Past And Present- Part 1

'Urghhh.' Goku moaned, 'Sanzoooo, sooooo hungry.' 'Shut your mouth, you dumb monkey.' Snarled Gojyo 'You Horny-Water-Monster!' 'Dumbass Ape!' 'Red haired cockroach!' 'Walking furball' 'Bakasaru!' 'Kappa!' 'Idiot Fish!' 'Stupid ape!' That was all Sanzo could take. 'Shut up, both of you!' he yelled as he hit them square in the face with his infamous paper fan. 'Sanzoooo---" moaned Goku again. Sanzo loaded his Spirit-Ascending Gun as a warning. Goku immediately shut his mouth. 'Yarie, yarei.' Hakkai laughed. He found this very amusing. No sooner than a second past after Sanzo's regular "Discipline" and they all slumped back into a bored, quiet state. They were travelling in the desert as usual. Sand flew everywhere due to a slight sandstorm. 'Soooo hungry.' moaned Goku. 'The next town should be right ahead.' said Hakkai, looking at a map while keeping an eye on the road ahead, 'behind that thick forest, though.' Hakkai wasn't sure of this. He had 'bought' it off an old merchant who seemed quite "attached" to his merchandise. Until Sanzo pointed his gun at the merchant's head, and threatened him to "sell" them the map unless he wanted to die, that is. What's more, the merchant gave it to them for free. But the map was usually wrong, though Hakkai always found a village. 'Aiya, you should have let me haggle.' Hakkai recalled himself protesting. 'Its cheaper free' came the monk's typical reply. 'Ooh..' Gojyo had said in mock shock. 'The great Sanzo Hoshi-Sama, highest rank of monks, just used a gun? If 'the' Sanzo-Sama is some droopy-eyed maniac, who would rather shoot old ladies than help them across the road, imagine how the less-holy monks must be.' The appearance of Sanzo's paper fan was not the least bit surprising. 'Errrrrr, Hakkai?' the little youkai's voice asked. 'Yes, Goku?' replied Hakkai 'We seem to. um..' 'Be going downhill, you dumb monkey.' finished Gojyo. And so they were. 'That's right.' Said Hakkai, 'and Hakuryu can't do steep. We've got to walk from here.' They all got out of the car, which turned back into the little white dragon Hakuryu.

'I'm going for a smoke somewhere else.' Said Sanzo as he walked away. 'I'm not staying here to baby-sit the dumb monkey. Hakkai, you do it. I'm going for a walk' Gojyo said as he walked off. 'Hakkai.. Soooooooo hungry.' There was a rustle of the leaves of a nearby tree. 'What was that?' asked Hakkai. 'Not youkai. I smell human.' 'Human?' 'Soiyo. Bad human' Suddenly Hakkai gathered 'chi' and blasted at the nearby tree. A man fell off, dead. But his arrow was heading straight at its target. Goku's heart. 'Goku!' yelled Hakkai as he leapt forward. The arrow pierced his right shoulder. The shoulder he used for his 'Chi' Attack. 'Hakkai!' Then something hit Goku in the head and knocked him out. Hakkai turned round. A large man holding a large wooden club had just attacked Goku. Then something stung Hakkai's right shoulder. Then he realized that the arrow was poisonous. That was all that he could remember before the large man had just knocked him out with his club. Just before he hit the ground, engulfed with darkness, Hakkai saw a shadowy figure. He could only make out that the figure had purple hair. Gojyo!

Gojyo saw Hakkai and Goku on the ground, and the large man holding the club. Gojyo drew his weapon; he was ready to fight. The large man charged at him, but was to slow. Gojyo had hit him in the stomach with his Bladed Staff/Chain. Soon people surrounded him. They had all sorts of weapons. Rakes, clubs, arrows, spears, swords and guns. Gojyo was greatly outnumbered. A stout man with a rake lunged forward. The sound of a gun firing rang in Gojyo ears, and the stout man fell dead. Gojyo turned towards where the gunshot came from. Sanzo was standing there, gun loaded, ready to shoot. Gojyo pulled his chain out, and grinned evilly at the people.

'Ahhhhhhhhhh!!' the scream of the man standing rang through Gojyo and Sanzo's ears as Sanzo shot him. They quickly attended to Hakkai and Goku. They discovered that Hakuryu had disappeared. A trial of footprints led them to a small village. Gojyo noticed something. Nobody looked at them. They were too busy being normal. Too normal.

'Kanaaaaaaa.' said Hakkai, pointing to a lady buying fish. 'Kana? Hakkai, she's dead!' said Gojyo. 'Kana... There...' With that, he fell off Gojyo's back. The sound attracted the 'Kana' lady's attention. She gasped. 'Gono?!' 'You.You know Hakkai? You're really Kana?' asked Gojyo, shocked. 'Gono! What happened? Gono! What did you do the him? Gono! Wake up, please wake up!' 'You're... You're really Kana?' 'What do you think? Quick, come along with Hakkai!' She led them to a house at the edge of the city. 'Come in.' she said as she opened the door. The house wasn't very well furnished. There was a bed at one corner, a refrigerator at another corner, a small wooden table in the middle with a microwave oven on, and the bathroom door. There was a window facing the outskirts of the city. Hakkai was laid on the bed, and Goku had just woken up. 'Sanzooooo. I'm hungryyyyyyy..' 'Bakasaru. Shut up, you dumb monkey.' snarled Sanzo, 'I'm going to buy some cigarettes.' 'I'm going to find myself a woman.' Gojyo said as he left. 'Hey! What for me! I want to buy food!' shouted Goku as he followed the other two.

Only Hakkai and Kana were left. 'Kanaaaaa?' 'I'm here. Don't worry Gono. I'm here.' Hakkai tried to get up. His arm started to bleed profusely. 'Gono! You're arm?! You wait here. I'm going to get some bandages.' Kana hurried into the bathroom, and soon came out with a bundle of bandages in her hand. As she was wrapping the bandages around his arm, Hakkai saw a black object glittering in the sun from the window. He wasn't sure what it was. He wasn't even sure whether he had really seen it or not.

It was in the evening. Gojyo had given up finding girls and ended up playing poker in a pub. Sanzo had looked for half the day and still couldn't find a place selling cigarettes. Goku was kicked out of 3 restaurants already for eating up all the food and was now searching for another restaurant that could satisfy his hunger. That was very difficult, though. When the trio came back to Kana's house, they found it empty and a note on the table saying:

To Sanzo and the rest: I have gone out with Kana. We will be back quite late, so don't bother to stay up. Dinner's in the microwave oven.

Hakkai

'That can't be right' said Gojyo, 'Hakkai's right-handed, and his right hand is injured. No way could it heal this fast. What's more, this is Hakkai's handwriting.' 'The idiot population has just dropped. An idiot has just became smarter' said Sanzo sarcastically, 'though there is still one really dumb monkey standing next to me.' He stared at where Goku was supposed to be. 'Goku?' A loud snore came from the corner where the bed was. Goku was sleeping on it, drooling. 'Dumb monkey! Get off the bed!' yelled Gojyo. 'The sound of Sanzo's gun loading made Gojyo keep his mouth shut. 'Both of you, down on the floor. Sleep on the bed if you have a death wish.' Sanzo said. Gojyo and Goku reluctantly sleep on the cold floor, as Sanzo slept on the bed.

The room was filled with darkness. Goku's snores could be heard very clearly. The door creaked open and a shadowy figure entered the room. Moonlight flashed across the figure's face. A shimmer came from the right side of his face. He stealthily crept across the room to the bed on the other corner. He raised his knife, ready to stab Sanzo. The knife was just an inch away from Sanzo's body when the person hesitated. Then BAM! Sanzo hit him right in the face, knocking him out. Gojyo had woken up with a startle. Goku was still happily sleeping. 'Hakkai?' said Gojyo in surprise, 'hey, you dumb monkey, wake up!' Gojyo kicked Goku hard in the shins. 'Huh? Breakfast ready? I'm coming' he said. Hakkai was sprawled on the floor. His face had no expression. 'Something must be very wrong with Hakkai.' Said Gojyo, 'it must have to do with that Kana girl. She's not here.' They tied up Hakkai and left Goku to guard him, while they went to search for Kana.

Soon, Hakkai woke up. He was back to normal. 'Goku, can you untie me please?' 'OK, but promise to buy me food. I want Fried Noodles! And Steam Buns!' With that Goku untied him. 'Dumb monkey,' said Hakkai evilly, and with that, he hit Goku hard in the head and knocked Goku out.

Gojyo and Sanzo had coincidentally met Yaone and Lilin. 'Baldy Monk! Baldy Monk!' Lilin shouted as she hopped around Sanzo playfully. 'Shut up unless you don't want to live,' said Sanzo as he loaded his gun. 'What are you doing here?' asked Gojyo. 'Errrr. We got a little lost,' said Yaone, embarrassed. "Is there something wrong?" asked Yaone, judging from their worried faces. "It's Hakkai," replied Gojyo, 'he's been acting weird. Tried to kill Sanzo just now.' 'Hakkai? Kill Sanzo?' asked Yaone, 'That's really strange.' 'I know. We left him with Goku. We'd better go check on them.' 'Can I come? Maybe I can figure out what's wrong when I see him.'

Sanzo, Gojyo, Yaone and Lilin had arrived at the house. Goku was sprawled on the floor and Hakkai was no where to be seen. Lilin was left to wake Goku up while the rest went to search for Hakkai and Kana. Soon the road forked into three different alleys. Three signs were set up. The one on the left read:

Horb Alley

Danger: Demonic Area DO NOT ENTER

The sign in the middle read:

Garnet Lane -

To Market & Herp Street

And the right:

Jope Crescent

No road to Horb Alley

'We have to split up' said Gojyo; 'I'll take Jope Crescent.' 'Garner Lane' murmured Sanzo; 'Yaone'll take Horb Alley.' They went their separate ways. Gojyo walked along Jope Crescent, Bladed Staff/Chain in his hand. Sanzo walked through the crowds of the Market with his Spirit-Ascending Gun clutched in his hand. He found all the whispering of the shoppers really annoying. But he couldn't stop it. After all, he was the great Sanzo Hoshi-Sama, and had the Evil Sutra on his shoulders.

A scream filled the air. It came from Horb Alley. Where Yaone was. Gojyo was running there, and Sanzo slowly strolling there, not really caring about it. 'Hakkai? Hakkai, it's me, Yaone! What's wrong with you?' said Yaone as she walked further away from Hakkai, who now had an evil grin spread across his face. Then it struck her. 'Hakkai? Can you hear me? You under a Mind Charm right? I'm sure you are.' Hakkai hesitated. His voice was back to normal. 'Yao.Ne.Run.Quick.Danger.Demon.Run.' now his evil voice returned. 'Prepare to die, fool! You have fooled with me long enough! I shall give no mercy. Prepare to die.' A bladed chain flew past him. 'Hakkai! Stop it, you fool! We know you're in there! Fight it! You can overcome this Mind Charm thing, I know you can!' Gojyo's voice yelled. 'It is very difficult to fight Mind Charms, especially mine' said Kana's voice. Gojyo turned around and saw her standing there. Then Gojyo smiled. 'Look behind you,' he said. 'I know you're behind me, Sanzo,' said Kana calmly, as though she knew it all along, 'don't bother to shoot me. If I die, Hakkai will stay under my spell forever, and will never stop trying to kill you people. I know the way to break my Mind Charm. Mine's not like others.' It was true. Sanzo was behind her, gun loaded, and nobody knew how to break her Mind Charm. Gojyo felt that it was too quiet. He turned around just in time to see Hakkai lunging towards him, knife in both hands, ready to stab him in the back. Gojyo stepped aside, but not quick enough. Hakkai stabbed him in the shoulder. Now he couldn't use his Bladed Staff/Chain. Now Hakkai was gathering 'Chi'. He aimed towards Kana. 'Yeah! Go Hakkai!' shouted Gojyo, thinking Hakkai had turned back to normal. Now Hakkai's 'Chi' was heading straight towards Kana. Then an unexpected thing happened. It curved to her right. Where Sanzo was! Sanzo was blasted. He slammed against the wall behind him due to the impact and fainted. Now he couldn't fight too. Yaone was the only one who could fight. She screamed for help as Hakkai gathered 'Chi'. He fired it. It seemed as though he had regained his senses. He ran, just in time to block his own 'Chi' blast from blasting Yaone. But it hit him. He collapsed, and Yaone could hear him murmur before he hit the ground, 'Run.. Yao' 'Hakkai!' Goku and Lilin had finally arrived. 'Yaone!' shouted Goku. Goku and Lilin rushed to help her. Yaone briefly explained what charm Hakkai was under. "There's no way for us to break the charm only he can do it," said Yaone, "all we can do to help is to remind him of his past." Hakkai stood up, grinning evilly, ready to fight again. Goku rushed towards him with his Almighty Staff and hit Hakkai in his stomach, crying as he said, "look what you've done! Wake up. Kill me if you want but leave Sanzo alone!" Hakkai stared at Goku not making any move. Suddenly Hakkai clutched his head, and let a terrible scream. He fell to his knees, still screaming. His injured arm started bleeding profusely, he seemed to be fighting the Mind Charm. 'Thanks,' he said, his voice back to normal, 'I needed that.' He smiled. Then he started gathering 'Chi'. But he couldn't blast it at Kana; his arm had become paralyzed. It was stiff and numb. 'What did you do?' he yelled. 'Simple,' said Kana, 'but I won't tell you.' Then Hakkai remembered something. The black object in the bandage. 'A device, right?' he asked, 'that black object in the bandage.' 'You're cleverer than I expected, Cho Gono. Cleverer than my brother described you.' 'Brother?' 'Yes. The one you killed recently, once during the battle with the 100-Eye Demons, and after he lived once more, you killed him again.' 'The fortune-teller? You're his sister?' 'Yes. And I shall avenge his death!' She leapt forward, her true self showing. Her nails had grown longer, looking, and most probably, poisonous. Her teeth had grown sharper, much like a bear's. BANG! Sanzo had shot her just before she had scratched Hakkai. Just before she perished, she thrust her hand into Hakkai's stomach, saying, 'You pay for this, Cho Gono!' She had sucked part of his energy out of him, and had created an 'Energy Bolt' with it. She fired it back at Hakkai. Hakkai flew back due to the impact and hit the wall behind him, like Sanzo. He had fainted.

It was awhile before Hakkai woke up. The device was gone, but he somehow still felt weak. Really weak. Then he remembered that he had not told anyone about the poison arrow. They must think that it's just an ordinary arrow, he thought. He got up, and then fell back unto the bed. Kana's bed. 'Why are we here?' he asked. 'You fainted and this was the nearest place,' said Gojyo. 'You must be really tired,' said Yaone, her face looked worried, 'you just collapsed again.' 'Not really,' said Hakkai, 'I was shot by a poison arrow.' 'That arrow? You mean it was a poison arrow?' asked Goku 'You knew about it all along and didn't tell us?' asked Gojyo, 'were you afraid of making somebody worried?' 'No. Yes. Oh, never mind.' Hakkai knew whom Gojyo was talking about. 'I have a friend who's an expert on poisons and antidotes. But he'll won't want to help you, he would help me, though,' said Yaone. 'So what are you going to do? Suck the poison out of Hakkai?' asked Goku. 'You sure?' asked Sanzo, seriously. 'Sure. I owe him one, anyway.' 'Go ahead then, but I won't chant sutras for you if you die.' 'Who would want you to chant sutras for them, anyway, Baldy Monk?' jeered Lilin. 'Shut up, idiot.' 'I'll start, if you don't mind,' said Yaone. She put her hand an inch above Hakkai's wound. A small, red dragon came out and plunged into Hakkai's wound. He started groaning in pain. 'It's a very painful process, but bear with it,' she said. Soon the dragon came out and went back into Yaone's hand. She suddenly headed to the door without saying a word. Then she disappeared, like most demon's can (You know, when enemies try to attack them, they can just move really quickly and end up behind their opponent). Hakkai asked Lilin, who was still there, 'Any idea who the antidote expert is?' 'No idea. Bye-bye Baldy Monk. But remember, next time we'll be enemies, and I'm not baby-sitting Goku!' And she left. 'No idea, eh? Looks like the somebody you didn't want to worry really cares about you, Hakkai,' said Gojyo. 'Maybe, Gojyo. Maybe. But next time we'll be enemies.' 'What did she owe you, anyway?' 'Well, it's a secret. But I did save her life once. But I'm not telling you what I did.' Hakkai started smiling. Just then, Hakuryu flew in through the window. 'There you are, Hakuryu,' said Hakkai, still smiling.

To Be Continued.