Disclaimer: Saiyuki is not mine. End of story.
Author's note: This fanfic is going to be a bit long… hope you have the patience! I promise you it's original.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"Sanzo,"
"What."
'I'm hungry…'
"Sure you are," another voice butted in lazily. It was Gojyo as usual, waiting to pick a fight. 'Why can't you say you're horny for a change, saru?"
"Why you ero-kappa…" Goku clenched his fists. Hakkai behind the wheel laughed. 'Gojyo, if he was horny, you'd have a run for your money, maa?" Hakkai chuckled as Gojyo turned red. Goku laughed too, because, well, the journey would be uneventful without any comic interlude. And it sure darn well won't come from Sanzo.
Genjyo Sanzo; A priest of the highest rank. Son Goku; a 500 year old heretic with an insatiable appetite for food and games. Sha Gojyo; A half-and half, good fighter and womanizer. Cho Hakkai; ex-murderer, and possibly the sanest of the lot. "Relax everybody, I saw a town down in the valley… shall we stop there?" Hakkai was really asking Sanzo though. Sanzo determined a lot of their actions; anway, Hakkai was afraid of incurring his wrath if he went ahead anyway. Sanzo maybe a priest, but he's really trigger-happy. I mean really trigger-happy.
The town was quite lively, Goku made sure of that. Two kilometers from the outskirts, Goku was already sniffing the air delightedly. "Meat buns! Smell that? Waaah!' He got a whack on the head by Sanzo's infamous paper fan. 'Shut up, you baka-saru! You're giving me an ear-splitting headache, hear me?" Sanzo roared.
Gojyo shook his head in amazement. "Wow, I missed his fan for the first – " His words were cut by a sudden bullet that just missed his face. "Said what?" Sanzo said in a deadly voice. Gojyo quickly grinned in surrender. At least the corrupt monk's in a good mood…
Hakkai sniffed the air eagerly. "A lively day, right Sanzo? Ah… chicken!"
Passer-bys turned to look as the jeep made its way into town. Hakkai looked around for an inn, and soon spotted one at the far end of town. They unloaded from the jeep feeling harassed, Sanzo none the less. After having a meal, they retired into their rooms, the usual combination. Sanzo couldn't sleep, however, and decided on a moonlight stroll.
"Ah… Sanzo?"
Sanzo turned around just as he was leaving the inn. Hakkai emerged from the shadows, looking sheepish. 'I guess you couldn't sleep too, huh? Mind if I join you?"
Sanzo stared at him for a moment, his cigarette glowing in the darkness. "Gojyo too tired to entertain you, is it? Well… don't get lost." He turned and walked. Being the usual, Hakkai easily strode next to him, reveling in the beauty of the moonlight. 'Beautiful, isn't it, Sanzo? Too bad we have to girls to enjoy it with,' Hakkai chuckled. It tickled him to imagine Sanzo with a girl… were Gojyo around, he's laugh himself into fits! It would truly be a challenge to find any female that can fork out some affection for the cold-faced priest. Not to mention risking her neck in case Sanzo's aim went off… though Sanzo was a superb shooter.
'We're so near to our goal,' Hakkai said at last, after they had been walking awhile. "We'll soo n be free after this, won't we?"
A muffled 'ch' was all Sanzo's reply. Obviously he had been thinking of this too. 'It's been quiet for a while. I'm thinking we'll have one obstacle before we can stop Gyumau's resurrection." He said after a while. Hakkai smiled. "Yes, we all think so, but we can't anticipate anything… Kougaji will be very careful, even if he's planning something."
An impatient 'ch' again. "It's going to rain,' Sanzo said suddenly. True, a slight breeze was blowing, with the smell of fresh rain. "Are you planning on getting soaked, Hakkai?"
"Ah, certainly not…"Hakkai felt the first droplets of rain pelt his head. They ran all the way to the inn, all the way not noticing someone watching them under the cover of the night. At least Sanzo might have noticed something – he stopped at the doorway and seemed hesitant of entering, but he did anyway.
"So near, huh?" A small voice said suddenly, chuckling. "Not what I've been thinking…" He snuck away, cackling evilly.
"I'm hungry…"
"Shut up, baka-zaru. We're not even out of sight of the town yet." Gojyo muttered through puffs. Hakkai laughed. "Don't worry, we packed a big lunch today, Goku."
"If it can last to lunch." Sanzo said in a low voice. He was sitting with his bowed as usual, but he wasn't in his state of meditation. He was listening.
Hakkai seemed to sense Sanzo's intense concentration, because he kept glancing at the monk with little glances. Gojyo must have sensed something too, because he was gripping his staff, and he wasn't concentrating on his cigarette.
Out of the blue, the tress on their right side burst and a small, green colored creature jumped out. He was small, impish in figure, but his markings distinctly showed him to be a youkai. "Hello." He bared his fangs.
'Don't you know the right way to ask for a lift?" Sanzo growled. His gun was already pointing at the creature. It bowed. "Kikuri… here to kill Sanzo and his companions… under the order of the Princess!" It suddenly gestured its hands and Sanzo felt his body being ripped apart. "What?!"
"It's a dimension manipulator!" Hakkai gasped in pain. The fabric of their dimension was being twisted and ripped right through them… and they were powerless. Goku gripped his Nyoibou tightly, but he could not attack – He saw Sanzo and Hakkai convulsed in pain, and he wanted to reach out and help, but he couldn't.
All the sudden there was a roar, and a bright flash of light enveloped them all. Through his haze of pain, Sanzo saw Kikuri's face twist in surprise. It's not him, he thought in desperation. What the hell… The last thing he recalled was a rushing sound and blackness enveloped them.
