By yumeneko
Disclaimer: As usual... Saiyuki is Kazuya Minekura-sensei's... I'm just torturing some characters here.
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Note: Look who has come back from the grave…
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Chapter 2: Silver-haired Beauty"Ah… A decent hotel!" Gojyo sighed as he plopped unto the sofa in the middle of the lobby.
"We're lucky that the hotel manager has no one occupying the whole hotel…" Hakkai sipped his sake.
"Fortunately we have separate rooms…" Sanzo sipped his sake, "I won't have to see your ugly faces…"
"Anyway, while we're here… I might as well go hunting for beauties…" Gojyo grinned.
"Itarashaii!" Goku greeted Gojyo off.
"Ja… Will I be shopping for groceries now, Sanzo?" Hakkai asked the monk.
"Do as you wish… Just don't buy Goku anything he wants…" Sanzo handed Hakkai his gold credit card.
"Ja na, Sanzo!" Goku smiled as he left the hotel. Before Hakkai could go out, Sanzo stopped him.
"Hakkai?"
"Yes, Sanzo?"
"There's something strange about this town…"
"I know… I feel it, too." Hakkai turned to look deep into Sanzo's eyes, "Why don't you go with me and Goku to buy groceries?"
"I don't want to."
"But it'll do good for your health…" Hakkai smiled at the blonde.
Sanzo retreated to the sofa, "I just don't want to… If you want to walk with me so badly, why don't you just wait until the two bakas are asleep tonight?"
"Fine then… Anything you say, Sanzo…" Hakkai smiled, "I'll see you later…"
As Goku and Hakkai were doing their shopping, Gojyo looked around the town's bare streets.
"Damn… How will I ever find a girl here?"
As he said his words, he saw a lady cloaked to shield herself from the sand.
"Hey…" Gojyo approached the tall beauty, "What are you doing here?"
"Doing the grocery…" The lady looked up at Gojyo. Her silver hair and blue eyes a bright contrast to her light-tinted skin.
"You're a pretty desert flower… We haven't introduced each other properly yet. My name's Gojyo… Sha Gojyo."
"Me… I'm… Yoriko…" The girl said unmoved, "Nice to meet you, Sha Gojyo. If you may, I must get finish the grocery for my parents… Goodbye."
Gojyo waved as the lady walked away.
"Yoriko, eh? I sense something wrong with her…"
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"We're back!" Goku gleefully announced as he entered the hotel.
"Well then, Sanzo… Have you found out anything much about this town?" Hakkai asked.
"The manager gave me a good amount of information. This town was 'cursed' he said. He said that there was a powerful sorcerer here who had placed this town under a spell. He wasn't quite sure what the curse was anyway. All he said was that no one in this town could go against his orders." Sanzo explained.
"Looks like we have a bit of investigating to do…" Hakkai said thoughtfully.
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Kuro stood up from his dark throne and looked at the unconscious Lirin in her cage.
"Sooner or later, you'll serve me well. I have no use for your companion… I might as well either execute her or just send her back to your brother."
He crouched down to looked at the young youkai in the cage.
"The perfect bait to the perfect trap…"
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Later that night, a familiar face greeted Gojyo.
"Yoriko…"
"Konbanwa, Gojyo-san…" Yoriko bowed, "Have you heard of the curse placed on this town?"
"No. Not at all. Can you tell me?" Gojyo asked.
"Well then. There was a tale about a powerful sorcerer in a black cape preaching about how evil the world was. One day, a young boy defied him and said he was wrong. The sorcerer tried to punish the boy. But what the boy did was spit on his face. Furious, the sorcerer casted a curse upon this town, making sure that the people of this town knew neither love or hate. All they knew was obedience. That's why this town is what it is… Deserted."
"Then how about you?"
"I didn't feel anything when you met me. I just took no notice and obeyed my parent's orders."
"No wonder you looked so aloof…" Gojyo sighed, "Well then… Maybe I should pay a visit to this sorcerer of yours… Where is he?"
"He lives near a cliff. But that's what the rumors say…" Yoriko said coldly.
"Ahh… Anyway, I'll go see if those rumors are true then…" Gojyo smirked, "I'll see if I can bring the feeling back into this town."