Amaunet slowly drifted back to the real world, having drowned herself in blissful sleep. Ah, that feels much better… There were many reasons why she liked to sleep, and the rested feeling she got right after was one of them. Also, it usually served to keep her out of trouble.
Like the trouble that was brewing around her at that moment.
She didn't know what had gone on, but apparently Goku and the red-haired man were yelling at each other, hurling insults back and forth, back and forth.
"HORNY KAPPA!!!"
"BRAINLESS SARU!!!!"
"REDHAIRED TOAD!!!!!!"
And then a roar from the front: "SHUT UP!!!!"
WHAP, WHACK, BAM!!!!
Amaunet blinked as she looked at Goku and his redheaded verbal sparring combatant, looking at the sizzling lumps that had sprouted in their heads. Sanzo, in the meantime, had hidden his Paper Fan of Doom in his robes.
O…kay… That was REALLY weird… Suddenly, she realized that she was in a moving vehicle. When she looked around, she realized that she was sitting in the back of a jeep. A jeep…
She turned to Sanzo then, who was sitting in the front passenger seat. "YOU BLOODY LIAR!!!!! You told me that there are no planes here in Togenkyo, and yet you guys are riding around in a bloody jeep!!!!"
Sanzo's reflection in the rearview mirror glared back at her. "It's true. There are no such things as 'planes' or whatever it is you call them here in Togenkyo."
"Then what in bloody hell are we doing riding in a jeep?! It should follow that if there is a jeep, then there SHOULD be airplanes, right?!?!?! I mean, the TECHNOLOGY exists…"
The man driving the jeep – the one with the white dragon – smiled at her then through the rearview mirror. "Gomen nasai, Amaunet-san, but you must be a little confused. This jeep isn't 'just' a jeep: it's Hakuryuu. You remember him, don't you?"
Amaunet's thoughts ground to a halt. What?! This jeep we're riding was – is – the dragon?!?! She just couldn't get around the fact that this JEEP was actually the chirping white dragon that had slept in her lap earlier.
The man chuckled, the light of the setting sun glinting off his monocle. "Hai, it would seem a little amazing, but it's true. And my name is Cho Hakkai, by the way."
Amaunet shoved all thoughts of dragon-equals-jeep-jeep-equals-dragon out of her mind for the time being, and managed to smile back at Hakkai. "A pleasure to meet you. You already said my name moments ago, so I guess that Goku and Sanzo mentioned me to you guys already."
"Hai," Hakkai answered with a nod. He glanced at the redhead in the back with her then. "Oh yes, and Amaunet-san, the redhead sitting beside you is Sha Gojyo."
Gojyo turned to her, and winked salaciously, a cigarette perched precariously on his lips. "Hey there babe."
Amaunet's eyes narrowed. If there were one thing in the world I absolutely HATED, it would have to be THAT WORD when used to refer to me!!! "Call me 'babe' again and I'll give you a swift kick to the groin," she growled, her voice laced with poison and edged with cold hard steel.
"Okay, okay! Jeez, relax will you! You're starting to act like Sanzo!" Gojyo exclaimed as he raised his hands protectively in front of him.
Fire flared in Amaunet's eyes. Another thing I hate: being compared to Sanzo! "Excuse me, but unlike some MONK I know, I have a social life. On the other hand, HE was probably closeted up for so long in that damn monastery that he lost all his capacity to deal with other people in a decent manner!"
Sanzo whirled around to face her then, and the power of his glare served to make both Gojyo and Goku back away from Amaunet. "If you're going to insult me, you might as well do it to my face."
Amaunet raised her eyebrow as she smirked at him. "Who said I was insulting YOU? I could've been talking about some other monk I know."
"YOU WERE TALKING AOBUT ME!!!!!" Sanzo bellowed.
"I didn't say 'monk in the front seat', did I?" She continued to smirk at Sanzo, enjoying watching the monk fume. "Ask Hakkai, ask Goku, hell, ask Gojyo! I just said 'monk'. It could've been any monk, and believe me when I say this, I've met LOTS." Many of them a lot more good-natured than you, she didn't add.
Hakkai laughed in an embarrassed manner. "Ah, she does have a point, Sanzo… She could have been talking about any other monk."
Sanzo continued to glare at her, and Amaunet met his gaze head-on. She could see his hand twitching, as if he intended to grab his gun and shoot her, but he didn't. Instead, he turned away, and straightened in his seat without another word.
Goku smirked. "Ama, one. Sanzo, zero!!!"
Just then, Hakkai spoke, perhaps as a way of averting any ensuing carnage. "Oi, look at that! There's the town right ahead!"
Eh? Amaunet looked up, and smiled when she saw the outlines of a town on the horizon. "YES!!! A town means warm food, a hot bath…and a soft bed."
"Food…must eat…" Goku muttered, his eyes staring dreamily at the shadows of the town as it loomed larger and larger up ahead, drooling all the while.
Gojyo nodded. "I have to agree with Ama on the soft bed part, but it won't be any fun if I didn't have a girl to share it with."
"That's it, I'm arranging for separate rooms," Sanzo stated. "I will not allow Amaunet to share a room with any of you, especially you, Gojyo."
Amaunet sighed, and shook her head. Whatever, Sanzo. As she stretched out her legs, however, she noticed a spot on her pant leg. A black MOVING spot. When she looked more closely, however, she realized that this moving spot had eight legs, and was slowly crawling up to her thigh.
"AAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!"
* * *
Goku rubbed his head as he entered the inn, trying to get rid of the ringing sound in his ears. Kuso… I didn't know Ama could scream so loud…or at such a high pitch, at that…
When she found the spider crawling up her leg, she had immediately let loose a loud, shrill shriek that did a lot of things. First, it nearly shattered his and Gojyo's eardrums, since they were sitting in the back with her and at a very close proximity to her. Second, she startled Sanzo so badly that he actually grabbed his gun and shot it at her, missing her head by a couple scant inches. Third, she made Hakkai step on the brakes with such suddenness that they were nearly thrown right out of the jeep. And fourth, Hakuryuu was also very much startled that he immediately transformed from his jeep mode into his dragon form, leaving them all lying on the hard ground.
Goku sighed as he remembered what happened after…
~ ~ ~
Several veins were throbbing together in Sanzo's face. He glared down at Amaunet with such ferocity that he could've burned a hole right through her then. "You screamed because of a spider."
Goku winced because there was a deadly quality to Sanzo's voice. The fact that it was spoken calmly made it even scarier.
Amaunet was blushing, but she met Sanzo's fiery purple gaze with her own. "Yeah…" She swallowed audibly, and said, "Look, I'm sorry I-"
"BAKA-ONNA!!!!!!" Sanzo yelled then, almost blowing away Gojyo, Goku and Amaunet with the force of his shout. "YOU SCREAMED BECAUSE OF ONE MEASLY SPIDER?!?!?!?! ARE YOU REALLY AS COWARDLY AS I THOUGHT YOU TO BE?!?!?!?! YOU'RE USELESS, COMPLETELY, UTTERLY USELESS!!!!!!!!!!"
"SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!" Amaunet screamed back. She was breathing hard now, and moreover, there were tears streaming from her eyes. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!!!! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!"
Goku felt his heart wrench because of the sight presented to him. Ama… She was still sitting on the ground, and Sanzo was literally towering over her, glaring angrily.
Hakkai stepped forward. "Maa, maa Sanzo. She didn't do anything wrong. A lot of girls are afraid of spiders…"
Amaunet shook her head then as she stood up. "I wasn't supposed to be like all the rest of the girls," she stated, looking straight at Sanzo. "I was supposed to be strong and independent. But you want to know what happened to me? A tarantula – a spider the size of my palm and with enough poison to kill a normal man with one bite – bit me when I was a seven-year-old. I nearly DIED that day." She lowered her gaze then. "And that's why…that's why… I freak out whenever I see a spider of any size. It reminds me that I nearly died."
The entire area was quiet, and the only sounds that could be heard were their breathing and the rapid beating of their hearts. At last, Hakkai moved towards Amaunet. "Amaunet-san, please calm down…"
Amaunet said nothing, simply bent her head away from Sanzo and the rest of them. When Hakuryuu transformed into a jeep again, she climbed into the back seat without so much as another word.
The rest of the trip to the town was spent without Amaunet speaking to any of them.
~ ~ ~
And that was what worried Goku right now. He wasn't used to seeing her sulk. He didn't LIKE seeing her sulk. When she ate, she just picked at her food and didn't look at them. When Hakkai tried to start a conversation with her, she only gave him deadpan answers and nothing more. When she had finished eating dinner, she immediately went upstairs to her room.
When she was gone, Gojyo turned to Sanzo. "Oi Sanzo, I think you really hurt her feelings this time."
"Hai!" Goku agreed. "Ama's not like that!!! You didn't have to yell at her like that you know!! She told you she nearly died because of a spider bite; I think that's understandable!!!"
Hakkai nodded. "I would have to agree with them for once, Sanzo. You hurt Amaunet-san's feelings."
Sanzo shrugged as he picked up the newspaper. "And what am I supposed do about it?"
"How about apologize?!" Goku demanded. "And I thought that you were smarter than that!!!"
"Why should I? It's not my fault she's scared of spiders and screamed the way she did."
Gojyo threw his hands up in the air. "He's hopeless!!!" He looked at the others. "One of us is going to have to apologize to her." He grinned. "I'll do it."
"No way!" Goku yelled as he glared at the redhead. "You're going to 'apologize' to her, alright…but in the totally wrong way!!!! I'd rather let Hakkai go to her than let YOU get anywhere NEAR her!!!!"
Hakkai smiled as he stood up. "Maa, maa Goku, Gojyo! I will go and apologize if you think I should be the one to do it, Goku." With that, he started heading towards the upstairs rooms, intent on finding Amaunet.
* * *
The noise in the restaurant downstairs died down to a mere irritating buzzing sound in the background, and Hakkai sighed in relief. At least I can now think more clearly without all that noise to distract me.
He padded quietly down the hallway, making almost no noise as he did so. As he headed for Amaunet's room, he let his thoughts circle on this enigmatic young woman – and the effect she had on Goku.
She certainly seems like a gaijin, Hakkai mused. After all, blue eyes and golden skin are not a very common combination, even amongst the youkai of Togenkyo…but Sanzo won't say anything about where she is from. He only said that she would be coming along to help us.
But what was strange was the way Goku acted around her. It wasn't really the way a lovesick schoolboy would act (though there WERE hints of that too), but more of the way a brother would act around his sister. He was extremely protective of her, and seemed willing to face even the wrath of Sanzo if the monk even so much as dared to hurt her physically. Which was why Goku blew up at Sanzo earlier that day: the monk looked ready to kill Amaunet, and Goku sure as hell wouldn't stand for it.
Which led Hakkai to wonder: what was it about Amaunet that Goku found appealing? It certainly couldn't have been her physical attributes – Goku was too innocent for that – but it was perhaps the way she treated him.
Yes, perhaps that's it, Hakkai thought. Sanzo didn't really treat Goku that well, and Gojyo was only out to torture the poor boy. Although both men cared quite a bit for Goku, they sure as hell had weird ways of showing it. Amaunet, on the other hand, treated Goku the way she would a favorite brother: with a lot of praise, smiles and laughter.
He was in front of Amaunet's door then, and he knocked. "Amaunet-san?"
A soft rustling from inside, then: "Yes?"
"It's me, Hakkai. Could I come in and talk to you for a moment?"
Silence. "Just a minute." More rustling from inside, and Hakkai presumed that she was changing her clothes. When he thought of that, however, a small blush made its presence known on his face.
The door opened at that precise moment, and Hakkai found himself staring at Amaunet, dressed in a robe of blue cloth. He smiled at her. "Konbanwa, Amaunet-san. Could I speak to you for a moment?"
Amaunet nodded, and stepped back to let him come in. Hakkai did so, and waited until Amaunet had closed the door and turned to him.
"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" Amaunet asked as she sat down on the bed, looking at him with her large, twinkling blue eyes.
"I wanted to apologize on Sanzo's behalf." Hakkai watched as Amaunet's eyes narrowed at the mention of Sanzo's name. Undeterred, he continued, "Amaunet-san, Sanzo has always had difficulty getting along with other people. It's rooted in his past. I cannot tell you the story because even I myself know so little about it, but all I know is that it was tragic. Because of that he has always tried to keep himself, shouldering all his burdens on his own. The result of which is his anti-sociability."
Amaunet was silent for a while, gazing at him. After a moment, she smirked. "I think I can understand that. I can understand why he's so uptight and high-strung. I can understand why he would be such a grump. But I don't think I can forgive him for calling me an idiot. I'm not an idiot, Hakkai, and if he's going to have to learn that the hard way then fine by me."
Hakkai tried to speak again. "Amaunet-san-"
She smiled at him then, and shook her head. "Hakkai, lose the bloody formalities, okay? You're having a hard time pronouncing my full name, so you might as well spare yourself the trouble and just call me Ama. Got that?"
Hakkai paused right there and then, gazing at Amaunet for a long while. He had been caught completely off-guard by this. Are people in her country really like this? She's so straightforward. But that was something he could admire in people, and he liked it that he found it in her. He grinned, and nodded. "Hai, Ama."
Amaunet nodded approvingly. "Great. Now then, what were you going to tell me before I cut it?"
"I was going to thank you for something."
"Which would be?"
"The way you've been treating Goku."
Amaunet nodded. "Oh, that. Well, I just thought that Sanzo was too harsh on the poor boy. No one deserves to be called all the names that Goku gets from Sanzo, and so I just took it on myself to make sure that Goku gets the treatment he really deserves." She smiled. "It's fun, actually. It's like having a brother to take care of. I'm an only child, you see, so I guess I like spoiling Goku a little cause I don't have a brother of my own."
Hakkai nodded. "Hai. I see your point." He stood up then. "Well, I guess that I should be going for tonight. Oyasumi nasai, Ama."
Amaunet yawned, and stretched as she got into the bed. "Good night, Hakkai."
* * *
The night was still and silent. The inn had quieted down to a certain degree now that all the guests had retired to their beds.
But that was not to be the case for very long, not with the Sanzo-ikkou staying in…
CRASH BAM!!!!
The door of Gojyo's room flew open at that moment, and with it went the body of the female demon that had tried to seduce him. Gojyo walked out of his room, huffing as he took a drag from the cigarette that was stuck between his lips. That was so troublesome. Too bad she was after my neck. She was kinda pretty even if she was a youkai…
BOOM CRASH!!!
Gojyo whirled to the source of the sound, and watched as the door to Hakkai's room flew wide open, and another demon came flying out to the room. After a few moments, Hakkai came walking out, the same smile still plastered on his face. "Ah, these youkai can be so rude sometimes!! And I was looking forward to some proper sleep tonight…"
CRASH WHAP!!!
This time it was Goku's door, and Hakkai and Gojyo rushed in to check. They found Goku still lying in bed, partially awake.
Goku blinked up at them, his gold-colored eyes bleary with sleep. "Eh? What happened?"
Hakkai sweatdropped. "Kami-sama…he did that while he was asleep?"
Gojyo grinned slightly. "Looks like it." He walked up to Goku then. "Oi Saru, wake up, we've got trouble."
Goku opened his mouth in a jaw-breaking yawn, and muttered, "Naze, what's wrong?"
"We've been attacked by youkai," Hakkai answered quickly.
"So? Sanzo can take care of himself, and as for Ama-" Goku snapped wide-awake then. "Kami-sama, AMA!!! She's probably in trouble!!!"
Kuso, Gojyo thought as he and Goku sprinted out of the room. Hakkai had heard what they had been talking about as well, and he was already ahead of them in heading to Amaunet's room. There was just one slight problem: Amaunet's room was the most secluded of all the rooms, at the very end of the hall, and Gojyo feared that they wouldn't get to her in time.
Hakkai ground to a halt then, and so did Goku and Gojyo. They looked ahead, and Gojyo saw a sight that made the blood run cold in his veins.
A youkai was already opening the door to Amaunet's room, but they were still too far to reach her in time. Gojyo turned away, knowing that it would be all over in just a few seconds…
WHANG!!!!
THUMP!!!!
Eh? What the hell happened? Gojyo took a peek, and saw the youkai lying in the doorway, a HUGE bruise blooming on his forehead.
Gojyo had to wince. Ouch, now THAT'S got to HURT…
There was muttering from inside the room, and it wasn't long till a rather disheveled-looking Amaunet walked out of the room, rubbing her eyes. "Sanzo, you bloody creep! It's still too early to leave!! It's still too dark out, for crying out loud!! You really ARE out to deprive me of my bloody precious sleep, aren't you?!"
Goku laughed in relief as he bounded over to Amaunet, hugging her around the waist. "Ama! You're safe!!"
Amaunet blinked as she pulled away from Goku. "Huh? What are you talking about? I thought that was Sanzo…"
Hakkai shook his head. "It wasn't Sanzo, Ama. You hit a demon that was trying to get into your room to kill you."
Amaunet blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"Hakkai meant THAT," Gojyo said, pointing to the demon that was lying on the floor across the hall. "Pretty good aim, if I do say so myself. What did you do?"
Amaunet snickered. "Nothing much, really. I just set up a little intruder mechanism that would go off if I was still asleep." As she spoke, she pointed to the doorframe above her.
Gojyo glanced up, and sweatdropped. Amaunet had tacked a hammer to a strip of bamboo, which she then pulled back so that it reared over the doorframe inside her room. After positioning it, she tied it in such a way that whoever opened the door would get a hard whack to the noggin.
"That was supposed to be for Sanzo, if he so much as dared to wake me up," Amaunet explained then as she arranged the sleeves of her top. She was wearing a long-sleeved button-up shirt with a pair of loose pants for sleeping.
Gojyo stared at her, a small smile curling on his face. Though the sleeping outfit that Amaunet wore was quite modest, he couldn't help imagine what the clothes hid underneath…
BANG!!!!
Gojyo snapped back to attention when he heard the gunshot. "Looks like Sanzo's in trouble too…"
Goku started down the hallway. "Well what are we doing standing here?! Let's go and see what's wrong!"
* * *
Amaunet watched as Goku, Hakkai and Gojyo headed towards Sanzo's room. Should I follow them, or just stay the hell out of the way? If she stayed put, there was a large possibility that one of those demons would come for her, and she wouldn't be able to defend against them. On the other hand, the idea of her coming to Sanzo's rescue made her want to retch, and she sure as hell didn't want to find out what kind of trouble he was in.
In the end, however, she decided to go over to Sanzo's room and see what was wrong. After all, the chances of her getting harmed while she was with the others were considerably lessened than if she stayed here alone. With this thought in mind, she quickly sprinted down the hall towards Sanzo's room.
The door was open, and she stepped in as quietly as possible. Don't want to draw attention to myself… She slunk along the walls, trying to stay in the deep shadows. She looked towards the center of the room, and noticed that there was a demon-woman standing there, holding an unconscious girl at her side. Amaunet's eyes widened when she recognized just WHO the girl was: the young waitress who had served them their dinner earlier that evening.
She felt her blood boil close to her surface at the sight. Damn it!! I hate it when things like this happen… Why do these creeps always have to involve innocents?! She hoped to God that the poor girl wouldn't get killed…
"AMA!!!!"
Amaunet snapped back to reality, and realized with sudden horror that the demon-woman was heading right for her. Oh shit…
The demon-woman cackled as she held out her hand, intent on grabbing Amaunet by the throat. "Well then, if I can't have that other girl for dinner, maybe THIS one will do!!!"
Amaunet turned away, closing her eyes tight. She waited for the pain to come, she waited for the sound of her bones cracking as the demon-woman broke her bones with her bare hands…
A sudden force from the side toppled her, sending her to the floor. A pair of arms gripped her tightly, and held her against a warm body. That body rolled over so that it took most of the fall when they hit the floor, and in moments stood up again, placing her on her own two feet.
What the hell? Amaunet looked up at the person who had rescued her, and was stunned to find Hakkai standing with her, his gaze serious. "Ha-Hakkai?"
Hakkai glanced down at her, and a small smile appeared on his face. "You had best take care, Ama. She will do anything to kill us…even you."
"What have I got to do with anything?!" Amaunet hissed. "I didn't do anything to her!!"
Hakkai's face became serious all of a sudden. "Those youkai…the ones that attacked us, including that woman…are all assassins sent to kill us. I don't know why they would want you, but I believe that they received orders to kill all of those who traveled with Sanzo. Unfortunately, you are one of those people."
Amaunet cursed. "Bloody hell… I KNEW I shouldn't have let Sanzo force me into coming with you guys… Damn it, but I could have just gone to those ruins by myself!"
Hakkai seemed about to ask her something, but then he whispered a curse, and pushed her face against his shoulder. "Don't look Ama…don't look…"
Bloody hell I won't, Amaunet thought as she wrenched her head away from Hakkai's grasp, looking towards the demon-woman. And watched as she metamorphosed into a huge, ugly spider.
Seeing a small spider was bad enough, but to see one which was probably as big as two elephants combined was worse, much, much worse. Amaunet's arachnophobia kicked in, and in the worst possible way: her mind suddenly became blank, and all she could do was stare. There were no thoughts in her head at all. She had become an immobile statue.
She couldn't remember what happened after that. All she could really, really remember was a bright light emitting from Sanzo, and then Goku going in for the kill, during which Hakkai forced her down onto the floor to avoid the massive wave of energy that emerged from the spider demon when Goku finished it off.
At long last, the noise and the banging died down, and Amaunet felt a hand touch her shoulder. She looked up slowly, and saw Goku's face grinning down at her. "Is it over?"
Goku nodded. "Hai! No more ugly spider-woman to make trouble for us anymore!"
Amaunet sighed, and rolled over onto her back, breathing deeply. Well at least I can get some decent sleep now… With that thought in mind, she shut her eyes, and mumbled, "If anyone tries to wake me up, then there's going to be hell to pay. And I mean it." And with that, she fell asleep as though nothing had happened.
* * *
Sanzo set aside his gun, approaching the prone figure of Amaunet on the floor. "Please tell me she's dead."
Hakkai smiled as he picked up the sleeping girl. "I'm afraid not, Sanzo."
The sleeping Amaunet took a deep breath, and then seemed to mumble, "Idiot monk…now I know why they say blondes are stupid…"
Sanzo fumed. Kuso, does that girl ever stop?! Even in her sleep she throws back insults!!! He wanted to just strangle her, but he couldn't, he simply couldn't. Not while she might have some use to us…not that I know what it will be, though, and when.
He turned away from Hakkai then, and glanced outside. The sun was starting to peep over the horizon, and he knew that they had to leave, and soon. They didn't have a lot of time to spare, and they still had a bunch of mountains to cross. He walked towards the door. "Let's go. We have to leave now if we want to get through the mountains by tomorrow."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Eh, did I cut it off too soon? I didn't know how else I would end this, so I just decided to close it in Sanzo's POV. Heheh, Amaunet sleep-talks, but wow, even in her sleep she shows Sanzo just how much she hates him ^_^. And…poor Ama! Afraid of spiders, is she? Well I DID say she wasn't perfect, didn't I? Or at least, I'm TRYING not to make her too perfect. That's why she can't fight (yet), has a temper with the predictability of the weather, is inflicted with narcolepsy, and is the only smart aleck who has the guts to challenge Sanzo ^_^. This is the start of World War III…
THE PAIRING GAME: Okay, I have gathered the results of the previous Pairing Game, and here it is:
Sanzo: 2
Hakkai: 1
Goku: 2
Hakuryuu: 0 (thank God…)
Now, just to remind you people, the results of the Pairing Game will NOT change the pairing I have in mind in any way. I just want to tease the readers and make them guess all they want to so that when the REAL pairing comes out towards the end, they can either rejoice and say, "I knew it!" or sulk and say, "Damn, and I was SO close!". Anyway, here's the new selection for this episode:
a.) Sanzo
b.) Hakkai
c.) Goku
d.) Gojyo
Once again, leave your choices in your review, and I will count them and reveal the results in the next episode. Good luck everyone ^_^!!!