Son Goku grinned as he munched on a peach. Damn, but these monks sure know how to take care of their fruit trees! These are the BEST peaches I've ever tasted in my life!!!
Suddenly, a violent wind rustled through the leaves of the tree, making Goku sit up straight. Eh? What's that? What's going on here?
It didn't take long for him to get his answer. The wind picked up, blowing harder, almost like it intended to topple the tree. And then, suddenly, a figure appeared in the middle of the air, hanging suspended for a moment in time. Goku stared at the figure, eyes wide, until it finally obeyed the laws of gravity and started falling – right towards him.
Yipes!! Knowing that there was no way he would be able to avoid the falling object, he decided to do the next best thing – catch it. He held out his arms, and carefully balanced himself on the tree branch, anticipating the fall of the figure into his arms. It did, and he swayed on the branch a little before stabilizing again. This was when he decided to take a peek at what exactly this figure was.
Goku's eyes widened in amazement. By the gods… It's a girl!! But…but what the HECK is she doing here?! And why did she fall out of the sky like that?!
Knowing that it wouldn't do him any good to just stand there, he jumped down from the tree, still holding the girl in his arms. Now what the hell am I supposed to do?
"Looks like you found her."
Goku nearly jumped, and turned around to face Genjo Sanzo, the monk who had managed to break his five-hundred-year imprisonment. He grinned sheepishly. "Ehehehe…well, looks like I did."
Sanzo nodded, his face still as serious as ever. "Here, let me take her."
Goku nodded as he let Genjo do the carrying – his arms were beginning to ache. "Oi, Sanzo, do you know who she is? You sounded like you were expecting her."
"I was," Sanzo replied as he headed towards the interior of the temple.
"Then what for?"
"It's got something to do with our trip."
Goku stopped. What? That little slip of a girl has something to do with our TRIP? Sanzo had told him that the two of them would meet up with their old companions Sha Gojyo and Cho Hakkai to go on a journey ordered upon them by the gods. They were supposed to go to the West, and find out the reason why demons all over Togenkyo were acting weird.
But it's going to be a dangerous journey, Goku thought as he followed Sanzo further and further into the temple, his curiosity about the girl not yet sated. And he's planning to bring that girl along?! Doesn't he know that that's going to be a high-risk venture?! And with Gojyo around…who knows what he might do to the poor thing!!
A slow grin suffused on his face. On the other hand, if she can cook decently enough then I say that Sanzo bring her along! And I'll take it upon myself to make sure that Gojyo doesn't pull any stunts on her.
When he finally caught up with Sanzo the monk was laying the girl down on a futon, and slowly covering her up with a blanket. "Sanzo, could you PLEASE explain to me what you've got for that girl? This is the first time I've seen you act like that around an example of the feminine species…" He grinned. "Maybe Gojyo's womanizing ways are starting to rub off on you, eh?"
Sanzo glared at him, and replied, "Keep your nose out of things that have nothing to do with you."
"Oh, this HAS something to do with me," Goku replied with a grin as he walked over to the girl lying on the futon, and knelt. "You told me that she was coming with us on our journey. Knowing you, you wouldn't do anything of the sort unless you REALLY had to. And I'm willing to bet my dinner that the gods told you something about this girl. What exactly was it? And why would we need her for our journey?"
Sanzo sighed, and stared at the sleeping girl. He was silent for a long, long while. And finally, just when Goku was ready to get up and raid the kitchen, he spoke, "This girl…Fate has something in it for her. I don't really know what exactly, since they didn't bother to tell me, but all I know is that it was Fate that she should come with us. If we don't bring her along, she'll follow somehow, in one way or another… Might as well save ourselves the trouble and bring her with us."
"Do you know her name?"
The monk nodded. "Hai. Her name is Amaunet."
Goku blinked. Ama-what?! That's some weird name… "That's a mouthful right there, Sanzo. Could you say that again, please?"
"Ah-mau-net," Sanzo said, pronouncing the syllables slowly for Goku to understand. "It is a strange name in a strange language, where she is from. Whatever the case may be, it means 'hidden power'. I don't know why she would have a name like that, but it should mean something… I just don't know what."
"There are a lot of things you don't know about this girl, Sanzo," Goku said solemnly, which was quite unusual for him. It was such a change for him to have Sanzo say, "I don't know" a couple of times in one day. He usually said that only once, and only when he was really pissed off. But today, there was nothing in his voice to indicate that he was pissed off at anything or anyone. He plainly and simply did not know.
Goku sighed, and sat down, this time crossing his legs. "Then what are we going to do? You know what Gojyo's going to do the minute he finds out we're bringing a girl with us… And believe me, this one's rather pretty. Gojyo's going to hit on her till she gives in."
"I'll ask Hakkai to take care of her," Sanzo answered quietly. "At least I can trust HIM instead of Gojyo."
Goku blinked. Hey, wait a minute… "Does that mean you don't trust me?"
"Hai. You're too immature."
"Hey, that wasn't nice!!!" Goku yelled.
Sanzo glared at him. "Shut up!!! If you keep on shouting like that you're going to wake her up!!!"
"So what?! You WANT her to wake up, don't you?!"
"Hai, but not to the sound of your screaming!!"
"Hey, you're screaming yourself, oh not-really-high-and-mighty monk!!!"
"Oooooohhhh…"
* * *
Amaunet groaned as she slowly returned to consciousness – and felt the pain.
Oh God, it hurts…it really hurts… She hadn't experienced such pain in all her life, which was amazing considering the fact that she had been in several rather painful situations that included having a tooth pulled out without anesthetic and getting her thumb hit with a hammer.
But none of them compared to the pain she was feeling now. It seemed to shoot up from every part of her body, all of them converging in her head. And all of that pain made thinking even more difficult than normal.
She thought she heard voices, while swimming in and out of consciousness, and it was those voices that had encouraged her to come back to the world of the living. She opened her eyes slowly, slowly, trying to blink back the sunlight that was streaming through her eyelids.
"She's waking up…"
"Well if that isn't obvious, I don't know what is."
BAM!!!
Amaunet opened her eyes more fully now, taking in what she could of her surroundings. She realized that she was lying on the floor, though on top of a mattress-like thing, and that she had been kindly covered up with a blanket. Huh? Where am I?
Two faces came into focus then. One was of a not-so-young man with blonde hair and purple eyes, while the other was of a boy with dark brown hair and light brown eyes. Amaunet blinked up at them. Who the hell are they?
Memory came crashing down on her with the force of a tsunami. She remembered that there was a cave-in, and that she and her father and been separated… And these guys sure as hell don't look like they're a search-and-rescue team…and neither are they any of the grad students…
Amaunet sat up almost immediately, clutching the blanket close as if it would shield her from all harm. She inched away from the two men, who were now staring at her as if she were a really weird person. "Who are you? Where am I? What am I doing here?"
The blonde-haired man sighed, and stood up slowly, approaching her with carefully measured steps. "We do not intend to harm you. Please calm down."
"Calm down my derriere! I knock myself out in a cave-in, and the next thing I know I'm in some room with not one, but TWO males, and heaven knows what has happened while I was out cold!" Amaunet exclaimed.
The blonde-haired man halted just two steps away from her. "If you worry about your chastity, I can assure you that you have not been touched. You are in a temple, under my care. I have made sure that no one has intended to harm you."
"Who are you then?"
The man bowed. "I am Genjo Sanzo." He glanced at his brown-haired companion. "And that is Son Goku."
Silence reigned for a while, then Sanzo said, "When you have calmed down sufficiently, I would like to speak with you for a moment." He moved away from her, and gestured towards a table, where there seemed to be some clothes laid out. "Those are for your use. When you are ready, I wish to speak with you."
Amaunet watched as Sanzo walked out of the room, followed closely by Son Goku, who started talking about wanting some food. When the door slid shut, Amaunet let out a soft sigh. Well at the very least I know who those two people are.
She stood up slowly, so as not to send the world spinning violently again. She let the blanket drop, revealing that she was still wearing the safari outfit she had donned when she and her father had entered the temple. Her belt, boots, and hat, however, were not there anymore. Looking around, she found her boots standing near the door, while her belt and hat were lying beside the clothes that Sanzo had said were for her use.
She knew the moment she woke up that she wasn't in Egypt anymore. How could I have gotten out of the temple so quickly? And to a place that reeks with Sino-Asian influences, she wondered as she slowly stripped off her clothes, folded them, and put on the clothes, which turned out to be a set of kimono. The cloth was of blue silk, which felt somewhat cool and comforting after the heat of the Sahara, replete with small, embroidered peach blossoms in gold thread. The obi, on the other hand, was black, run through with silver threads. It was a rather expensive outfit, and Amaunet had to wonder where these monks – if she were indeed in a temple – found it and for what purpose did they use it.
Finding a set of combs laid out nearby, as well as a small round mirror, Amaunet knelt as best as her kimonos would allow and combed her hair until all the tangles had been worked out. As she stared at herself in the mirror, she began to debate with herself whether she should put her hair up into the usual braided bun, or to just leave it hanging around her shoulders. After a while, she decided to just leave it alone, pushing back her hair behind her ears instead.
She padded across the mats on the floor towards the door, opening it. She found a pair of pretty black-lacquered slippers with black-lacquered leather thongs waiting for her. She just HAD to smile. "Charming, charming," she told herself as she stepped into the slippers. They were a bit small for her, but she didn't mind. Well at the very least these people are hospitable to strangers. The last thing she wanted was for these people to kick her out…not when she didn't have any answers yet.
She walked down the hallway, her slippers making a soft tip-tapping sound against the wooden floorboards. The scent of incense pervaded the air, and in the distance, she could hear the soft chanting of monks, their voices a soft throb in her ears. Just outside, she could hear the wind rustling the leaves of some tree, and making a chime tinkle lightly. It was such a great change from what she was used to in Cairo and at the dig sites that Amaunet just had to stop in the middle of the hall and listen, smell and look.
"I'm sorry to say this, but you look a little ridiculous standing in the middle of the hallway."
Amaunet jerked out of her thoughts, and turned to the source of the sound. She saw Goku leaning against the wall, a few bun-like things in his hand. She sighed, and relaxed. "Jeez, don't do that to me, please? I don't like it when people startle me out of my wits."
Goku laughed, and grinned. "Gomen nasai. But really, you looked rather silly standing there the way you were a moment ago. I was thinking you could see something I couldn't."
Amaunet giggled softly. "Yeah, I guess I did. It's just that…I'm not really used to all of this. I'm more used to noise, not peace and quiet."
"That's what we get a lot of around here, peace and quiet," Goku remarked. "Sometimes it's so quiet that it's boring." He took a bite out of one of the bread buns, and asked, his mouth still full, "So, where were you going?"
"I was going to see Sanzo. Do you know where he is right now?"
Goku nodded. "Hai." He pointed down the hall ahead of them. "Walk that way, and turn left at the first chance you get. He'll be in the room four doors down, on the right side."
Amaunet smiled. "Thank you, Goku." With that, she set off, following Goku's directions.
* * *
Sanzo heard her slippers as they slapped against the floorboards, indicating that she was heading towards him at that moment. He stared at the door, patiently waiting for her to make her appearance.
He didn't have to wait long. The door slid open, and in stepped the girl, Amaunet.
Sanzo let a small smile appear on his face when he saw her. She looks much better now. She was wearing a blue kimono instead of those brown-colored clothes she had appeared in, bringing out the strange blueness of her eyes.
Those blue eyes gleamed back at him like sapphires in the fading afternoon light, stayed on his face as she knelt down in front of him across the low table.
Her voice when she spoke had a somewhat deeper timbre than the one he was accustomed to hearing among women. "You've got a lot of questions to answer, Sanzo."
Sanzo maintained an emotionless face, gazing back at her, meeting her eyes head-on. He smirked. "What do you want to know?"
"Where am I, for one, and how did I get here?"
Sanzo was silent for a moment, thinking of a proper answer. How to tell her that she came falling out of the sky and that she has a mission to fulfill…? He tipped a teapot over a small porcelain cup, the fragrant scent of jasmine filling the air. He pushed the tea towards his guest.
Amaunet stared at the cup, then at him, and back at the tea. Then finally, she reached out, curving unusually large-looking hands around the cup.
Sanzo observed everything about her. Her hands were slim and the fingers were elegantly tapered, but the veins underneath the skin were distinct. That could only mean she was accustomed to doing menial labor, and knew what it meant to work one's bones to breaking underneath a sweltering sun.
Deciding that it would now be an appropriate time to answer her inquiries, Sanzo said, "You are in the world of Togenkyo, where demons and humans coexist, and where magic is real." He smirked. "Quite unlike your own world, if I may say so."
Amaunet eyed him then, her blue eyes seeming to crackle with energy. He couldn't really place what emotions she was having at the moment…fear, certainly. Rage, maybe. Frustration, perhaps. Annoyance…yes, it was definitely there.
When she spoke, her voice was calm, though her eyes said it all, "What are you talking about? Are you trying to tell me that THIS place, Togenkyo, as you call it, is another world ENTIRELY?"
"Precisely."
She was silent for a long time, and then she barked out a laugh. "Hah, yeah right!! Now I know that I've found myself in some loony bin. Come on, tell me how to get out of here and I'll be more than happy to catch the next flight out to Cairo."
Sanzo smirked. "Do you think you can return to your world so easily? It's not as simple as 'catching a flight', as you so put it. You're here for a reason, and you're going to fulfill that mission, whether you like it or not."
"Are you trying to tell me what I can do and what I can't? Cause if you are, you're going to be in a lot of trouble." Her voice was like ice now, and so were her eyes. They flashed fire at him, cold fire, and he swore he could see twin ice-blue flames dancing behind her irises.
But he felt no fear. Genjo Sanzo had faced worse things than an angry gaijin, and he wasn't about to give in to this one. Iie, definitely not this one. "Hai, I am. Because if you want to live long enough to actually go back to wherever it is you came from, then you're going to listen to me and do as I tell you."
Her eyes narrowed, and Sanzo knew that she was angry. However, she maintained an outward calm as she stood up slowly. "You think you can get away with ordering me around?" she asked quietly, though the edge in her voice had sharpened so much that she could literally cut through steel with her words alone. She turned on her heel, her back to him, blue silk flying around her frame. "Over my dead body."
CLICK!!!
Sanzo cocked his gun, the sound making Amaunet freeze in mid-step, her hand poised to open the door in front of her. "Over your dead body, eh? I can arrange for that, you know…"
She slowly turned back to him, the anger flaring into her eyes until it was a raging inferno. "How dare you?!" she snarled. "Who gave you the authority to tell me what I should and should not do?!"
"There are a lot of things you don't understand, Amaunet, and I'm willing to explain all of them to you…only if you will pay attention," Sanzo said calmly as could be, even when faced with the wrath of this girl – not that was a lot. He had the weapon, thus he was in control.
"You just lost whatever credibility you had when you told me that I was in another world," Amaunet said pointedly, her words spiked with an acidity that Sanzo found a little surprising, especially in a girl her age. "You could just be another wacko kidnapper who's telling me all these weird stories so that I will be forced to do whatever you want. Pardon me for busting your bubble, but I'm not as stupid as you think."
"If you aren't as stupid as you presume yourself to be, then shut the hell up and sit down before I decide you're not worth the trouble of helping out and put a bullet through your head," Sanzo growled, waving his free hand towards the table again.
Her irises were ice now as she stared at him, barely able to keep her wrath in check. For a short moment in time, Sanzo had to wonder what she could do if she were thoroughly enraged, especially considering what the gods had told him about her supposed past life. But he shrugged it off like he always did. If anything happens, I can always shoot her first.
When Amaunet was settled down in front of the table, Sanzo took his seat across from her, keeping the gun in plain view as a reminder. "Now, are you going to listen?"
Amaunet gave him a forced nod in reply.
"Good. Now, as I told you, you aren't in your own world anymore. This world is called Togenkyo, and here, demons and humans live together. It has been quite peaceful for a time, until recently. A strange wave of evil energy has been flowing all around Togenkyo, and this has been causing the demons to go berserk. Save for those who wear limiters on their bodies, all other demons succumb to this evil wave and begin eating humans.
"I have been told that the only way to solve this problem is to go to the West, seek out its source, and destroy it there."
Amaunet raised an eyebrow at him then, something that, Sanzo realized, would annoy him to no end. "O…kay. Now what have I got to do with all of this?"
"The gods have told me that you must come along. They took you from your world and brought you here so that you could help us." Much as I don't like the idea.
"Help? What help? If you're looking for someone who can translate almost all the little-used and dead languages in the world – or my world, at least - then you've come to the right person. But otherwise, there's nothing much I can do."
Sanzo frowned. Damn it, then that means she can't fight. He figured as much, given the way she looked and the way she spoke – he could tell a scholar from a warrior even from ten feet away – and he knew that she was going to be useless in combat. "If you're worried about your safety, you just have to stick close to me and my other companions for the journey. Does that solve the security problem?"
Amaunet nodded slightly in response. "Yeah, I guess so. But still, what have I got to do with this entire thing? You mentioned something about gods…what do they want with me?"
Sanzo turned away from her, taking his gun with him. He glared at her. "If you so much as make a move for the door, I swear I will shoot you in the foot and make sure that you don't walk again."
The fire in her eyes kindled once more, but she stayed put.
Sanzo turned his gaze away from her, though he could sense her every movement. He reached into a nearby chest, and pulled out two objects. These objects he placed on the table in front of Amaunet. He eyed her seriously. "Do you know what these are?"
For a long time, Amaunet was speechless. She stared and stared at the objects that were presented to her. Getting impatient, Sanzo raised his gun lazily so that it was pointing at her. "Do you or do you not know what these objects are?"
There was no anger in Amaunet's voice. There was only pure, undisguised amazement. "Yes…yes I do." She picked up one of the objects. It was a piece of gold in the shape of a cross with a loop above the crossbar instead of a straight piece of gold. "This is what is called an ankh, the symbol of eternal life in the belief of the ancient Egyptians. Only royalty and the gods were allowed to hold these ornaments."
"What about this other one?" Sanzo asked, gesturing to the other object with his gun.
Amaunet put down the ankh, and picked up the other artifact, holding it with utmost reverence. "This is a representation of the Eye of Horus, probably from the twelfth, thirteenth dynasty. Gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian, and ivory…yes, the most precious materials the ancient Egyptians had ever known. The Eye of Horus was a special talisman, said to be able to give protection from all forms of evil."
Sanzo nodded slowly, absorbing everything that she had told him about the artifacts. "Hmph." He picked the two objects up, and put them away in the chest. "These artifacts are, in some way, connected to you. Or at least, that's what the gods said. You seemed to recognize them, at any rate."
"Where did you find them?"
Sanzo turned back to her. "Nani?"
Amaunet repeated her question. "Where did you find them?"
"In some ruins far to the southwest." He realized then that Amaunet's desire to reach those ruins was going to be her driving force. He smirked. Finally, I've got something to use as leverage. "I can take you to those ruins, Amaunet…but only if you come with me and my companions."
Her eyes narrowed to slits again. "So we're resorting to blackmail now, eh? What dirty, underhanded trick will you use next?"
"I'll do anything as long as it suits my purposes," Sanzo replied without even blinking. "As I said, the only way you can get back home is if you do what I say. You won't get to those ruins if you don't obey me."
Amaunet glared fiercely at him for a long, long while, but Sanzo knew that he would win. In the end, she huffed, and her shoulders slumped. "Fine, fine, we'll do it YOUR way. But once we get to those ruins, I'm jumping ship and I'm going to find a way to get myself home – with or without your help."
Sanzo smirked. I'd sure like to see you try getting home without our help. "Suit yourself."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Um, was that "Sanzo-ish" enough? I'm kind of frightened of going the way of OOC, especially for this dude. And what about Ama? Is she too Mary Sue-ish? She and Sanzo seem to really hate each other though… As if Goku and Gojyo weren't enough… Hehe, I'm so nasty to poor Sanzo-sama ^_^. Anyway, on with the story!!!