Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Saiyuki characters. They honorably belong to Minekura Sensei. Please don't sue me.
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Ayie: Wohoho… sorry for the dead depressing chaps before… ^,^….Gomen nasai!! Thanks for reviewing, that really helped me a lot… Sankyu ^o^ !!! Er… can anyone please tell me what is 'Mary Sue'? I know this might sound ridiculous, but I don't know what it means…. ^__^" blushed … well, don't blame me please… I'm still new
Sanzo: stop that nonsense… if you know what it means, you'll probably write a fic that contains Mary Sues…. Let's finish this fic for once and for all…
Ayie: Ek!? You know what Mary Sue means? looked at Sanzo with eyes wide opened
Sanzo: Ch! No…
Ayie: O__o" sweat dropped… ah! Never mind… let's finish this fic… and you are going to help me pulled Sanzo's robe by the neck and dragged him toward the computer desk
Sanzo: Oi! Oi! Why should I help you? You tricked me and made me search for the songs and now you want me to help you finish it…? Kono baka author… Let me go! Let me go!! flailed his arms frantically in the air
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Life Goes On
The little children exchanged glances, whispering among themselves and turned to face the lady stood in front of them. Some of the children were crying and some of them were trying really hard to hold back their tears. They moved closer to the lady with the white beret and camisole and tugged at her black skirt.
"Kan-sensei… what happened to the Sanzo-ikkou after Goku died?" a boy with the eyes of emerald color looked up to the lady and waited for the answer.
The lady smiled sweetly as she ruffled the boy's dark hair. She glanced all around the class. Her pupils were waiting for her answer eagerly.
"The ikkou continued their journey to the West and subdued Gyumao, it was a hard work but they did it somehow… then, they went on another journey to search for Goku" the teacher at last gave her reply, much to the students' relief.
"Do they found him Kan-sensei?" one of the girls asked, looking terribly anxious to know the answer. "Do they found Goku?" the girl clasped her hands tightly. Her knuckle turned white from the tight clasp. She bit her lips nervously.
The lady they called Kan-sensei sighed heavily. "I'm afraid they didn't find him anywhere" the reply made the whole class sighed and sobbed.
"That's not fair… Goku'd promised" a girl with bangs covering her forehead wiped her tears and sobbed continuously. That's not what she wanted to hear.
"Poor Sanzo… he must have been really sad" a feeble voice rang from the corner of the room. The owner of the voice, a young boy of seven, trembled furiously as he tried to hold back his tears.
The lady with the white beret looked at the boy with a sweet smile. "Eichiro-chan, you must remember the first thing that I told you before we proceeded with the story of the Sanzo-ikkou" she reminded, not only to the mentioned boy but to all the boys and girls sitting cross-legged on a mat right in front of her.
"You said that their journey was a journey that will never end" a boy repeated her remark.
She smiled again. "That's right Keiru-chan" she approved and clapped her hands in glee. "Sanzo-ikkou's journey was a journey with no ending… the ikkou were still looking for Goku… out there somewhere" she swayed her arm around and then raised her shoulder slightly. "But we'll never know if the legend was telling the truth"
"Of course it was true… Sanzo-ikkou do exist" the children protested her statement. "And they'll find Goku one day, Sanzo had promised that he'll find him even if it takes forever" the class monitor, a boy with blonde hair, stood up and clenched his fist.
The lady with the white beret and camisole giggled in glee. It felt so good to know that a kid could be high-spirited at times.
"Kringgg!!!" the school bell rang as a sign for all classes to be dismissed.
The charming lady clasped her hands together and rose up to her feet. "Yare…yare… I think that's all for today… Class is dismiss" she announced. The young children packed up their things and headed for the door. They left the class one by one.
"Arigatou Kan-sensei… the story was a good one" the class monitor, a boy with the hair of sunshine's gold stood before the lady. She looked down to him and smiled. The sensei kneeled in front of the boy and patted his head.
"You know Kyisu-chan, Sanzo also had blonde hair like yours" the lady smiled as she lifted the mentioned boy's face. Kyisu's eyes widened at that compliment.
"You've seen them?" Kyisu asked with a shaky voice. He looked up to the sensei with astonished look. "So, the legend is true? Sugoi!!!" he exclaimed with joy.
The lady with the white beret and camisole grinned and winked at the boy. "Now you go… your mom is here" she said as she pushed the boy softly to a woman standing by the door. Kyisu ran happily to his mother, but then he turned around and waved the sensei goodbye.
"Jaa…" he chirped merrily as he walked out of the door with his mother holding his hands.
The lady in white beret and camisole sunk to her chair and giggled in glee. At sudden, she felt something appearing by her side. She smirked and waited for the next thing to happen.
"Kanzeon Bosatsu?" a man appeared from a shattering dust and bowed to her. "What are you doing here? You know you are not allowed to disguise yourself as mortal" the old man with a gray hair looked up to her. There was a chakra on his forehead, suggesting that he came from somewhere out of this world.
The lady with the white beret smirked. "Jiroushin, you don't think I would obey to the rules of the fools up there don't you?" she took off her beret and revealed her long curly raven black hair. Her hair fell limply on her shoulder and several locks fell on the left side of her face. The megumi-sama tied up her hair in a ponytail and rose up to her feet.
"Kanzeon Bosatsu…?" Jiroushin was astounded at her insult upon the Gods in Tenkai. "Please don't say it out loud" he reminded her. That's the only thing he could do since the Kannon-sama wouldn't listen to him anyway.
Kanzeon Bosatsu smirked as she advanced to the window and put her hands on the windowsill. "After all, you wouldn't think I would let my favorite nephew to live alone in this modern life don't you Jiroushin?" she asked as she looked down to the school gate. "It's being five hundreds years since their journey ended, but their new one is just starting"
Kanzeon Bosatsu smiled at the sight of little Kyisu tugging at his mother's sleeve and pulled her toward the ice-cream vendor. "After all he was my only nephew…no matter how many time he was reincarnated" she sighed with relief. Kanzeon turned around and faced her loyal assistant.
"Let's go back to that boring place Jiroushin" Kanzeon finally made a decision, much to her assistant's relief. They teleported away in a matter of a second, leaving the room empty and still.
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somewhere in the uptown
An alarm clock rang crazily on top of a bedside table. The digital clock displayed the numbers 06:30. There was something moving on the bed, curling itself under the blanket. The being seemed to be disturbed from the ringing sound of the alarm clock. A hand was held out from under the blanket and it is reaching out for the digital device. The hand slammed hard on the clock, pushing the button to its place. The ringing sound ceased at instant.
"K'so…" the being slowly uncovered the blanket on top of him. The man with the blonde hair, the bright color of the sun, emerged from beneath the blanket and stared at the clock he was holding in his hand. He threw away the blanket, together with the clock randomly to the floor. He rose up to his feet and walked toward the window.
The blonde man lifted up the window and looked down to the busy road. The hustle and bustle of the big city of Tougenkyo penetrated the still air in his room as soon as he opened the window. The blonde lad glanced to the west, the gray smog that was hovering the sky from where the sun sets still growing, like a gray stain on a reddish orange cloth. 'It's a matter of time till darkness emerged and cover the land with evil' He grunted as the noise made his ears sore. He closed the window immediately.
"And what was the dream I had last night?" he asked himself as he walked toward the door. "Why I kept dreaming something weird lately…?" he wondered.
"Sanzo, look for me!"
"Sanzo, I'll be waiting for you"
"Sanzo, we'll be back together one day… wait for me"
The voice from his dreams came back to his mind. The blonde man shook the voice away and turned the doorknob. Having a dream of something so strange but yet so familiar was making him insane. He thought he had heard the voice in his dreams somewhere before but he couldn't remember anything about it.
"And the boy… who was he?" he whispered quietly as he tried to recall the figure that was last seen in his sleep. 'A boy with golden eyes… brown haired… ch! He looked familiar but why can't I remember how he really looked like?' He went to the bathroom with a towel hung limply on his shoulder. He got about half an hour left to get ready and to avoid traffic jams on his way to his workplace.
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"Ohaiyo gozaimasu Sanzo-sama!" his butler greeted him as soon as he entered the main hall. The butler, a man of average built around his mid age, bowed slightly to him. He just nodded as a reply. "Breakfast sir?" the butler inquired as he held out one arm into the direction of the dining hall.
"No…" he answered coldly, without even turning to face the butler. A vein popped out on his forehead. It was not his favor to be treated like that by someone he respected so much. "Aoya-ji-san, you know I don't like you calling me by that 'sama' thing" he looked at the butler.
The butler, whom he had address Aoya-ji-san, smiled. "Well then my son, better hurry up to your workplace" Aoya urged the young man he had raise up since he was eight. He helped his master to put on his leather jacket and then handed him his helmet. "Today is the fifth teen anniversary of Oshio-sama's death"
The young man fell silent at that reminder. "I'll go and pay 'him' a visit" as soon as he said that, the young lad headed for the entrance. Aoya tailed him to the door and stood watching at the entrance.
"That would be nice" he exclaimed to the young man named Sanzo with a smile as the latter walked down the steps toward his super bike. Aoya just stood watching as Sanzo hopped on the bike's seat and fastened his safety helmet. "Soreja"
"Hmph!" was a reply from his young master as he pulled down the shield on his helmet to his face. He switched on the ignition and stepped on the accelerator pedal, forming a loud vroom before it sled smoothly toward the gate. The sight of the bike faded away slowly beyond the horizon.
Aoya shook his head. A slight curl was formed on his aging lips. 'Will there ever be a chance for me to see this young man smiling again? Oshio-sama… would that young man ever met someone who will cheer him up and make him realized what is the meaning of love like you had done before? Someone who will treasure him like you did or someone he would treasure so much that he would willing to smile and to live for one more time?' Aoya looked up to the bright sky. He never knew what would happen tomorrow. May be he would never see that clear blue sky again. Then he glanced to the West, the gray smoke was piercing the crystal clear sky bit by bit.
"And this air of evilness… will there ever be a savior for the world of tomorrow?" Aoya sighed. He turned the other way around and entered the mansion. He pulled the door softly behind him.
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A dark haired man wearing glasses entered the busy office that was crowded with people of all kinds and headed toward an empty table. He smiled to all people he passed by and the latter happily returned that smile. "Ohaiyo minna-san" he greeted all the residents of the Tougenkyo Police Department.
"Ohaiyo gozaimasu Hakkai-san" the mentioned people seemed to stop working and looked up to him with a welcoming smile. "It's a beautiful day today isn't it Hakkai-san?" a voice added soon after.
"Hai…hai!" the brunette chuckled edgily. "It seems that everyone here already knew my line" his face was flushed red.
A young policewoman passed by the emerald-eyed man. "No heart feeling Hakkai-san… we're just kidding" she said with a sweet smile. "Gomen nasai!"
"Daijoubu da yo Ayako-san… I'm happy that everyone's in good mood today" the young man named Hakkai reassured as he smiled merrily. "Where's Sanzo?" he asked a little later as he hadn't seen the man he was looking for a while ago. He stood by an empty desk.
Ayako glanced at the desk, it was untidy but the owner was nowhere around. "He hasn't come in yet…? Yare…yare… I thought I already asked him to tidy up his place yesterday" Ayako shook her head in annoyance.
Hakkai laughed slightly. "Never mind… I'll tidy up the place for him" Hakkai carried out the task as soon as he said that. He cleaned up the mess on the desk and tidy up the place.
Ayako shook her head, smiling at the sight of Hakkai completing his task. "He sure is lucky to have a friend like you" Ayako complimented. "That namaguza detective sure is a spoiled brat" In a matter of a second, a brutal whack landed on her head.
"Ittai…" she turned around and found Sanzo stood right behind her, with a rolled newspaper in his hand.
"That's for saying bad things at my back" Sanzo put his helmet on his desk and looked at Ayako with a menacing look. Ayako shrunk at instant and ran toward her desk when Sanzo's eyes sent out electrical waves to hers.
"Ma… ma… Sanzo, calm down" Hakkai tried to cool off the raging blonde. He clamped his mouth shut when Sanzo turned and stared at him with a fuming stare. He smiled edgily.
"Ch!" Sanzo slammed himself to his seat and sighed heavily.
"You're late and that might give your job a bad reputation" Hakkai is giving his usual lecture to the man sitting at the chair.
"I went to the cemetery, today is Oshio-sama's death anniversary" Sanzo explained frigidly. His desk has being tidied up again, no doubt by the courtesy of the brunette stood before him.
Hakkai settled down on Sanzo's desk. He glanced down to the case's file on the table. The files contained the details of the same case, a murder case involving the noblest man in Tougenkyo, Ikeda Sanzo, as the victim. The case hadn't being solved for fifth teen years now. "You would never rest until you catch the murderer don't you?" Hakkai looked up to the blonde detective. All that he got as the answer was a grunt. The dark haired man shook his head.
Sanzo looked to the young attorney that possessed the eyes so green that it shamed the color green of the emerald stone. They had being friends for seven years since they first met in the law college, where they had been studying together. Hakkai was a bright student in the class that he signed in for the law course at the age of sixteen, a year younger than the other students in the same course, including Sanzo. They completed their study together but they choose different ways, Hakkai ended up being a lawyer and Sanzo chose to be a homicidal detective. "What brings you here today?"
"I got an information from a friend of mine… you knew him… the bartender" Hakkai took off his glasses and wiped it with the corner of his shirt. He put the glasses back when he was sure it was clean.
"Yeah… Gojyo or yoyo or something" Sanzo replied. "What kind of information?"
"You got the first one right… it's Gojyo" Hakkai claimed before he continued the reason why he had came to visit the blonde man. "He overheard that the man who was responsible for Ikeda Sanzo's death was last seen at the West, working for the man who owned the tower which produced the gray smog in the sky" Hakkai explained. He waited for the respond.
Sanzo rose up at sudden. "Ikkuzo!"
Hakkai got down on his feet and tailed Sanzo, who was heading toward the entrance. "If I may ask… where are we going?" he had to keep his pace fast and swift to catch up with the detective, yet he still had the chance to smile at a group of policeman at the coffee corner.
"Do you bring your dragon today?" Sanzo asked as he put on his jacket and fastened the holster under his arm. The gun was there.
"Harkuryu? Hai! I parked him by the street" Hakkai hopped in the lift. He pushed the 'G' button.
"We're going to meet Gojyo" Sanzo stared at the empty door blankly. He stepped out as the door opened and headed toward the main entrance. A green jeep was parked right in front of the main entrance, by the street. Hakkai quickened his pace and hopped in the driver's seat with Sanzo settling beside him.
"Come on Harkuryu… we're going to meet Gojyo at his bar" Hakkai patted the steering wheel. In this world where human and youkai lived together, nothing is impossible. The jeep was a transformation from a little white dragon that Hakkai named Harkuryu. Hakkai found the dragon when he went mountain climbing with his housemate years ago at Mount Gogyo, several kilometers away from the ancient temple of Chang-an. The affection that Harkuryu had shown upon him made him took the dragon back home with him. It's weird, but Hakkai felt like he had known the dragon for a long time before.
"Kyu! Kyu!" Harkuryu cooed. Hakkai smiled.
Hakkai switched on the ignition and stepped on the gas pedal. The jeep roared out loud as the tires moved. It sled away and entered the main road, heading toward the direction of a bar downtown.
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"Sanzo… when are you coming for me?"
"Sanzo… I'm waiting for you"
"Please come and take me with you"
"I'll wait for you… I will"
"Please look for me… I'm waiting right here"
"Do you say something?" Sanzo turned to Hakkai with a stern face.
"Uh?" Hakkai was perplexed. He shook his head and smiled. "I didn't say anything at all" Hakkai denied with a melodious tone. He was driving and he didn't have the time to say anything.
"Ch!" Sanzo grunted. "I thought I heard you say something" he turned his eyes to the road. 'Not only I'm dreaming things but now I'm hearing things too' But then the voice sounded the same as the one he heard in his dreams.
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"Whoosh!!" a man dashed aimlessly in the air and slammed hard to the wall. He landed furiously on the floor and fell unconscious. Another man tripped over him and fell down on top of him.
A tall man stood right in front of them. His arms were crossed behind his head as he smirked devilishly at the men on the floor. "That's the consequences that you would get if you caused a chaos in my bar!" he warned. The tall man brushed the locks of his crimson red hair to the back and picked up the dazzled men by their collars and threw them outside the bar, to the street.
"Ma…ma… Gojyo, looks like you're having trouble again" a dark haired man patted his shoulder. Gojyo turned to his side and grinned at seeing his housemate who was also his childhood friend standing there, smiling at him.
"Daijoubu da yo, everything is under control" Gojyo laughed out loud. "Hello there Harkuryu" he greeted the little dragon perched on Hakkai's shoulder. Since Hakkai brought the dragon back to their house, it has being their friend from then on. He stretched his neck and glanced over Hakkai shoulder. "Hai hai! It seemed that you bring that namaguza detective with you" he sneered as he saw Sanzo right behind Hakkai.
A vein popped out on Sanzo's head. He looked around as he his hands itched madly. He needed to find something to whack the red haired head. Suddenly, he saw a street vendor by the roadside. Sanzo went to his stall and looked for something that will suit his purpose. Then he spotted a perfect device that would carry out his plan perfectly. Sanzo purchased it and went back to the bar.
In a matter of a second, a brutal whack landed on the red haired head. Hakkai sweat dropped at that scene.
"Ittai…!!!" Gojyo yelped in agony. He rubbed his aching head as he squatted on the ground. He looked up to the man who had just hit him by his head. That namaguza detective is holding a paper fan in his hand. "Nande sun dai yo?" Gojyo asked.
Sanzo looked heartened. He looked at the harisen that he had just used to whack the hanyou's head. "This is good… I think I'll keep this harisen for future purposes" he keep the harisen somewhere in his jacket.
"Yare…yare…desune" Hakkai shook his head in disbelief. He looked down to Gojyo. "Gojyo, we're here to get the information about the murderer who killed Sanzo's guardian" Hakkai explained as he helped Gojyo to stand on his feet.
"I didn't hear the rumor by my own ears, one of my boy overheard it and they passed it to me" Gojyo tried to recall what he had heard yesterday. "They heard a man talked about it when he was drunk"
"Do you know who that man was?" Sanzo asked coldly.
"And what are you going to give me if I answer your question?" Gojyo smirked menacingly. Now it's payback time.
"BANG!!!" A bullet dashed toward Gojyo's head and missed him by inches. Gojyo sweat dropped. Hakkai stumbled head over heels.
"You'll get nothing if you answer my question but you'll surely got a shot on the head if you resist" Sanzo warned the red haired as he kept his gun into the holster.
"Ma…ma… Sanzo, you are not allowed to waste your bullet on civilians" Hakkai stood in front of Gojyo, preventing further damage on the red haired. He turned around and faced Gojyo. "Gojyo, you better tell him the truth"
"Okay… okay… I knew that guy, I'll bring you to his house" Gojyo surrendered. Better to prevent than to cure, after all he didn't want to die at the blonde's hands. "He lived two blocks from here"
"Ikkuzo" Sanzo ordered. He started to walk and the two joined him a little later.
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Gojyo knocked the door several times and waited for any reply from the being inside. He glanced at Sanzo and Hakkai. The pair was had different facial gestures. Hakkai was smiling as Harkuryu nuzzled his cheek affectionately and Sanzo was cursing and swearing out new words that would taint a little child's mind or at least made them wondered.
No answer. Gojyo sighed. He was about to knock on the door for one last time before deciding to ram it down when Sanzo shot the lock, making a hole out of it. Gojyo stared bewilderedly at the peacekeeper. "Patience is a virtue…" Gojyo bit his tongue abruptly as the aim of the gun changed to the direction of his head. He grunted and kicked the door opened.
The three bishounens entered the wooden cottage, an eyesore among the tall buildings in the surrounding area. The floor cracked as soon as they stepped in. The cottage was untidy. Empty sake's bottles were tossed randomly on the floor and some dirty clothes scattered on the couch. The house was turned upside down as if a fierce battle had occurred before.
"Do you think someone has already got here earlier than we did?" Hakkai asked as his emerald eyes scanned around the house. No sign of the owner.
Sanzo pointed his gun around. After he was sure that the area was safe he kept his gun back into the holster. "Looked like someone did" he exclaimed as he spotted bloodstains all over a mat under his feet. He squatted down and took a closer look.
"It's blood for sure" Hakkai approved his companion's statement as he bent down on his knees and glanced over Sanzo's shoulder. The bloodstains looked new and fresh, even the blood hadn't dried up yet. Whatever happened must have happen before they got to that place.
"Sanzo… Hakkai… you guys might want to see this" the mentioned men turned toward the hanyou, who looked pale all over as if he had seen a ghost. He was staring at something behind the couch with eyes so wide that it looked like as if his eyeballs were going to pop out.
To be continue…
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Ayie: Hai… hai… I knew I said that this fic will be completed at chap 3… but don't worry, I've uploaded chap 4 which I swore to be the last chap together with this chap. I can't finish this fic in this one chap because it's too long… Gomen!!! That's why I didn't include any songs in this chap like the last two.
Sanzo: You are really annoying… you supposed to finish this fic in this very chap… and now you're doing another chap. I'm going to kill you someday…
Gojyo: Hey! I do look cool in this chap… except that I'm still getting that whack from this namaguza bouzu … Sanzo: Nanda'to??!! whacked Gojyo's head continuously
Ayie: Ch! Let them be… where was I… ah… GS-san, don't worry about me not receiving your review… I appreciated your concern… but it's okay ^__^. Thanks a lot for reviewing… Sankyu!!! Also to those who had reviewed this fic, Shin chan, Azzie, Gallatica, Saiyuki-gal, Chris, -NC-, cat, Kenren19 and tsunogirl… thanks a lot!!!! Azzie… you were so right about torturing Sanzo… loved to see him like that ^,^…. And Cat thanks for the reminder. I've tried to explain to you through e-mail but the mail was a failure. I'm really new in this fanfic writing… so I knew nothing much…Thanks again for your comments… Arigatou!!! ^___^