worry about it, Meika. Just focus."

For the next few minutes, Kami-sama continued to knock the group down. Each time, they got back up. Kami-sama glared angrily at all of them. "Meanies! I don't care how many times you try, you can't beat me! You can't even touch me!"

Meika found that it got harder and harder to stand up each time. She got up each time, though. Sanzo and the others kept getting up on their own, despite how badly they were hurt. She wanted to be like the four of them. She wanted to be just as strong as they were and stand on her own two feet without anyone's help.

"Just stop it!" Kami-sama screamed at the group, becoming more and more agitated each time they got up. "Sensei says that being stubborn never gets you a girl!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Meika asked, looking up at Goku who shrugged. "I like stubborn boys."

Sanzo rolled his eyes. "You're too little to know what you like." He glanced up at Kami-sama and smirked, ignoring Meika's shout of protest at being called little. "Your sensei was Ukoku, right? I tend to repress things that piss me off, so it took me a while to remember. You haven't changed much in the past ten years."

Meika blinked and looked back up at Goku. "ZoZo and Kami-sama know each other?"

Goku shrugged. "I guess so." They listened to Sanzo quickly explain his first encounter with Kami-sama and the Sanzo priest that had taken Kami-sama in. "So, this guy is a Sanzo priest?"

"No way! You're not cool enough to be a Sanzo like my ZoZo!" Meika protested.

Kami-sama smirked triumphantly at all of them. "I am a Sanzo priest. My sensei was the best. He can do anything and he knows everything. He built this castle and named me a Sanzo priest. So, see? I am a real Sanzo priest?"

Meika frowned and looked over at Sanzo. "Then, why'd you have to take ZoZo's Maten Kyomon? Shouldn't you have your own sutra?"

Sanzo smirked when Kami-sama's face fell. "I knew you were smarter than the other idiots, Meika. This guy is full shit. If you were a real Sanzo, you shouldn't have had to take mine. Your master never gave you his sutra. You never told us your name because you probably don't have a proper Buddhist title as a Sanzo. You may have inherited the clothes, power, and castle from your master, but he still never gave you the title of Sanzo."

"Shut up!" Kami-sama screamed furiously.

Meika looked down when she felt something crawling up her leg and screamed. "The toys are gonna eat us!" She tried to look around and see the others, but the toys swarmed over her so quickly. She fell to the ground with the weight of the toys crushing her. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself from panicking. Sanzo would do something. There's no way he'd accept getting killed by a bunch of toys. She managed a small smile when she heard Sanzo's voice chanting. After a moment, the toys were all thrown off of her.

"You okay, MeiMei?" Goku asked, dragging himself over to the little girl.

"Yeah. You?" She reached out a wiped away the blood from Goku's cheek.

Kami-sama snarled at all of them, but mostly at Sanzo. "Give it back!" He screamed, stomping his foot.

"He throws worse fits than I do." Meika said, earning her a grin from Gojyo and Hakkai.

Gojyo lunged forward and grabbed Kami-sama by his wrist. He lifted the smaller man off the ground and grinned. "It's been a long and annoying game of tag, but you're finally it!"

Meika flinched when Kami-sama managed to stab Gojyo with a strand of beads. She watched Gojyo throw Kami-sama into the opposite wall before he collapsed. She blinked when she felt Goku's hand land on her shoulder.

"Wanna help?" Goku grinned at Meika's enthusiastic nod. "Let's go."

Meika summoned another water dragon, hitting Kami-sama square in the chest with it at the same time that Goku attacked. She felt another of Kami-sama's attacks slam into her. She gasped and fell back, landing with a hard thud next to Goku. "Sanzo will beat him, right?"

"Yeah." Goku said quietly. He reached out and took Meika's hand in his. "You okay?"

"Yes." Meika answered. She could hear Sanzo talking to Kami-sama, but she couldn't quite make out what was being said. After a moment, she stood up along with Goku. The two, along with Gojyo, dragged their exhausted bodies over to where Hakkai lay. While Gojyo helped Hakkai up, Meika went over to where Sanzo was. She latched onto his side and looked down at the bleeding and beaten Kami-sama.

"You have so many things." Kami-sama whined, looking up pitifully at Sanzo. "Won't you give them to me?"

Sanzo placed a hand on Meika's head and pulled her closer to his side. He could feel the little girl's blood on his hand. He looked down and his purple eyes met her red ones. He finally looked back at Kami-sama with a smirk. "I won't."

Meika's grin was wiped off her face at the loud rumbling that suddenly reverberated through the castle. "What's that noise?"

Kami-sama blinked slowly. "Oh. I suppose the game is over now. Sensei promised me that this game would last until I lose."

"You're gonna get crushed if you don't hurry and get up!" Goku protested, his usual energy suddenly back.

Gojyo snarled and yanked Kami-sama into a semi-standing position. "I've had enough of your shit! This is just like Kinkaku and Ginkaku all over again! You managed to manipulate us. Good for you. Now get the hell up and move your ass!"

Meika's legs were shaking. She wouldn't be standing at all if it weren't for her grip on Sanzo and Sanzo's grip on her. She blinked when she was suddenly lifted up by Sanzo. She looked over her shoulder to see Kami-sama sitting on the ground, smiling at all of them. "We're really just going to leave him here?"

"It's what he wants." Sanzo grit out.

"Like Homura?" Meika asked softly, resting her head on Sanzo's shoulder.

Sanzo was silent for a moment before nodding. "Yes, like Homura."

"The door is locked!" Goku shouted, kicking futilely at the door that was their only means of escape. He blinked when Meika was roughly shoved into his arms by Sanzo.

"Get out of the way then!" Sanzo brought his gun up and shot the lock straight off the door. "Time to run or die!"

"Run, GoGo!" Meika shouted, holding tightly to Goku. "I don't want to die!" She used what little energy she had to shoot water blasts at the falling rubble that would crush them if it hit them. "I see the exit!" She screamed excitedly.

The group got out of the castle just before the castle exploded. They threw themselves to the ground to avoid being hit by any rubble. Meika held tightly to Goku even after he sat up. Once they were sure Kami-sama wasn't coming out of the rubble, they all collapsed to the ground.

"HaHa, everything hurts!" Meika whined. She curled up into Goku's side and nuzzled against him.

Hakkai laughed. "That's good, Meika. That means you aren't dead. Is anyone dead?"

"I don't think so." Goku said weakly. "Who was that whacko anyway?"

Sanzo shrugged. "Who knows and who cares. Just leave it at Kami-sama."

Goku opened his mouth to whine that he was hungry, but the others beat him to it. "Hey, don't steal my line!"

Meika giggled and slowly stood up along with the others. She hobbled over to Sanzo and latched onto his hand. "ZoZo, can I have a pitcher of chocolate milk?"

Sanzo nodded. "You can have whatever you want."

Meika was so excited that she didn't pay much attention to the fact that it was Sanzo that climbed into the driver's seat of Jeep. She plopped down in the back seat next to Goku and hugged him.

"We're dying and I'm hungry. This sucks." Goku grumbled, hugging Meika back.

"Let's make a bet." Gojyo piped up. "Whoever dies before we get to the city loses. If you lose, you get rolled out onto the main street naked with just a nipple ring."

Meika blinked and poked Sanzo in the back of the head. "What's a nipple ring?"

"What've I told you about talking about that kind of shit around her?" Sanzo snapped. He looked down at the floorboard and frowned. "This is the accelerator, right?"

Meika yelped and flew back into her seat. She clung tightly to Goku. "ZoZo, do you even know how to drive?"

"Good question." Sanzo muttered, jerking the wheel abruptly to the right.

"We're going to die!" Goku sobbed.


They all managed to make it back to the town with no one dying. They rested for a few days before Hakkai asked Gojyo to go shopping for supplies. Gojyo took Meika along with him and they went back out into the town where they'd met Kinkaku.

"JoJo, where are we going?" Meika asked curiously. They had gotten all the supplies they need, but Gojyo insisted they had one more stop. She blinked when they stopped in front of the vendor with all the dolls. Meika couldn't help smiling when she saw the simple doll she had liked was still there. She looked up and saw Gojyo reaching into his pocket. "ZoZo will get mad."

"I'm not using his damn credit card." Gojyo muttered. He pulled out a small wad of bills and handed it to the vendor. He took the doll off the shelf and handed it to Meika. He didn't bother telling her it had been his own money that he'd been planning to spend on cigarettes. The way Meika's eyes lit up when he put the doll in her arms made Gojyo grin like an idiot.

Meika hugged the doll tightly to her chest. She'd never had a doll before. "Thank you, JoJo! You're the best! I love you so much!" She latched onto Gojyo's hand and the two made their way back to the inn.

When they got back, Sanzo raised an eyebrow at the doll, but didn't say anything. He shoved a large bag towards the little girl. "Go try them on."

Meika released Gojyo's hand and went to peer in the bag. She let out a squeal of delight when she saw all the pretty dresses and nightgowns in the bag. "Thank you, ZoZo! I love you!" She rushed over and kissed the priest on his cheek, ignoring his half hearted growl of annoyance. She dragged the bag off to her room to try them on.

Gojyo put the bags of groceries on. "The great Sanzo priest spending money unnecessarily? The world must be ending."

Sanzo glared over Gojyo. "She needed new clothes." Why he hadn't bought the simple, brown and green dresses he had seen, Sanzo wouldn't say. He bought the ones that made him think of little Meika.

Meika smiled proudly and walked out in a pretty blue dress with soft blue slippers. She twirled around just as Hakkai and Goku came into the room. "Isn't it pretty?"

Hakkai walked over and smoothed out a small wrinkle in Meika's new dress. "Very. Here, I had this made for you."

Meika blinked at the simple pendant that Hakkai held up for her. It took her a moment to realize that the yellow flower Homura had given her was floating in the glass. "Thank you, HaHa." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I love you."

Goku grinned and knelt down in front of her. He pulled her hair back with a simple white ribbon with gold trimming. "I thought you needed something pretty for your hair."

Meika grinned at all of them. She clutched her doll tightly to her chest. "Thanks, GoGo. I love you." She frowned suddenly. "Is it my birthday?"

Hakkai chuckled. "No, not yet." They had all spoken that night when they'd gotten back from the fight with Kami-sama. Meika had almost instantly fallen asleep and Hakkai had changed her into one of her nightgowns. He made the simple comment that there was a hole in it and that she needed knew clothes. Everything had snowballed from there. Gojyo had mentioned the doll and Goku pointed out how Meika would always look at all the other little girls with pretty dresses. None of them had said it, but Hakkai knew they had all been thinking it. They could have lost her during the fight with Kami-sama. She was smaller and weaker than all of them, though she tried to act strong.

Meika blinked when Gojyo suddenly hugged her tightly. "Are you guys okay? You're acting really weird."

Gojyo kissed the side of Meika's head and smiled. "We're fine, Meika. We're just fine."