Notes:

This is a little side-story arc that I started working on, thanks to a couple of ideas from toes. The usual story will continue shortly (yes, yes, Kougaiji will make an appearance soon...).

Episode V – Shopping – Part I : The Journey

It was Sunday.

It was Sunday, which meant that they were eating at home... which meant that Goku had rapidly depleted all their food supplies.

After lunch, Hakkai announced that they would be going shopping that afternoon.

Goku leapt up in anticipation. "Sannnnnnnzzzzzooooooooo—"

Sanzo calmly thwacked him over the head with his paper fan.

"ITAI! What was that for?"

"Hn." Sanzo glanced out of the window. "I'll go with you."

Hakkai's eyebrows rose. "Nani?"

"Don't make me repeat myself." Sanzo tossed a satchel to Goku and headed for the door.

"There's just a slight problem," Hakkai said, with his usual bright smile.

"What's that?" Gojyo asked.

"Hakuryuu is still sick. We have to take the subway."

Goku rushed over to the bed, where Hakuryuu was curled up and dozing. "Hakuryuu! You can't be sick! No!" he shook the little dragon.

Hakuryuu spun around and bit him.

"ITAI! What was that for?"

"Maa, maa, leave him alone, Goku," Hakkai said hurriedly, as Hakuryuu wriggled out of Goku's hands and flopped back onto the bed, glaring with red beady eyes.

"Baka," Sanzo murmured.

"Hakkai?" Goku asked.

"Hai."

"Are subways good to eat?"

***

The quarrel started when they were on the train.

"I want meat buns!" Goku insisted, grabbing the shopping list from Gojyo.

"Bakasaru. Always thinking of your stomach."

"Better than an ero-kappa!"

"Better how? I bet you can't answer that!"

"Stupid kappa!"

"Stupid monkey!"

"Dumb ass!"

"You don't even know what an ass is!"

"Do too!"

They had attracted the attention of the entire carriage. Sanzo's head was buried in his hands, a vein pop-out clearly visible. Hakkai smiled apologetically.

"Doors closing," the intercomm system announced.

Sanzo glanced up. And swore.

He dived out of the train, as the little blinky lights started flashing to indicate that the doors were about to close.

Hakkai followed on his heels.

The other two were a little slower. Gojyo, sharper than Goku, was out of train while the monkey was still asking "Nani?" Fortunately, Goku's reflexes were good. He literally leapt out of the carriage, as the doors swished shut a hair's breadth behind.

Unfortunately, his landing wasn't so good.

"WAHHHHH!!!" he slammed into Gojyo, who slammed into Hakkai, who slammed into Sanzo, who slammed into the floor.

For a tense moment, there was just the sound of the train speeding off behind them.

Then Sanzo exploded. "BAKAZARU!"

*thump* *thump* *thumpthumpthump*

"ITAIIII!!!!!!!"

"STUPID DUMB ASS MONKEY!"

*thump* *thump* *thumpthumpthump* *THWACK*

"Sanzo, calm down," Hakkai said worriedly. "The whole station is watching us."

Sanzo growled, shoved the paper fan into his sleeve pocket, and stormed off.

The quarrel picked up where it had left off.

"Stupid ape. If you hadn't been jumping up and down, we wouldn't have come so close to missing our stop." Gojyo said.

"What do you mean if I? You were the one who started it!" Goku snarled back, still clutching his head in pain.

"Yeah, but who was the one who continued it?"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

There was an ominous click of a gun being cocked.

The two combatants signed an unspoken peace treaty immediately.

***

Copyright 2001, sf and toes