A/N: Yeah someone reviewed! And thanks for the suggestions. There is a reason why this is written in the present tense. For one thing, the Daycarthro Chronicles takes place on modern day earth, and so the people are basically like normal people, so it's kind of fantasy, but not really. Also I think you make the story less predictable if you don't know what is going to happen. Oh and the part about Evan falling asleep then waking up, um, I forgot to insert those little stars in between the paragraphs that says time has passed.

I do not own Saiyuki. Owning Evan is bad enough! Do you think I want to deal with Sanzo when he goes on his mood swings! Now on with Chapter 3!

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Chapter 3: The Sorceress and the Demon

Early the next morning, the little boy is in the commoner's room, lying haphazardly on the couch as he stares up at the ceiling, counting the little specks on the tiles. So bored…and tired, Evan thinks. He didn't sleep a wink after he left Sanzo and the others, which he had suspected would happen anyway.

"Good morning," Hakkai greets. Evan jumps slightly, but just enough to knock him off the couch.

"Yeah, good morning," Evan grumbles as he rubs his head that he landed on. "Is the emotionally unstable monk still sleeping?"

"Hai," Hakkai replies.

"Good, I don't want to see his ugly mug at the moment." Evan sits up, only to have something whack his forehead, a paper fan lands on his lap. The boy picks up the fan and heaves it at the monk who catches it with ease and places it back in his sleeve. "Good morning sunshine. You just walk into a room and the whole world seems to light up," Evan sneers. Sanzo's eyes twitch.

"Shut up!" Sanzo sits at the table, as he lights a cigarette. Sanzo takes out his gun and points it the child. "It's morning and if you try to run away again, I'll shoot you dead."

"You aren't very nice." Evan suddenly appears next to Sanzo. "Then again, I'm not very nice as well." Evan laughs. "To say it simply, I'm a demon from the Kingdom of Sol Solis. Totally different from youkai. For one thing, we look like normal humans, but most of us tend to have purple eyes, which is why I mistook you for a demon when we first met."

"The Kingdom of Sol Solis?" Hakkai ponders.

"Yes, from my world there are two kingdoms: Sol Solis and Morke. The only thing separating them is the type of magic they are capable of using. From that there are three classes of demons. First-class, demons that can use spells, consisting of light or shadow. Second-class, a demon-human mixture. Third-class, demons who have lost their physical bodies and are able to take possession of others, like a parasite."

"Which one are you?"

"A first-class, though some may dispute that I am a third-class."

"Why is that?" Hakkai asks.

"Just some…stuff. Nothing to worry about." Evan waves it off.

"Your friends, are they also demons?" Sanzo asks.

"No, except for one, but he isn't really a demon. I'll have him explain that when you meet him." Evan thinks of Raven for a second, then pushes him to the back of his mind.

"If you don't mind me asking. How old are you?" Hakkai asks. Evan obviously does not act like a child.

"My current body is only nine years old, but my former body was two-hundred and twenty-seven years old. So that would make me…two-hundred and thirty-six years old." A large sweatdrop forms on Hakkai's brow. "My kind age slower than human bodies, I looked like I was twenty-three when I died."

"I see." Hakkai smiles weakly.

"So monk, is that a good enough explanation for you, or do I have to explain it a couple more times before it sinks into that thick head of yours." Evan disappears just as Sanzo tries to whack him with his fan. "You do know anger is a clear sign of a weak mind." Sanzo pulls out his gun and fires at Evan.

"Sanzo, calm down," Hakkai says. Sanzo puts his gun away and sits back down. "Evan, will you please behave." Evan begins to laugh hysterically.

"Fine, I guess I'll see around." The boy vanishes from sight.

"Tell those morons we are leaving right now," Sanzo says as he leaves the commoner's room.

"But what about Evan?"

"It's not my fault if he gets left behind."

x X x

Hakuryuu, in his jeep-form, is speeding down a rugged path through a quiet forest. Sanzo and Hakkai are in their usual seats, while Goku and Gojyo are having their usual argument. Everything seems to have gone back to normal since they left Evan behind, but Sanzo has the feeling he hasn't seen the last of the annoying child.

"What's that smell Sanzo?" Goku asks, leaning over the back of Hakkai's seat. Sanzo glances around them, but doesn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Maybe your stomach decided to eat your brain, saru," Gojyo jokes. Goku doesn't answer, which causes Gojyo to worry. Suddenly Gojyo, Sanzo and Hakkai sense something as well; definitely not a youkai, but whoever it is has a lot of power. Hakkai stops the jeep, while the others draw their weapons. The crunching of leaves seems to echo off the silence. Sanzo cocks his gun, keeping it pointed in the direction the person is coming from.

Suddenly a woman falls from the brush, tumbling to a stop, then jumping to her feet just as a youkai brings down a spear. She brings up her weapon—a staff with a star-like blade on one end—which snaps the spear in half. Her knee shoots up, hitting the youkai in the gut, dropping him to his knees. The blade-less end of her staff smacks him upside the head, knocking him out. The blonde-haired woman drops to her knees, taking the opportunity to give some much needed attention to the seeping wound on her shoulder.

The jeep catches her attention and she studies it carefully, trying to decipher whether or not she should trust the people or not. At the last minute she decides against it and runs back to the safety of the forest.

"What do you think Sanzo?" Hakkai asks.

"It's none of our concern."

"I smell blood," Goku announces as he sniffs the air. "She's hurt."

"She looked pretty hot too," Gojyo remarks.

"Please Sanzo," Goku begs.

"Didn't Evan mention he came here with some friends. Her clothes were quite unique. Perhaps she is one of his companions," Hakkai adds.

"So what?"

"The sooner Evan's friends are found, the sooner they can leave." Sanzo hates it when Hakkai is right.

x X x

Cassandra leans against a tree, clutching her right shoulder that seems to be bleeding endlessly. He really got me good. I'm so tired, I don't have much fight left in me. Her eyes fall to the scars below the wound. I've been through worse than this. This is nothing compared to the time I received these scars. I'm not about to give up so easily. She holds her breath when she hears a twig snap. Damn, can't I get any rest! A wave of dizziness over takes her and she clenches her eyes shut, trying to gain control of herself. I have to stop this bleeding. I'm losing too much blood.

Someone is getting closer to her, it would be senseless for her to run since she can barely keep her head straight. Her only option is to use a restraint spell on them and hope it holds until she can find help.

Just as the people step into the open she slams the tip of her staff on the ground. The earth cracks open, a mass of water hitting the unsuspecting attackers. Without a moment's hesitation she casts an ice-spell, freezing the water and trapping the people from the waist up.

"Sanzo, I can't move," the brown-haired boy cries.

"Hakkai, can you break us out of this?" the red-haired man asks.

"Afraid not," the green eyed man responds. Cassandra looks at Sanzo, noting the color of his eyes. She shakes her head when her vision begins to blur. Damn, my body sure picks the wrong time to give out. Luckily I have enough mental strength to cast spells. Usually it's the other way around. Without saying a word she walks away from them, not having the physical strength to run.

"How do we get out of this?" Goku asks, trying to flex his muscles, but even that proves futile.

"Maybe your thick skull can break the ice," Sanzo growls.

"Really!" Goku hits his head against the ice and to everyone's surprise the ice melts away.

"Sanzo you were right," Gojyo gapes.

"It is more likely she countered her spell." Hakkai smiles weakly. "We should follow her, she is very weak." Hakkai runs in the direction the woman went.

"Bunch of idiots."

Not too far from Sanzo and company, Cassandra is lying on the forest floor, her body not obeying her anymore. A shaky breath enters her lungs and with the force of her will she manages to roll onto her back. Eslanla, give me the strength to survive this, she prays to her goddess.

Someone is approaching her and chances are it's that group of demons she restrained. I'll kill them before they kill me, she decides. At least then I'll have a chance. Cassandra uses her staff to help her sit up, but at the cost of her head spinning and nearly passing out. I doubt I'll have much use of my staff at the moment, considering every little movement I make, causes my sight to become blurry. She counters her spell, and the staff turns back into a necklace, which she places around her neck.

The green-eyed man is almost to her, along with the other three. She whispers a spell and the earth bursts open in front of them. I should have waited longer, she scorns herself, when she sees she missed. In her foreign tongue she casts another spell, this time a mass of fire races at them. Hakkai uses a chi blast to counter the flames. These guys are stronger than the others. And that blond demon hasn't made his move yet. I better cast one of my high-level spells, it's my only chance, but chances are I will pass out from the physical strain, she considers the consequences of acting. It's better than doing nothing.

She chants a lengthy spell; the air seems to be charged with energy. The sky darkens as a violent wind pushes through the forest, swirling around her. Little spikes made out of ice race down on top of Sanzo, Goku, Hakkai and Gojyo. Hakkai creates a chi barrier around them, but the ice shatters the barrier within seconds. The ground heaves once more and lava shoots from the ground. Goku grabs Sanzo and pulls him to safety, Hakkai and Gojyo doing just the same. The spell subsides and the area around Sanzo and the others is left barren.

Cassandra swears under her breath when she sees they managed to avoid the spell. Her fear doesn't last long when she finally faints into the darkness that is beckoning her.

"Sanzo are you all right?" Goku asks. Sanzo shoves him away from him.

"Idiot, I don't need you to save me." In the meantime Hakkai is checking Cassandra's pulse.

"Is she alive, Hakkai?" Gojyo asks as he leans over his friend's shoulder.

"Barely." Hakkai places his hand above her wound and uses his healing power.

"It looks like you guys ran into trouble without me," a little boy's voice notes. Evan appears next to Sanzo. He had been looking for his friends and to his surprise he sensed Cassandra's essence when she cast that last spell. "Whoa look at this place. I bet Cassandra had fun kicking your sorry asses." The child laughs. "Where is she?"

"She has been badly hurt," Hakkai responds. Evan appears next to Hakkai and stares down at Cassandra.

"Cassandra!" Evan yells, trying to wake her up. "What did you do to her!" The boy demands, pushing Hakkai out of the way. "If she dies, you die!"

"We didn't do this!" Gojyo yells back. Evan lowers his eyes at him, then gives his full attention to the blonde before him. He places his hands directly on her wound and heals the wound within seconds. Evan smiles down at her as he runs his fingers through her blonde hair. I'm glad I found you. Now, if only I could find Raven…

"Is she going to be okay?" Goku asks.

"Why do you care?" Evan snaps. "She nearly died because of you four!" Evan yells, anger pulsing through his veins.

"She was the one who attacked us," Sanzo replies coolly.

"Did you ever give her any indication you weren't trying to harm her!" Sanzo doesn't reply. "Hm, that's what I thought."

"She tried to kill us!" Sanzo yells.

"Only because she thought you were a demon!"

"Calm down," Hakkai interrupts. "We were both mistaken. There is nothing we can do about it now." Evan bites his lip.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "Cassandra is not on the best of terms with demons." He lifts up her sleeve to show the slash marks on the upper part of her arm. "As you can see."

"What happened?" Goku asks. The boy's eyes suddenly become sad as he remembers what Raven once told him about Cassandra. Hakkai pats him on the head.

"No harm was done," the green-eyed youkai smiles at him.

"At least we picked up a really hot chick," Gojyo sighs.

"What did you say!" Evan growls. "Don't you even think about laying a hand on her!" Evan tackles the red-haired kappa, which quickly erupts into an all out brawl between Evan and Gojyo, followed by Sanzo knocking both of them senseless.

"Just like one big happy family," Hakkai smiles weakly.

"Kyuu!" Hakuryuu agrees.

x X x

A/N: That's it for now. Oh, and as long as I get one review per chapter, I'll continue to post this. Bye for now!