Disclaimers: Read the previous disclaimers.

*****

Lunch passed quickly without Yuen having to be called more than twice to serve the group of four. She only had to make sure to bring the various dishes the boy had ordered as soon as the previous ones were empty. The boy practically inhaled whatever she placed in front of him, stopping only to drink. He was even faster when the tall one began to filch some of the food.

"Ero kappa! That's mine!"

"Oh? I don't see your name on it."

"Teme...!"

"Looking for a fight, chibi saru?"

"I'm not a saru kono ero kappa!"

"Bakasaru. Chibi saru. Gakichu saru."

"Ero ero ero kappa!"

"Damare!" Twin sounds of harisen smacking against flesh resounded through the sudden silence in the inn.The green-eyed man calmly ate his share, eyes those same mirthful crescents as the monk took his seat and resumed eating. Yuen counted half a minute before the other two went back to eating - two minutes before they went back to arguing. She had lost count when exactly did Sanzo Houshi-sama threaten them with his gun, only for them to return to the same pattern minutes later.

Yuen felt herself smiling as she watched them, their lively antics reminding her of the stints Xia would do when things seemed to go slow. She could remember when he used to kid around with the staff as though he was a part of the family. It wasn't as if her mother was cruel to them. She treated them fairly enough...

"Sumimasen, Yuen-san," the green-eyed man said apologetically, startling her out of her thoughts. "We must be disrupting your work."

She blinked at him for a second - it was almost as if...

"Iya, iya," she shook her head vigorously, grinning back at him as she pushed the memory away. "You're not being difficult at all."

"Ah, so that... sad smile wasn't for us then?"

"Ne? Oh... iya, that wasn't... for you. I just... remembered something, that's all." She gave a slight bow, still retaining her grin. "Is there anything you want me to help with?"

"Nandemo nai. I was just concerned."

"Hai." She bowed again and took the stack of dishes that had been gradually piling up on their table. She then turned around to bring the dirty dishes to the busing station, whirling on her toes to pick up the next set of dishes from the counter and returned to the group of four. That became her routine for the rest of their lunch before they headed up to their rooms, their arguing still audible from the stairway.

Yuen found herself still grinning at their liveliness before she remembered her duties. She quickly shook her head and told herself not to look like a lunatic and went back to work. Cleaning up after them didn't take long, as the dishwashers had already started washing the dirty plates as soon as she brought them.
She had just set the last set of utensils for the table when she felt, rather than heard, someone watching her. "Sumimasen,"

Yuen whirled around with a start - found that it was only green-eyed man - and let out the breath she was holding. She smiled politely at him, bowing a little. "Xia - I mean - hai, what can I do for you?" Yuen mentally scolded herself for slipping, but the green-eyed man didn't seem to mind.

"Sumimasen if I startled you," he said in that gentle tone of his, keeping his distance as he smiled the whole time. "Demo, do you know where the nearest grocery is?"

"It's behind the shops across the inn," she gestured with her hands. "Go to the left end of this street, go through the passage beside Lee-san's herbal shop, and you're there."

"Ahh, arigato gozaimasu."

"You're welcome."

He nodded cheerfully and turned to leave. Without taking a single step towards the entrance, he looked back at her. "Anou, may I know who Xia is?"

Yuen felt her cheeks heat up, embarrassed that he remembered her slip. "Eto... Xia is... was my boyfriend. We were about to be engaged when... anou..." she forced herself to talk through the sudden lump in her throat, telling herself that it was years ago and that she should be done crying over it. "...something came up and he had to leave. Gomen if I offended you demo, you remind me so much of him."

"Sou desu ne." He gave her a carefree grin. "Well, I'd better be going now. Sayonara."

"Hai. Sayonara."

She was still watching until the door swung closed on his back. Only then did she realize that her heart was beating faster than normal and that her face was heating up.

Yuen shot back to her duties to hide her blush. She wasn't crushing over one of their guests. She wasn't.

Before she knew it, she had breezed through her duties in the inn's restaurant and was now in the laundry room. For a moment, she had forgotten what she was to do... The sight of the orderly piles of towels and bed covers reminded her.

Yuen could almost slap herself for forgetting her 'special' duty. She ran up the service stairs two steps at a time, stopping only when she had reached the appropriate floor. She paused to straighten her cloth wrapped hair, wiped off the slight sweat she had made, opened the door to the inn's hallway, and casually strolled down the corridor with the laundry basket under her arm. The green-eyed one had left his room, which means she could change the beddings without him having to oversee her work. She could only hope that the others were leaving as well.

She was passing through their portion of the hallway when one of their rooms swung open, revealing the blond monk.

"Konbanwa, Sanzo-sama." she greeted him courteously.

"Hn." he stepped into the corridor as he called over his shoulder, "Saru! Hurry up or I'll leave you behind!"

"Hai, hai!" came a muffled reply. Yuen thought she heard the click and rattle of a doorknob before the muffled voice spoke up. "Na Sanzo! The door's stuck!"

"Just hurry the fuck up! I'm leaving!"

"Matte, Sanzo!" Banging on the door - Yuen was already rushing to help the boy out. "The door's really stuck!"

"I'm not waiting for you any longer!"

"Na...!" More banging.

Yuen was only a few steps away when the whole door collapsed right in front of her.

The boy jumped out, strange golden eyes glinting as he bounded out of the room. "Chotto matte, Sanzo-!"

"Kono bakasaru!" A loud thwack reverberated through the open doorway. "How many times have I told you to think before you break something! Now we'll have to fucking pay for that damn door!"

"Ite! Sanzo! The door was really stuck!" Several thwacking sounds followed his protest.

Yuen sprinted towards the hallway, fearful for the boy. "Yamete!"

Both monk and boy looked at her sharply; wide-open surprise on the boy's face and guarded patience on the other's. Sanzo Houshi held a harisen in mid-air, poised to strike while the boy sat on the floor with both arms raised to shield his head.

Yuen abruptly lowered her gaze to the ground, immediately feeling ashamed that she had dared to interrupt a high-ranking monk. The panicked words she was about to shout fell silent in her throat. She swallowed and tried a more meek tone. "Sumimasen, Sanzo Houshi-sama. It's our fault we didn't check the door first. We'll be the ones to pay for the repairs. In the meantime, I could assign you another room in place of this one."

Silence reigned, followed by the shifting of cloth. "Hn. Do as you like." More shifting, then the sound of retreating footsteps. "Iku zo, Goku."

"Hai!"

*****

A/N: Uhm, uh, er, the next chapter will be out by next Wednesday. I'm trying to work on a Wednesday to Wednesday basis.