The Black Cat's Breakfast Special

"When's the next stop Hakkai? And can you make sure wherever we go next, there's something to eat? The temple ended up being troublesome, but they sure served tasty food."

"Tch!"

Sha Gojyo clicked his tongue in annoyance at Son Goku's usual trite commentary that always circled back to a prospective meal.

"Again with the food! Can't you talk about anything else?" groused Gojyo as he searched his pocket for a smoke.

Cho Hakkai, manning Hakuryuu in his automobile form, just chuckled at their antics, and the "honorable" Genjo Sanzo sitting in front, said nothing as his eyes were closed and arms were crossed, determined to get some sort of nap (or ignore the two idiots in the back) on the road. The landscape passed them by as Hakuryuu's wheels tread the well-worn road they had chosen to get back on.

"It's important, okay?! We've been on the road for two days now and that's two days too long sitting here with you!" shot back Goku, sticking his tongue out at the redhead who leaned forward, brows twitching and ready to tussle with the monkey boy.

"Why you little—...!"

"Shut the hell up! It's barely morning and you two are already at it," snapped Sanzo as he gritted his teeth and crossed his arms even tighter as if to maintain what was left of his always rapidly depleting patience. The back seaters grumbled but acquiesced to the command.

"Round and round, the conversation goes," remarked Hakkai lightly with his usual polite bemusement. "Time really is a circle."

It was a day or two after their stay at the grand temple which had ended poorly, all things considered. While the surviving monks and apprentices were left grateful to Sanzo and his party for saving their lives, the fact of the matter was that it took one demon sent by the yet-to-be-seen "Kougaiji," to slaughter several victims. Their journey to the west had barely begun, but there had been ambush after ambush by demons affected by the Minus Wave and those sent by their enemies whose goal was to revive Gyu Maou. They were not naive; the four of them did not have lives that allowed them to be so, but their past few encounters had solidified the fact that this was going to be their daily life routine until they were able to reach their end goal.

Those were going to be the large road bumps. The smaller ones would consist of whether these four men (if Goku could even be counted as such at this point) could stand each other long enough to get there.

Goku sighed and slumped down in his seat.

"Sanzo made us leave early so we didn't even eat a proper breakfast," he said as if trying to justify himself.

"We're a little low on supplies," Hakkai said kindly, caring not to mention the fact that the monks of the temple had generously given them such, but Goku had a way of making a dent. "In the next town over, we'll eat first and do some shopping before continuing."

"Definitely need some cigarettes too. I'm down to one box," muttered Gojyo as he started to light up a joint.

"Well, it should take no time at all if— …"

Hakkai didn't finish his sentence. Something had caught his eye and he suddenly made a sharp turn off the road which made the other jerk forward in their seats.

"Hakkai? The hell was that!?" sputtered Gojyo as he picked up the unlit cigarette at his feet.

"I almost flew outta my seat!" exclaimed Goku who seemed more thrilled than unnerved.

Sanzo surprisingly was nonplussed, but he did raise a brow at their driver.

"There better be a damn good reason for that Hakkai," warned the priest. Hakkai's smile was tinged with some mild embarrassment, but it was Goku who noticed what had made him swerve. He blinked and pointed up ahead.

"What are cats doing here?"

There were two felines, one a short-haired grey tabby, and the other long-haired and golden and noticeably larger than its companion. They were staring wide-eyed at the Sanzo Party as if in awe of their presence and that of the large jeep that had nearly run them over. The priest rolled his eyes and waved them off.

"Who cares? Let's just go and— What the hell are you doing?"

He stared at Hakkai, Gojyo, and Goku who had promptly ignored Sanzo and had gotten out of the jeep to squat down to look at the cats as if magnetized by them. There was something about small, fuzzy, animals, particularly felines that probably made for a welcome distraction from what their actual priorities were. Sanzo sighed and also exited the jeep which transformed back into Hakuryuu who flew over to land on Hakkai's shoulder and join in on observing the furry duo.

"Do you think they belong to someone?" asked Goku as he let the long-haired cat stiff his hand.

"They're pretty clean and look like they've been fed. You might be onto something," admitted Gojyo as he reached out to lightly scratch the tabby behind the ears. Petting the same cat, Hakkai had a different observation to make.

"Ah, these are rather distinctive breeds. For instance, this is a grey Dragon Li cat that is native to here. We've seen them around Chang'an. This long-haired cat, however, is called a Maine Coon. Fascinating to see one all the way out here, really," he said with some enthusiasm.

"But you're both right. They may have an owner nearby so it's best if we return them before they get into danger out here again."

Sanzo was less than enthused by Hakkai's cat breed trivia.

"There's being sidetracked and then there's just doing pointless bullshit," he said sharply. "We won't get to the next stop before sundown and it'll be another night of camping out."

"Don't be like that Sanzo! You wouldn't want the poor kitties to suffer out here all alone would you?" begged Goku as he stroked the back of the Maine Coon cat who was purring in enjoyment. Gojyo grinned, picking up the grey tabby and held him in front of Sanzo mockingly as the cat stared lazily at the priest.

"You're gonna say no to a face like this? Heartless as ever."

"Stuff it," Sanzo said sourly.

"Meow."

The long-haired cat made a noise looking at Hakuryuu who was still perched on Hakkai's shoulder. Hakuryuu seemed to acknowledge it and tilted his head in understanding. The grey tabby wiggled its way out of Gojyo's hands and landed on the ground, meowing some more before starting off in one direction. The Main Coon followed as did Hakuryuu who glided away from the group.

"Huh? What's Hakuryuu doing?" Goku stood up and started to jog after the animals. "Hey, wait up!"

"Heh. The monkey's joining the zoo," joked Gojyo. He called after him. "Oi! Don't run off like that. We don't want to spend the day tracking you down."

Hakkai stood up looking thoughtfully after them.

"If Hakuryuu's following them, there may be something of interest…"

He glanced at Sanzo who looked like he was just about done.

"Well, Sanzo? We're not going to make it without our ride and it seems like he's caught wind of something that may be worthwhile," said Hakkai who was all smiles again.

Sanzo hated that shitty smile sometimes. Hakkai was using his position as the voice of reason in their group to get him to follow along with this sudden sidequest and he knew he would only be wasting more time if he argued further. Sanzo started off in the direction where Goku went with Hakkai and Gojyo casually following after him.

"Let's go. We gotta get the car back."

They had gone into the woods with the cats and Hakuryuu taking the lead. The space between the trees was narrow which made sense for why Hakuryuu remained in his dragon form.

"Cat's don't live in the woods, do they?" Goku asked as he lightly skipped over some thick tree roots.

"They don't, but monkeys sure do," retorted Gojyo with a grin as he strolled casually past Goku, hands in his pockets.

As that set off another round of bickering between the two, Hakkai paused and put a hand on his chin as he looked in the direction of the cats.

"... Odd. There's a kekkai in this area," he murmured. Sanzo glanced at him questioningly.

"A barrier? All the way out here?"

"Yes. I don't sense any malicious intent in it though," replied Hakkai thoughtfully.

"Hakkai! Sanzo!" Goku waved over the two of them with one hand and pointed excitedly with the other.

"There's a house near the bottom of the cliffside! Hurry up and let's check it out!"

Within a minute or two, the four of them came upon a clearing in the woods. The two guide cats continued on, but Hakuryuu flew back to Hakkai to sit on his shoulder. Before them was a large, but modest home whose style of architecture was similar, but of China. It was a one-story building with a single sliding door entry in the front. There were windows, but the view was obscured by the blurry glass, and although it was a proper-looking structure, the oddity of it being in the middle of essentially nowhere made it suspicious. And there was the matter of…

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Sanzo, Hakkai, and Gojyo bore witness to the amazing sight of Goku sailing right over their heads and landing on his back. Goku sat up dazed and stared at the revealed barrier that surrounded the house like a bubble and crackled with yellow energy. Apparently, Goku was its first victim.

"I tried going to the door to knock, but then I got blocked off…" he trailed off and stood up, dusting off his pants. Sanzo scoffed while Gojyo and Hakkai went around what they could make out of the perimeter of the barrier.

"If you weren't in such a hurry, you would have heard what Hakkai just said, stupid monkey."

"Awww, but Sanzo! The cats went inside so I thought it would be okay," insisted Goku.

"That's because it's obvious they already have permission," the priest said dryly. Gojyo had circled back to the front with Hakkai with one hand resting against his hip looking upon the house coolly.

"Well, if you're gonna live in a place like this, you might as well have something to keep others out," he commented, reaching into his pocket for another cigarette.

Before the party could decide on their next move, there was a shuffling noise of feet and the sound of a tiny bell made with each step and it suddenly ceased.

"... Hello?"

It was a woman's voice that called out. A shadowy outline could be made out from the doorway where the two cats they had picked up were resting in front of. The door slid open and the house owner stepped out.

The woman was a cat.

Or rather, the Sanzo Party was met with a woman with very vivid yellow cat eyes with a dark thin iris nearing the side of green that stared at the four men with curiosity. She sported a dark complexion and even darker hair that was tied into a loose hair bun and was dressed in a green dress decorated with a floral print with a high collar and a flowing skirt that reached past her knees. The woman was barefoot with one black ribbon tied around her left ankle and in one hand she held a broom.

Not a word was spoken as everyone sized each other up. It was Goku who broke the silence with a whisper aimed at his companions.

"Um. She's probably a demon… I'm not the only one who thinks that right?"

"Most likely. It goes without saying, but keep up your guard," cautioned Hakkai with his hand over his mouth.

"Dunno… She's pretty cute. I could see if I could let her guard down," joked Gojyo, albeit laced with obvious flirtation.

"Not, NOW you perverted kappa," said an irritated Sanzo.

A gurgling noise interrupted everyone's train of thought and everyone cast their gaze at Goku. He put a hand over his stomach and groaned.

"... Ah."

The woman with cat eyes seemed to break out of her own reverie and coughed to get their attention.

"Um… If it's alright with all of you…"

She stepped out of the doorway and towards the barrier. Holding out her hand, the woman traced her fingertips over the energy shield and with a quick flash, it disappeared. She collected herself and gave a friendly and gentle smile at the group.

"Would you all like to have breakfast?"

"... So."

"So?"

"Sooooooo…"

"So why are we going to have breakfast inside of a demon's house?" grumbled Sanzo.

Everyone except the cat-eyed woman was seated on the straw mat floor around a long and flat dining table. After they had introduced themselves (well, Hakkai introduced everyone including himself ) everyone had been served a drink; Sanzo and Hakkai had cups of hot green tea, Gojyo had a mug of coffee, and Goku had polished off a glass of orange juice before asking for a second serving. The house owner was right across from their view in the kitchen. Now wearing an apron, she had taken some ingredients out of her fridge, a knife, and a cutting board and the sounds of chopping soon filled the air.

Chop, chop, chop.

Goku was happily laying on his back sprawled across the mat floor.

"This place is so nice and peaceful. It's not stuffy like that temple and other inns we've stayed at and it doesn't look like she's gone crazy! OW" exclaimed Goku rolling from side to side before Sanzo unceremoniously slapped him with his paper fan to get him to stop fidgeting.

"Goku… That's a little rude to say aloud, you know," said Hakkai with a hint of chastisement. He glanced at the woman with an apologetic smile.

"We're sorry for the disruption. And you're going through the trouble of making us a meal too."

The woman paused and shook her head as she smiled pleasantly at the group.

"It's no trouble at all. There's nothing wrong with a lively household," she said as she resumed cutting up her ingredients. From the floor, Goku flopped onto his stomach, tucking his arms under his chin.

Chop, chop, chop.

"That's really nice of you… Uh… What should we call you…?" Goku frowned, scratching his cheek realizing that they never asked for her name.

Chop, chop, chop.

"Call me Yoru," answered the young lady, never taking her eyes off her task.

Chop, chop, chop.

The sound of the knife against the wooden cutting board was strangely serene. Sanzo sipped his tea quietly while studying the house they were in. Hakkai and Gojyo were doing the same over their own beverages while Goku stood up to move closer to Yoru, chattering mindlessly while she nodded and smiled, moving on taking some eggs out of the refrigerator.

All three of the older men came to the same general conclusion: this house was exceedingly normal.

It was furnished comfortably and while the interior decoration was sparse, what was there was colorful. There were intricate and tall vases in some corners and delicate watercolor paintings and ink scrolls hung on the walls. There was a pot of bright yellow flowers that had just been picked that morning from the forest that sat on the counter of the kitchen. Near the windows where sunlight spilled through, the cats they had followed earlier lazily lounged giving no mind to the house guests. Hakuryuu joined them, basking in the sun.

The magical barrier and odd woman aside, everything else about their surroundings enveloped them in a type of ease they were not accustomed to.

"Well. We better hope there are no strings attached for coming in," muttered Gojyo as he absentmindedly reached into his pockets for a cigarette before a stern glance from Hakkai stopped him.

"The house seems to be well protected with that barrier around the perimeter. That's probably how she's been able to remain here undisturbed," he said, rubbing his chin with his fingers thoughtfully.

Hakkai glanced back at Yoru who appeared to be frying the eggs. As the pan sputtered and sizzled, Goku watched, trying not to drool.

"Wow…. I can't wait to eat!" he grinned as the whites of the eggs began to set. Yoru looked at the smaller boy puzzled at first, but her expression softened at his anticipation.

"Everything should be ready soon. I'm glad you're looking forward to it," she said before giving her attention back to cooking. "I haven't had any visitors for a while so I'm a bit slow. Sorry about that."

"Do you live alone here Miss Yoru?" Hakkai inquired casually. His cup of tea was emptied so he let it rest in his lap as he studied her carefully. Yoru nodded as another egg was cracked into the pan.

"Mm-hm. It's been about… A year? A year and a half? I've been alone for a while. Hmmm…" She drew out a thoughtful noise as she mused over her answer.

"Ah. Don't let the eggs burn Yoru," warned Goku.

"Oops. You're right, right."

"Alone huh? Isn't it troublesome for you since you're a woman and a demon?" asked Gojyo, raising a brow at that instance of spaciness. "Demons haven't been on their best behavior recently and that means unhappy humans if you get my drift."

Yoru furrowed her brow, but she looked more confused than offended as she finished cooking another duo of eggs and got started on heating up another pan for the next dish. The realization was slow to dawn upon her, but she seemed to catch on after a few blinks.

"... Oh yeah. So you're talking about all those demon attacks lately… And I am a demon I suppose," murmured Yoru as she reached for the basket of spinach and mushrooms.

Sanzo stared at Yoru trying to decide if the woman was playing dumb or if she that out of touch.

"What do you mean you suppose?"

The cat-eyed woman shrugged.

"Well, you see… I guess if I read that way to you, I don't have an argument against it. But I always figured I'm probably of a different cloth? Does that make sense?"

"Yeah! I get it I think," chimed in Goku. The sound of sizzling became louder as Yoru proceeded to stir fry the spinach and mushrooms. The aroma of garlic emitted from the pan and Goku inhaled the scent happily before continuing. "Your aura is the same, but different! Like your eyes give it away that you're not human, but they're just not quite the same as others we've seen!"

"She's not native Chang'an then," concluded Sanzo, losing any interest or suspicion that remained. The priest had finished his tea and moved from the table to rest his back against the nearby wall. "Wake me up when the food's done."

Gojyo rolled his eyes at Sanzo over the rim of his coffee cup. Hakkai stood up and walked over to the kitchen.

"Allow me to help Miss Yoru. You're already doing so much for the four of us, it'd be a shame if we sat around and did nothing," he offered in a kind tone. Yoru looked surprised for a second and then beamed at the man.

"Sure thing Hakkai! Goku can help too if he doesn't mind," she said looking more heartened. Goku was practically bouncing.

"I'd love to help! I wanna eat real soon!" he declared.

As Goku, Hakkai, and Yoru finished up the remaining tasks for breakfast, Gojyo and Sanzo sat back allowing the sounds from the kitchen to wash over them. It was all mundane and even boring and yet after their previous encounters with less than savory company with violence to follow, it was a welcome sort of mundaneness. There was nothing about Yoru that made the party think she was anything other than what she presented herself as; a little slow, but kind, mysterious, but sincere, and overall just… Calm.

This mysterious house and its owner exuded a type of peace that they barely had in their own lives before going on their long and arduous journey to the West. Surely, just for a moment, it was fine to indulge.

"Everything looks so good!" exclaimed Goku, eyes shining as he looked at the spread of food that was just completed. Yoru seated herself at the head of the table wiping her brow, but looking pleased.

"I'm glad! Like I said, I haven't had visitors for a while so making a lot of food especially for four men was probably more than I could take on. Thank you for helping me, Goku and Hakkai," Yoru said graciously, bowing her head at her helpers.

Hakkai was scooping rice from the rice cooker and nodded back in acknowledgment while Sanzo and Gojyo sat on opposite sides of the table.

"You're providing us a free meal essentially so it's the least we could do," he replied, passing a bowl of rice to Gojo who passed it to Sanzo. The priest took the bowl and set it in front of him while studying the breakfast presented to them.

Aside from the hot steaming white rice served to them, their breakfast consisted of two plates of crisp bacon that had been cooking in the oven. There were plenty of fried eggs, cooked sunny side up with bright amber yolks glistening in the light. Next to the eggs was the stir-fried spinach and thin shimeji mushrooms, wilted, but fragrant with the scent of garlic, oyster sauce, and soy sauce and sprinkled on pepper. Yoru had also refilled their beverages with a pitcher of iced water on standby.

All in all: a normal breakfast. Not that Sanzo was expecting something fantastic or out of this world, but it did strike him as unusually banal. In fact, that's how he would describe the entire setup, from the breakfast to the house, to its owner: Unusually banal, no ulterior motives, no out-of-field actions, and since Hakkai had assisted with meal prep, the demon obviously didn't add any sort of poison that he would have noticed. There was no cunning to be had here.

Well. Maybe in the end there was no use overthinking things even with their circumstances. Sanzo began to eat while Goku dived in, chopsticks in hand, grabbing a bit of everything.

"Thanks for the food! Man, I'm starving!" He took a large bite of rice with half of an egg to follow as well as a large serving of the stir-fry. Yoru who had only begun nibbling on her bacon gazed at him wide-eyed at the sheer voracity. Gojyo chuckled at her reaction as he helped himself to some slices of bacon as well.

"Don't stare too much Missy or all the food will be gone in a blink of an eye," he joked. Yoru looked at Gojyo, yellow eyes still wide.

"Should I make more rice?" she asked seriously, looking worried. Goku was already working on a third egg. Hakkai chuckled but tactfully left her question unanswered.

It was a normal, but tasty breakfast; salty crisp bacon, rich eggs, and the savory stir-fry went well with the fluffy rice. Goku went for seconds and then thirds and then not too soon afterward, Yoru was staring at the bottom of the rice cooker in bewilderment when she tried to see if there was enough for a second helping for Gojyo.

"Eh, don't bother," said Gojyo as he polished off the last slice of bacon before Goku could, much to the latter's chagrin. "You could make more, but since you're making this all for free, it's better if you don't let the monkey eat you out of house and home."

"I wouldn't do that," protested Goku. "I'll only eat more if Miss Yoru makes more! I won't make her though, so there!"

Before Yoru could reply, Sanzo set his chopsticks on top of his bowl gaining the group's attention.

"We'll be leaving after everyone's done. You can help clean up, but then we gotta get going," he said firmly.

Goku's expression fell.

"So soon already? But…"

"This isn't an inn and she didn't say we could stay," said Sanzo without an ounce of levity. He stood up and headed towards the entrance. "I'll be waiting outside with the jeep!" The door slid open and then shut behind the priest leaving the remaining three with Yoru.

On her part, Yoru seemed nonplussed as she occupied herself with gathering the remaining dishes with Hakkai, Goku, and even Gojyo pitching in. She didn't say anything for a minute before finally breaking the quiet.

"If it was necessary, I wouldn't have minded," she said simply. "But it looks like you guys have a long trip ahead of you. The next town over isn't too far away from here. Not a lot of demons either, so you won't have too much trouble at least for the next few miles."

Yoru smiled as she stood up to bring the dirty dishes and utensils to the sink.

"This was nice though, wasn't it?"

"It was," admitted Gojyo. He took his own stack of plates and brought them over. "We usually eat at inns or the local eateries at the places we stop by. Home-cooked meals aren't something I'm gonna turn my nose up at."

"Indeed," agreed Hakkai, as he cleared up the remaining mess at the table with Goku wiping away small spills with a napkin. "I usually cook for our party, but a proper kitchen really moves things along compared to cooking outdoors."

"And hey." Gojyo grinned cheekily at Yoru who blinked at him while turning on the sink water. "If it's a cutie who's cooking for me, who am I to complain?"

The obvious flirting caused Yoru's yellow catlike-eyes to blink even more rapidly and before she realized it, her cheeks did redden slightly.

"Oh! Oh my..." When it registered properly, Yoru appeared to be at a loss at how to respond properly. Before Gojyo could tease her expression, Goku interrupted him blatantly.

"Hakkai helped her cook! Does that mean he's a cutie?" Gojyo groaned and ground his teeth trying not to lose his composure so quickly in front of Yoru. Hakkai laughed and jokingly cupped his face with both of his hands.

"Oh my! That's quite the indirect compliment Gojyo!"

"Not helping Hakkai."

"Why's it matter if a cute person cooks for you anyway?" asked Goku with the intent of further badgering the half-demon. "You wouldn't eat food made by someone not cute? Guess that means I can take your food if that happens!"

"That's not how that works you moron!" shouted Gojyo immediately after going for Goku's face to stretch his cheeks.

And while the usual bickering ensued, Hakkai and Yoru turned away and started scrubbing the dishes. The demon woman glanced at the argument occurring, mildly concerned, but based on Hakkai's non-reaction towards it, she concluded that yes, this was indeed a normal thing.

"Don't mind them. If I have to, I can kick them out so they can rough house outside instead," he said reassuringly.

Yoru smiled, amused, and continued to wash the dishes, content to listen to the rowdy noises of Gojyo and Goku slinging childish insults and jabs in the background before Sanzo marched back in, slapping the both of them with his paper fan and telling them to shut their traps.

It was nice, she thought. An unusual company like this was the best kind.

Yoru hoped that if she ever got any other visitors, that they would be as fun as this group. That would be very nice, she thought, and it would be one less meal to have alone.

"Well, that was relaxing!" Hakkai said cheerfully.

The Sanzo Party was back on the road again with the scenery passing by with Hakkai at the wheel as usual. They didn't leave Yoru's home empty-handed; she had generously provided them with some vital supplies and directions to the nearest town that had more of what they would need. Goku had waved goodbye to the demon woman, giving her the loudest and the most enthusiastic thanks out of the four of them. She had seen them off from the entrance of her home. The two cats they had followed also sat outside watching the men walk away until their forms were dots in the distance.

Sanzo took a long drag of his cigarette, gazing up at the sky.

"We're damn lucky that it didn't go sideways," he grumbled.

"It didn't go in any direction really," said Gojyo as he crossed his arms behind his head. "She seems to be doing alright for herself. The Minus Wave seems to affect demons to varying degrees. Think it's that barrier around her house that does it for her?"

"Mm." Hakkai nodded as he made the jeep do a turn.

"It could be, but I don't think it would necessarily nullify the effects of the Wave. It's more than possible that Miss Yoru is in fact a fairly strong demon herself. In any case, the protection around her home probably keeps out demons and humans alike unless she lets them in like she allowed us."

Goku sighed, turning his head back in the direction of where the house had been.

"I'd like to go back there again. I really liked Yoru's house. It was clean and the food was good." He wistfully rested his face in one hand.

"We'll be too far away," stated Sanzo. "We won't be going back this way anytime soon."

"If we're ever able to go back, we should totally visit her! We're gonna have so many stories to tell her about going West," proposed Goku with renewed vigor.

His declaration was met with a non-committal hum from the rest. It would have been too easy to put Goku down by stating the obvious counterpoints. They didn't know if they would return from the West for one thing. The number of crazed demons, as well as the minions of Gyokumen Koshu and Kougaiji, would increase the further they went and there was no guarantee that Yoru would remain unaffected by the Minus Wave as time went on. The Sanzo Party's lives would be in constant danger with no room for true stability.

What were their chances of seeing the cat-eyed woman again? People in their lives have come and gone and whether they liked it or not, they were stuck with each other on this perilous quest.

There shouldn't have been room for anything or anyone else.

"They were very loud weren't they?"

The black cat spoke aloud to herself as she nursed a cup of hot tea in her lap while sitting on the floor of the outer corridor of her home. The sun was beginning to set, signaling the end of the day.. The two other cats, the grey tabby and large feline with golden fur rested on either side of her, tails swishing back and forth. It was just them, the house, and the ambient sounds of the forest that encompassed Yoru as she loosened her hair, letting it drape across her shoulders. She sighed and leaned her back against the sliding door.

"Now it's just me again."

It was quiet; almost too quiet compared to when the Sanzo priest and his companions filled out the dinner table. Despite the rowdiness, Yoru found the gathering to be merry and uplifting in a way.

There was no denying that they were, to kindly put it, a colorful bunch. The Sanzo was curt, basically rude and unapproachable; she was certain most priests were more dignified than that, but maybe she didn't meet enough of them for that assumption to be true. Hakkai was definitely kind, nothing to complain about there even if Yoru felt it was a little surface-level. Gojyo was certainly a roguish cad (she wondered if she'd ever get used to being flirted with. It didn't happen a lot). Finally, there was Goku…

Well. He certainly ate a lot.

Goku was, however, the most emotive of them all with barely an ounce of insincerity. Yoru would be lying to herself if she said her heart wasn't softened by how a simple meal caused such great joy in him. The demon couldn't recall the last time she met someone who was so excited over food.

She was already beginning to miss that ephemeral and temporary warmth around the dining table. Although Yoru was aware that people would come and go, and so would she, it didn't stop the pang in her center when all was said and done and she was all alone again.

It had only been a year since she started living alone. She was a little better at it, but perhaps not that much.

A loud meow broke Yoru from her reverie and she realized that her tea had grown cold and that night was settling in. Wordlessly, she stood up, the tiny bell from the ribbon tied to her ankle jingly gently. Dusting off her dress she opened up the door and after the cats went inside, closed it behind her.

Outside the house, the transparent yellow energy of the barrier flickered. There was no more activity within and as the nighttime hours passed, the building began to slowly fade away.

Come morning, anyone who passed through that particular section of the forest would find no barrier, no house, and no woman with yellow cat-like eyes.

That was the way it had always been for Yoru. A transient traveler who, without a second thought, assumed she would probably never see the Sanzo party again.

What were the chances? People have come and gone and she had decided long ago that was just how it was going to be.

But every now and then, the Heavens can throw a bone to those on Earth.