Author's Notes: Again, thanks to those who reviewed (Evita, Mei, Lady Harlequin, flamehead, zyienne, slegna, jjamsz). Thanks for the advices! I'm sure It'll really help me. But I AM trying. I can assure you that I'm working my butt off, ok? (^^,) One more thing...to those guys who can't understand the storyline, sorry, but I can't help you. You have to understand it for yourself. hehe.
*Chapter 5 was made by my friend, Mitchka, who really really wanted Genjo (the kid) to die.
Disclaimer: I don't own saiyuki. I'm just a fan like anybody else. Got it? Oh, and I'm sorry if Sanzo & the guys are little bit OOC. I haven't finished the series and manggas aren't available here. (And I hate it!)
CHAPTER 6: Eli Meets The Sanzo-Ikkou
Eli opened her eyes only to find herself in an unfamiliar room. It smelled disgustingly like booze and cigars. She coughed & cleared her throat. What happened anyway? The last thing she can remember is... She gulped. Yes, Genjo. Then, a thought struck her. She didn't do anything to stop Kazuka from... Tears slowly flowed down her cold, tired face.
She tried to steady her breath but the wave of emotions was to much to bear. She covered her face and let herself be controlled by her feelings. She could see Genjo's smiling face as he slowly lifted his head to kiss her cheeks. She cried some more. And to think of he's the first guy who did that excluding his father of course. She shook her head slowly. And she thought she could make a difference...
"It wasn't your fault." Somebody beside her said in a low and cold voice.
"F***!" Eli jerked obviously surprised. She quickly moved closer to the wall and faced the man who said it positioning herself in defense. Immediately, her feelings shifted from that of sorrow to fear. She cursed as she saw 4 men facing her.
There was a kid sitting on the floor with his legs crossed. His hands were placed above his head in a carefree manner but his golden eyes reflected that of worry. Wait, did she just saw Golden Eyes? And what's with that weird looking pussy-cat on his head?
Beside him was a nice-looking guy with an eyeglass that looked a lot more like an eye patch. Half of his face was covered with his brunette hair. He was seated on a wooden chair with his legs crossed also. He wore a smile but she could tell in his green eyes that his expression defied what's inside him.
Leaning on the door, she could see a red-head tossing his hair away from his face. Just like the golden-eyed kid, his hands rested on top of his head. No doubt he was staring at her in the corners of his eyes. Strangely, the guy had red eyes. Red.
"It's not your fault the kid died." There was another guy. He stood right beside the large window but unlike the rest, he wasn't looking at her. He looked like he was in skirts and around his neck was a weird long paper that had some unidentified writings on it. He wore some kind of a wooden vest. And was smoking.
She gulped as she looked at them one by one. How rogue these guys looked! She was sure they were fighters, their eyes said it all. And to her, they meant trouble. For short, she had to make a run for it. Or else, she'll really be in deep s**t.
Then just as she was calculating her chances of survival, the blond who was still smoking his a*s off, said, "It wasn't your fault."
Eli looked at him suspiciously. Was he referring to Genjo? "What wasn't my fault?"
The green eyed guy lowered his head and sighed. "The kid died not because of you. But because of..." Eli looked at him sharply as she waited for him to continue. But he didn't, he just shook his head and smiled at her. His eyes reflected a great amount of pity she have never seen before. And how she hated somebody pitying her.
There was a brief moment of silence before Eli finally got the courage to flee. She took a deep breath and ran as fast as she can tripping time and again. All she thought of was to knock off the red-head and just reach the door. The latter was simple enough but knocking off somebody that looked like a serious maniac would probably be a bit harder.
Make that a LOT harder, close to impossible. She successfully managed to stagger her way down the bed and evade the kid's pull. But as she approached the red-head, she knew it needed all of her puny muscles to knock him off. And so, when they were about 5 inches away from each other, she closed her eyes and readied her fist. She mumbled an apology and KAPOWW!!! There was silence.
How could her muscle tissues betray her now? As she opened her eyes, she saw the red-head grinning right beside the door. He didn't move at all! She looked at her hands and saw the blood clot that was slowly forming in her fists. First, she was surprised she didn't feel anything from that blow but after about a second, a stinging pain aroused. And it really hurt. "Awwww!!!!" Eli clutched her right arm and ran around the room.
***
"Who are you?...Aw! Take it easy, will you?" Eli snatched her hand away from Hakkai. It was an hour after she had damaged herself trying to beat Gojyo. She knew it was a stupid plan anyway. Who said it was a good plan? It was the stupidest plan she had ever made. But who could blame her?
Hakkai didn't seem to mind her protests since he kept on poking her hand with his 'thing'. It looked somewhat like a cotton bud. "Maa...Why won't you just take it easy and don't move too much?" Eli pouted.
Eli shook her head embarrassed of the way she acted. She's positive she looked like a deranged freak running around the room skipping occasionally on one foot. But her hand really hurt! Nobody told her the red-head was a living iron man. Well, he seemed to be.
Just then, Sanzo interrupted Eli's thoughts when he cleared his throat and said in his usual cold voice, "Eleezyienne." Eli looked at him suspiciously. He walked towards her with his head low. He stopped when they were just inches apart. Eli gulped. Sanzo looked at her directly in the eyes and said, "That's your name, VAH."
Eli froze. Violet eyes.
***
Hakkai smile was even wider than before. His eyes spoke that of excitement. However, Gojyo and Goku were more than confused. And they were never the most patient guys in town. Frustrated and really pissed off, Gojyo slightly slammed his fist and blurted, "Hakkai, Sanzo, you better tell us the truth now or else. You won't like it if the two of us will go ape or something really horrible I can't even explain it. 'Cause you know what? I'm really..."
"Shut up," Sanzo blurted as he rolled his eyes. "You want to know? Shut up."
Gojyo grinned. Goku patted Gojyo's back.
Sanzo lighted his cigarette and sighed. How he hated lectures. He looked at Eli and sighed some more. Look at her, she looks like some...some ignorant weirdo. This is going to be a long day indeed.
***
"I am so dead!" Eli started cutting off Sanzo's ending explanations about the different gods and goddesses. The whole time he was explaining, she couldn't take her eyes away from his. She'd never seen anyone with the same color as her eyes. It was strange but, she almost felt warm just by looking at him.
Then, she remembered Genjo. She let him die right before her very eyes. And he was a child... just a child. Suddenly, it hit her. She was doomed. Genjo's dead. Her guide is dead. Kamatayan had told her that he's the only way for her to know her destiny, and her destiny is the only way for her to go back. She looked at Sanzo worriedly and said in a soft voice, "Genjo...Genjo is..."
"Dead. And we can do nothing about it. People die." Sanzo replied finishing her sentence. He was seated right beside her. Both of them faced Hakkai, Goku, and Gojyo. He couldn't help but notice how she stared at him. Like some fragile bird waiting to be taken care of. He ignored her, but he did took some glances every other time.
Eli shook her head as she forced the words to get out from her mouth. "You...you don't understand...I need him....He..." She never thought how hard it was to stop your tears and try to talk at the same time. It's like having a ball of emotions stuck in your throat and all you want to do is just let it go but stay tough at the same time. It was hard and she couldn't continue .
Hakkai closed his eyes, "We're very sorry..." Gojyo looked away while Goku tried to cheer her up telling her that it was okay, while in fact it wasn't.
Eli shook her head and looked at Sanzo pleadingly, "No...Genjo..." Sanzo looked at her. She tried to read his eyes but surprisingly, she couldn't. His eyes spoke nothing. And it was strange. Call it weird but Eli had this strange abilities to actually read people's emotions just by looking with their eyes. It's really kind of a 'hooly-booly' but it does the trick sometimes. The thing is, she never saw eyes without any emotions.
"You don't understand! I need Genjo. He's my..." She looked at them, ready to be laughed at, "He's my Guide."
"What the hell is a guide?" Gojyo smirked. So far, he's still confused. Don't get him wrong, he's not really slow. It's just that these stuff the corrupt monk was blabbing about was completely out of his head. He didn't know there were only 6 gods...Wait, Sanzo said a while ago that Zhehn was the god of love and Rei, the goddess of hope. If that's so, who was that pervert-looking old woman who calls herself Kanzeon? Goddess of Love and Hope the 2nd? See, how confusing?
Eli sighed, "You see, I need Genjo to guide me. Kamatayan..."
"Kama- who?" Goku cleared out. How come as they go further the names all get weird and longer?
"Kamatayan. She told me that I should look for Genjo. He'll be somewhat like a guide to my destiny. Genjo found me instead but now, he's gone and I don't know what to do!" Eli explained as calmly as she can.
Hakkai nodded, "We understand but Eli..."
"Actually, we don't understand," Gojyo butted in sarcastically.
Hakkai ignored him, "Eli-san. We're very sorry that Genjo died. But that's the reason why we're here. You see, Sanzo-"
"Listen to me," Sanzo cut him, "You are a vah." He turned to Gojyo and Goku, "Vah's are protectors of the gods, very important persons, " He continued looking at Eli, "And your destiny is to find the Key of Zhehn."
"Yeah, but why? I don't even know what's the Key of Zhehn!" Eli's head was starting to hurt.
"It's the key that can open up the 6th prophecy. Don't ask. Now about Genjo, I'm only going to tell you this once, he is your guide. And he was tasked to look for you. But he failed and that's it."
Eli turned her head away slowly. What now? This guy's right. She has to continue even if she doesn't know how, she just have to. Then she realized something she should have a while ago. "Who are you?"
"Huh?" Gojyo scratched his head.
"Who are you? How did you find me? Why do you know so much about this--this stuff?" Eli eyed them.
They looked at each other. And sighed.
After what seemed to be forever, the golden-eyed kid finally stood up and went to Eli's side. A huge smile was plastered on his face. Offering his hand for a shake, he introduced himself, "I'm Son Goku."
Eli observed him as he gave her a purely innocent smile. Then she cast her eyes down and shook his hand slowly. The red-head grinned and informed, "The name's Sha Gojyo." Eli glanced at him and nodded. After him, the green-eyed slightly bowed and said, "I am Cho Hakkai." Not knowing what to do, she just smiled and nodded. Then she finally turned to the blond guy with the violet eyes.
Sanzo lighted a cigarette and looked at him coldly, "Sanzo."
Eli stared at him. Then she took a deep breath. She's having a strange feeling that these people were ex-convicts. They have to be, they looked so rough. "How'd you know all about these? Wait, How'd you know my name?"
Sanzo's patience was coming to an end. One thing he hates is a bothersome girl asking questions non-stop. He heard her ask again. Another thing he hates is a bothersome girl asking the same questions all over again.
"I'm a monk. I've been called by Kanzeon to journey to Togenkyo and stop Gyumao's revival." He continued not giving Eli any chances to ask some more, "Gyumao's a very dangerous guy. We have learned that in order to revive him, all the sutras should be gathered together." He pointed to his sutra and looked at her, "This is one of the sutras. But we have learned that in order for all the sutras to work and be harmonized, a some kind of a 'force-breaker' should be applied as well." He took a chair and seated himself, "That's exactly what the Key of Zhehn does. With the key, you could open up all the sutras and releases each of it's powers. We can't let that happen of course. That's where you come in."
Eli gulped and raised her eyebrow.
Sanzo continued, "Strangly, only a VAH can see the Key of Zhehn since it was rumored to be a very divine thing. Now you see where its going? However, there's some more problems. Just last week, we have found out that you're not the only Vah in here. There are two more, and one of them is working for Gyumao." He paused for a moment and went on, "With your ability, you can help us find the key. It'll be like hitting two birds with one stone. You get to fulfill your destiny and at the same time we can act as your guide and as for us, we can stop Gyumao. So what do you say?"
She watched them trying to make her decision. Can she trust them? Then she finally figured out that there wasn't any choice at all. Dead or alive, she got to trust them. Pushing aside a great deal of hesitation and doubt, she cleared her throat and asked, "So, when do we start?"
***
Eli watched as the four men went out of the room. After she had agreed, the tension that filled this room before was almost gone. She realized that they were kind of nice and funny. Of course she's not yet judging but so far, each of their eyes hid nothing fro her. Except, for Sanzo of course. He's keeping something from her, no doubt, but that's not what concerns her right now. How can he manage to hide his emotions? How come his eyes reflected nothing but coldness?
She sighed and laid down. She'll know why later on. But for now, she'll just have to rest for awhile. It has been a long morning. The sun was up high and she could tell it was noontime, but she wasn't hungry yet.
She closed her eyes and thought about her slain guide. No matter how she denies it, she will never forgive herself about that. Never.
***
Sanzo lighted another cigarette and looked at each of them. He took a rather deep breath and announced, "From now on, I am to be called 'Kouryuu'. 'Kouryuu Sanzo'." Hakkai slowly shook his head smiling.
Gojyo and Goku looked at each other then chuckled a bit, "Eh?"
***
eleezyienne: Kouryuu Sanzo sounds so dorky, doesn't it? That's exactly the reason why I chose it! haha. Anyway, sorry for the typos and a lot of booboos. I'm only human.
*I need more advice!
