Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Saiyuki characters. All the characters belong to Sensei Minekura-san.

Ayie: Arigatou for those who had review chapter one ^_^. Gomen for leaving the story at its climax and keeping the suspense in the air..hi..hi..please correct me if I'm wrong with any of the Japanese spelling. I'm going to upload the next chapter very soon….

Chapter 2: The first encounter

            "Ouch!" a tiny voice popped out along with a tiny figure stumbling down over the berry bush. A boy, almost the same size as Goku, laid on the ground. He was struggling to strip himself off the branches that stuck to his shirt. He was able to free himself a moment later.

Sanzo drew away his Smith and Wesson and Hakkai let go off his ki-ball in a tiny puff. They stared at the boy in astonishment. The boy was standing on one foot, tiptoeing to free his slippers from the last branch.

When he finally free from any branches, the boy stood motionless. He gazed back to the three bishounens. He looked at the men blankly and suddenly gave the biggest grin, the grin that Goku used to display on his face when he's blushing. The boy's red eyes gleamed in the moonlight. A moment later, they realized that the boy had a hair of crimson red.

'A taboo child'. Gojyo stared confusedly. 'Just like me'.

"Are you lost?" the boy asked. Sanzo, Hakkai and Gojyo changed glances. Hakkai took a step toward the boy. He patted the boy's shoulder and kneeled down, facing the boy face to face.

"What are you doing here?" asked Hakkai. There's comfort in his emerald eyes. He might be so damn worried of Goku, but his brotherly instinct wouldn't allow him to ignore the child in front of him.

"Iya!" the boy answered, still smiling. "I was collecting firewood". He held out what he was holding in his arms, a bundle of sticks.

Hakkai smiled. "Are you alone?"

The boy nodded. His eyes now fixed on Goku. He pointed his index finger to Goku. "Him? Is he wounded?"

Hakkai looked at Goku. "Hai! Do you know where we can get a healer?"

Without answering the question, the boy walked toward Gojyo and stopped in front of him. Staring at the boy on Gojyo's back. Gojyo displayed a protective movement, tightening his grip on Goku. The boy looked at Gojyo and back to Goku.  His eyes fixed on Goku bandaged arm. His eyebrows connected in horror. "Do you meet the bad youkais on the way here?"

Sanzo, Hakkai and Gojyo astounded. 'How was the hell this kid knew?'

"Hai!" Gojyo nodded.

"He was poisoned, looked like he needs the antidote fast!" the boy exclaimed. He grabbed Gojyo's arm, much to the latter alarmed. "Come with me!" he pulled Gojyo's arm to the direction from where he came from. Gojyo startled, anytime he could lose his grip on Goku and Goku would fall down to the ground.

"Sanzo?" Hakkai looked at Sanzo, waiting for the monk's decision.

"Whatever you want," Sanzo replied, and that's mean 'yes'.

Hakkai hold the boy's arm. "Lead the way" and they started running through the woods, following the kid to an unknown place.

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            Hakkai looked at the boy, who was now speeding in front of them. His movement was so swift and fast that he seemed as if he's moving on air. They have to sped to the highest limit to keep pace with him.

            'Whoever this boy is, he knew that Goku was dying'. Hakkai looked at the boy, so energetic, so full of spirit, just as genki as Goku.

            Finally, they reached a campfire spot. Nobody was there. The boy looked around. He seemed to be looking for somebody.  They could hear the sound of a river not far from there.

            "Aiko!" the boy called out to the woods. "I bring four damsels in distress here!" he said, almost shouting out of his lungs.

            "Damsels?" the voice almost came out together from the elders' mouth. There's a vein popping out on Sanzo's forehead. He brought out his paper fan.

            "Ne…Ne…Sanzo" Hakkai smiled nervously. He held down the harisen from reaching the boy's head. He knew what would happen when Sanzo was holding a paper fan in his hand and a vein popped out on his forehead. The boy would surely suffer a major head bumps.

         "Another saru?" Gojyo smirked.

"Damsels?" there's a voice coming out of nowhere. A female's voice. A figure came out from the dark. The figure halted in front of them, speechless.

Sanzo, Gojyo and Hakkai startled at the sight of that figure. A slim, slender figure. Her hair was raven black and was tied up in a braid, hanging limply on her right shoulder. A pair of sapphire blue eyes was fix at them. Her lips that shamed the color pink of a peach seemed to move, but no voice came out in between the lips.

'Human!'. The men startled.

The girl advanced toward the red haired boy. She stopped in front of him and knocked the boy's head with her fist.

"Ittai! Nande sun dai yo?" the boy clutched his aching head.

The other men sweat dropped, not expecting that to happen.

'My, she has the nerve of Sanzo's'. Hakkai smiled edgily.

"That's not damsel, kono baka yaro" the girl scolded the boy.

"Mou kecchi.." the boy pouted. "You were the one who told me that all the people in trouble was the damsels" the boy rubbed his head, which was now starting to form a bump.

The girl sweat dropped. She looked toward the unexpected guests and smiled sincerely. "Gomen nasai".

'Aha! The same gentility as Hakkai's'. Gojyo smiled back. His perverted nature made him stared at the girl's figure. So beautiful. He snapped back into reality when Hakkai coughed alarmingly.

" I found them when I was collecting firewood" explained the boy. He dropped the bundle of sticks he was holding near the fireplace. "One of them got wounded severely and was dying" he then grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her toward Gojyo.

The girl looked over Gojyo's shoulder, to the face of groaning Goku. She put her hand on Goku's forehead, absorbing the heat from the boy's body. She yanked her hand away when it touched the golden diadem, which now was burning. The heat showed that Goku was suffering high fever.

Hakkai moved closer to the girl. "He's being poisoned" he explained briefly.

Goku cried again, snatching the hearts of all of them. He was in lot of pain and his small body was struggling hard to fight it. The girl touched Goku's cheek and the boy seemed to ease.

"Aiko" the red haired boy tugged at the girl's arm. The girl looked down. There was a pleading look on that boy's face. His red eyes were forming pools of tears, ready to leak at any time. "Save him…please.." he pleaded.

The girl patted the boy's head and smiled reassuringly. She looked at Gojyo. "Please put him down". Gojyo slowly put Goku down on the ground and the girl kneeled beside the limp body. She checked the kid's injury and counted his pulse.

"Kazo!" the girl called out. The red haired boy stood beside her. He put on listening ears. "Do you remember about the flower I've told you before?" she asked, looking at the boy's face.

The boy nodded. "Blue flower with red thorns"

"That's the cure, go and get some for me" she ordered and as soon as their eyes blinked, the boy disappeared into the darkness of the wood.

"Is it okay to let him go by himself?" Gojyo looked up to the girl before turning his glance toward the woods the boy just went in. The girl exchanged glances with Gojyo and then nodded.

"He'll be fine" she replied, her hand moved deftly on Goku's head. She lifted the boy's head and placed it on her lap.  Gojyo was still unsure about that.

'Blue flower… red thorns?'. Sanzo was picking up something from his childhood. He looked at the girl suspiciously. "The flower was a poisonous one…what are you going to do with it?" he asked, pointing his loaded shoureiju to the girl. He remembered once, his master, Komyou Sanzo, used to warn him not to go near the bushes of red flower with thorns, which grew wildly around the Chang-an temple. It's poisonous, he said. He was ready to pull the trigger.

The girl turned to the monk. No fear was shown in her eyes; only a thin smile appeared, showing calmness. "I know you're worried about him so much" the girl snapped back. She looked back at Goku. "If I'm the one on your feet, I would probably did the same".

Sanzo startled. 'What she's trying to say?'.

"You would be ready to kill anyone you think would threatened him" she continued, her hand gently stroking the hair of the young heretic laid in front of her.

"Sanzo.." Hakkai gently lowered the gun down. "We are worried as much as you are" he whispered. Hakkai looked at the girl.

"Aiko-san, is it true, the flower was poisonous?" Hakkai asked for confirmation.

"Hai!" she answered confidently, no dread.

"Nani?! Are you trying to kill him?" Gojyo was in rage. He could burst anytime. He was in no mood of a joke if that's the girl was trying to do. 'Why in the hell we trusted that boy in the first place? But the look….'

"You must loved this little guy so much" the girl muttered, a curl in her lips. 'Damn it! How can she stays calm when we were threatening to kill her?'

"Don't worry, I have no intention of killing you guys, even if you are a Sanzo" the girl assured them with a smile. "Even if I'm a youkai, I don't have the appetite of eating your flesh for immortality"

"Your flesh would taste bitter" she continued with a sneer. The latter statement resulted with a big vein popped on Sanzo's forehead and followed by a giggle from Gojyo. Sanzo turned the gun's aim toward Gojyo. In a fraction of a second, a bullet was shot and it missed Gojyo's left cheek by inches.

Gojyo sweat dropped. He raised his hands in surrender. Hakkai smiled nervously.

"This poison was a strong one, no cure except we used a much weaker poison to fight it" the girl explained. She didn't seem to be disturbed by the chaos occurred in front of her eyes. She stroked Goku's face as if he was her own. Goku stirred a bit at her movement.

"His life depends on his will to survive" the girl finished her words when Goku moaned deeply in his sleep. He clung to the girl's hand on his face as a convulsion occurred. He's degenerating.

Hakkai suddenly remembered something. 'The boy!'. "If it really was poisonous, how about the boy? Wouldn't he get infected too?" Hakkai sounded worry.

"He could manage" the girl replied softly. But her hand was trembling as she stroked Goku's hair.

Suddenly, the mentioned boy appeared from the woods. The blue flowers with red thorns were in his hands, now covered with fresh crimson blood. The boy moved toward the girl and Goku, he held out the flower to her sister. His hands were trembling as he held the flower.

The girl looked up to the boy. "Sankyu, can you wait?" she asked. She took the flowers and attended back to Goku.

The boy smirked. His lips turned blue and his face was pale. 'The poison did infect him'. "I'm not going to die that easy" he said before he stumbled down to the ground. Luckily, he was grab by Hakkai just in time before his face met the earth.

The girl didn't even look. "Matte Kazo, I'll attend you after a while" she said slowly, there's a tremble in her frail voice.

Hakkai smiled slightly. He used his healing ki and healed the boy he was holding in his arms. He healed the wound and at the same time vanishing the poison. The boy's face turned back to flushes of red. 'He's okay'.

"Arigatou" the girl bowed her head slightly, her eyes still on Goku's face.

"That's the least we can do to repay you" Hakkai lifted the unconscious boy in his arms.

"It's already too much" she whispered back. Now, it's her turn to return the favor. She picked one of the thorns from the blue flower and pricked it on Goku's thumb. The boy moaned softly. The girl put her right palm on Goku's temple, giving away a faint pink light in between her palm and Goku's head.

"This girl, she's human and yet she got the healing power like Hakkai's'. Gojyo startled at the sight. He looked at Hakkai and the little boy the girl kept calling Kazo. Hakkai was his usual caring self.

"Put me down! Put me down!" the boy suddenly jerked forward in Hakkai's arm. Hakkai panicked, he didn't even realized when the boy woke up. Hakkai calmly put the boy down on the ground.

"Sumimasen, I never know you don't like to be lifted up like that" his hand rubbing the back of his head. He chuckled nervously.

The boy gave him a bitter look. "Aiko said a boy who needed to be lifted was a geek" he stuck out his tongue at the corner of his mouth.

"Yare…yare…desune" Hakkai giggled in a polite manner, careful not to offend the little guy's feeling. 'Boy, this kid recovered fast'.

"It's okay, you're forgiven" the same genki smile that he gave when he first met them appeared on his face. Hakkai smiled, but the smile faded away as he glanced toward the girl and Goku.

"Don't worry, you can count on Aiko. She knew what she's doing" the boy assured. "Let's sit down" the boy pulled Hakkai's hand and dragged him toward the fireplace. Sanzo and Gojyo followed him.

"What's your name, kiddo?" asked Gojyo.

"Kazo" the boy answered shortly. "And don't call me kiddo. I'm not a kid!" he continued sternly.

"Ch!" Sanzo lit his cigarette. He looked at the girl and Goku from the corner of his eyes. 'This better be good'. He turned and found Hakkai smiling at him. Sanzo grunted and leaned his back against a tree trunk.

The girl's hand still gleamed with the pink beam, meaning the healing session was still in progress.

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            "Sanzo," Hakkai whispered. He glanced at Goku who was now sleeping soundly. Goku has triumphed over his fight for his life. His will to survive helped him to live. He's fully recovered from the wound and the poison, except for the slight fever which remained. Thanks to Aiko, who was now sitting beside Goku, reading a book. One of her hand was holding the book to her face and the other was patting Goku's back, gently to assure him to sleep.

Sanzo looked at Hakkai.

"Who do you think they are?" Hakkai asked, slow but clear.

"Who cares?" Sanzo replied, coldly. Hakkai smiled in return. "As long as they don't say anything about handing them any sutra, I don't give it a damn" said Sanzo, even though he was worried too. 'Who the heck wouldn't? Here in the middle of nowhere, they met a kid with a girl who possessed such extraordinary ability to heal'.

Gojyo threw his fellow companions a glance before turning back to face Kazo, who was now staring at him without even blinking. The boy rested his chin on his hands and stared at Gojyo continuously. Gojyo quickly looked away. Kazo has stared at him for about half an hour now, but didn't even turn his gaze away from him. The boy lied down on his stomach, staring at him. Ruby met ruby.

Hakkai grinned at that sight. 'So…kawaii'. Gojyo noticed his grin and Gojyo returned that grin with a dread look that said 'Hakkai, you are sooo to die'.

Now Kazo rose up and sit cross-legged in front of Gojyo. That made Gojyo even more nervous than he was before. "Are you a taboo child?" the young half-breed asked and made the elder startled. The older half-breed's eyes widened in jolt.

"Wh-why you said that?" Gojyo stammered. He's not sure what to answer.

"Well…you have the same hair color like mine" said the younger boy, stroking his own hair. "So, I guess you were like me, a child born between youkai and human" Kazo looked at Gojyo, still waiting for the man's answer.

Gojyo astounded. 'This kid knew he was a taboo child?'

Kazo smiled. " Aiko always said that my hair reminded her of an apple" He muttered while playing with locks of his own hair, hanging limply from his head.

"Apple?" Gojyo stunned. 'My, that's a different opinion'.

 "Yupe! Red as an apple…" suddenly the boy stopped talking. He looked at Aiko. "Aiko, harahetta!" He cried out loud. The word 'apple' reminded him of food.

"Eek!" Gojyo jerked back. Sweat dropped. 'This kid was no different from Goku'. He slapped his head in disbelief.

The cry made Sanzo and Hakkai startled. Hakkai's jaw dropped and Sanzo's cigaratte fell down from his lips. 'Does all the kid at this size have the same appetite?'

"Ch!" Sanzo quickly shoved the cigarette that fell on his robe before it could burn his outfit. He flipped the pages on his newspaper and tried hard not to listen to the conversation between Gojyo and Kazo. Hakkai laughed slightly.

Aiko drew her eyes from the book she's reading to Kazo. "No, wait until tomorrow!" she denied, sternly.

"Harahetta…"Kazo retreated. Once his sister made the decision, it will stay unchanged. That's mean he's not going to get any food no matter how hard he pleaded. He lied down on the ground with his face faced the sky. He stared sadly at the stars while his lips still uttering the latter word over and over.

Hakkai smiled. He brought out a bun from his backpack and handed it to Kazo. He was just sparing the food for Goku if the kid was too hungry he could not carry on. "I think this might fill you up for tonight?" Hakkai was smiling.

"Yay!" Kazo quickly rose up and took the bun. "Sankyu" He presented Hakkai with the most sincere smile ever. He then stuffed the bun into his mouth. Hakkai chuckled.

"Yare…yare…" Hakkai laughed nervously. 'This boy has the same appetite as Goku's'. The boy finished his midnight snack in the matter of a second and suddenly fell back on the earth, eyes closed and he started snoring out loud. 'My…my, the same behavior too'.

Aiko shook her head in embarrassment. She continued reading but she was stop abruptly by Goku's moans. Aiko looked down to find Goku was moving restlessly in his sleep. Aiko caressed Goku's cheek, sending the boy back to his sweetest dream. From moans and groans, Goku started chanting names of food, variety of food. Aiko smiled slightly. She continued on her reading. She looked at Kazo, who was now sleeping soundly. His head was over heels. Unfortunately they weren't able to reach the nearest town in time and stayed at the inn, or else Kazo would eat half of his pillow by now.

"You two travel alone?" Hakkai popped of nowhere and appeared in front of Aiko. Aiko jerked back, shocked to death. She didn't even realize when that brunette stood in front of her.

"Aa…Hai!Hai!" answered Aiko, almost chocked with her words.

Hakkai smiled. He sat down beside Goku and tucked that boy with a blanket that he took from his backpack. "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere…" Aiko was not eager to answer that question. She was going to say something, but she just couldn't say it. Hakkai quickly understood. He stopped asking anymore question.

"Sumimasen, may be it's too early for me to ask such question. We hardly knew each other yet" Hakkai apologized. He looked at Aiko. Aiko looked back with a smile. She stood up and walked toward Kazo. She tucked her brother with a blanket. "I'm going for a night bath, could you please look after him?" Aiko stroked Kazo's hair lovingly. She gave her brother a peck on the cheek before heading toward the river.

"Sure" Hakkai agreed as Aiko walked away. A towel hung limply on her shoulder.

Gojyo was about to stand up when Sanzo pointed a gun to his head. Gojyo yelped, astounded when Sanzo appeared from nowhere.

"Don't even think about that!" Sanzo warned. The monk was ready to pull the trigger anytime now. Gojyo threw himself to the ground. Folding his arm in front of his chest.

"Ch!" Gojyo pouted. 'How the hell he knew I was going to peek on her?'

Hakkai smiled. It's been over three years since he first met Gojyo, he was well aware of the red haired perverted attitude. Gojyo could never take his eyes away from any beautiful woman.

"Better think again if you're planning to seduce her Gojyo, I don't think she's going to let you" Hakkai grinned, so much like he was sneering at Gojyo.

"Who's interested in that girl anyway?" Gojyo retreated. Better to prevent than to cure, the girl was really something else. He lied down on his back; both hands were crossed under his head. 'Goku, tomorrow I'll poke you on the head for making my arms went cramp'. Gojyo closed his eyes. He fell asleep soon after that.

"Naa…Sanzo, who's going to…." Hakkai stopped abruptly when he saw Sanzo has already fallen asleep. The monk was leaning against the tree bark, his hands folded around his chest and his head bowed slightly. Sanzo was snoring under his breath.

Hakkai raised his shoulders slightly. "Looks like I'm the one to stay on guard'. He walked toward Sanzo and Gojyo and tucked them with blankets before retreating his way back to Goku. From the river ahead, he could hear splashing sound. Hakkai reached out for the book that Aiko has been reading for the past one hour and started reading it. It's being long since he last settled down and made himself read a book.

To be continue…..

Ayie: For gallatica-san, sankyu for waiting….You don't have to wait too long, I'll be uploading the chapters soon. And Iya! This is not Sanzo/Goku fic. Ja ne..