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: Thanks Kuroi-san for having reviewed my fic from chap to chap ^_^. Your advice and opinions really helped me. Not to mention others who had reviewed the fic, you guys helped a lot!
Sanzo-ikkou, all together: whispering mode Thanks from us to coz your reviews did enlightened her… and that helped us to get along with her without hearing her yelling all day long.
Ayie: Oi guys! Don't say bad thing about me…
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Chapter 11 – Dreams and Nightmares
She glanced around and found nothing but pools of blood.
A man in his middle age appeared in front of her. "Fear not my dear, your old man is here" the man smirked as he drew out his sword and stood in a fighting mode. "I'll protect you with my own life" he said and darted toward swarms of youkai up ahead. He fought and fought and finally was brought down to the ground by a ki-blast from the youkai leader. "Be strong" he whispered as he shoved her off from the battlefield. He stood once again, staggering and finally gain his balance from his will to protect the one he loved. With one push of his strong hand, she was sent to fly away from the carnage. She landed on her feet and looked to the man. Tears fell down on her cheeks.
"Otosan!" she called out loud.
The man looked at her for the last time and smiled. "You're always my little girl!" he shouted before charging into the enemies' territory. He ended the battle moments after that and what she could find was his lifeless body along with the bodies of the defeated youkais. Slowly, the carnage disappeared and was replaced with another scene.
A female youkai with orange hair, age not much different from her otosan, handed her the hand of a boy. "Protect him and take care of yourself, I will stop them like the way your Otosan did" the woman said while at the same time tears streamed down on her cheeks. The woman kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly and later did the same thing to the boy she's holding. "Now go!!" the woman shooed her and the boy, pushed them away. "Go!". She held the boy's hand firmly as he cried in horror, seeing the woman walked away to face the youkai. The female youkai took off her necklace that served as a limiter and changed into her original form.
"Okasan!" she clamped the boy's eyes with her palm. Never will she let the boy see how their most beloved lady really looked like. Again, the tears filled her eyes, blurring the image of her Okasan being slaughtered to death. Yet, it wasn't over as the blurred scene finally changed into another different scene.
A young lady, barely at her mid twenty was staring down at her and the boy. A youkai she was, just like Okasan, but she had the same loving tenderness showed in her shimmering brown eyes. "The time I spent with you was the best in my life, I wished I was born once again to be your sister-in-law" The young lady youkai said with a thin smile on her lips. The lady coughed out blood. "Now go, go before I turned berserk and killed you!". The young lady held her hands and kissed it tenderly, before tossing them away at instance as a youkai darted toward them with great speed. The lady shoved her off and turned abruptly to the back. "I love you…I always will" she whispered as she lurched forward and brought down the youkai to the ground.
"Yuka-nee-chan" she cried as the lady screamed in agony when the youkai stabbed her chest with a dagger.
The young female youkai didn't want to give up and cast a spell and blow the youkai with an explosion, together with her. The flesh and the blood scattered all over the place. Tears kept on flowing endlessly on her cheek as she tightened the grip on the boy's trembling hand. The boy had already fallen down on his knees, knocked senseless by the sight of the bloodshed. The explosion ended with a huge puff of smoke hovered the area. The smoke faded away as it was replaced by another scene.
A young man, whom she recognized as the husband of the young female youkai, ruffled her hair. "Save yourself, bring Kazo with you…Go!" he said as he pushed her hand away from tugging at his sleeve. She pled him to come with them. "No! I'll stay and fight and died protecting you if I have to" he smiled. "You will always be my sister…and Kazo…" He patted the boy she's holding in her cradle. "Take care of your sister for me… now you're in charge" he whispered as he planted a kiss on the boy's forehead. The unconscious boy stirred restlessly and mumbled something. The man smiled. He turned away and charged into the turmoil, a spear swung around his hand. "Shi-ne!!"He fought until his last dying opponent took his last breath away.
"Wei-nii-chan!" She called out, trembling with sorrow.
The man staggered as he leaned to his spear. He looked at her and smiled. "Go…" He said it with a slight movement of his lips before he stumbled down on earth, smiling to the sky. The daylight faded away as the nightfall crept in slowly, bringing with it a new scene.
Another young man in his early twenty stood in front of her, with his back facing her. He winced at the stabbing pain in his stomach. A youkai was pulling out his sword from the young man's body. The young man completed his task as a human shield, shielding her from the deadly blow. He swung his staff and killed the youkai. Blood splattered all across his face, the youkai's blood. He stumbled into her arms. His gored hand went up to her cheek, wiping the tears away. "I've told you not to cry…you looked ugly when you cried" He laughed and ended up groaning painfully. "Now you're on your own baka… take care!" he said and dragged her face closed to his. He planted a kiss on her cheek before closing his eyes forever.
"Yue…kono baka! Yue-nii-chan!!" She wailed. Tears filled the pools in her eyes and the image of the dead young man vanished and was replaced by another image.
"Leave me!" a girl shouted at her. She shook her head, refused to obey the order. "Kono baka! Leave me, you still have our little brother to look after" the girl said as she struggled fiercely to set herself free from the strong grips of the youkai, guardian of the mansion. Another group of youkai darted furiously toward her but a blow was holding them off, surprisingly from the girl's staff. The girl stood protectively in front of her. "Go!" The girl ordered and punched a button on the wall with her fist. Bars of solid iron fell down and separated them away.
"Leya? Stop this!" she pled, clinging to the bars and held out a hand to reach the girl. The girl turned at sudden, held out her hands through the bars and grabbed her head. The girl coaxed her head closer to the bars and presented her a kiss on her forehead. The girl smiled and drew away her hands away immediately. She wailed and tried to reach her beyond the bars. But the girl kept repelling from her. "They'll kill you"
"No… they wouldn't, they need me to carry on the experiment" The girl denied. She backed away from the bars, neglecting the youkais that were scampering toward her. "But I won't let them have me fighting on their side and neither I would let them have you" The girl said as she brought out a knife from her back pocket. The girl drew the knife to her forehead and plunged the end of the blade into her temple. The girl screamed in agony as she dug out a tiny red marble from her skull. Crimson liquid poured down on the girl's face.
"No!!!!!" she shouted as she banged at the bars fiercely.
The knife slipped away from the girl's limp hand and landed onto the floor and the girl stumbled on the floor. The girl reached out a hand to her and she gripped it tightly. "I love you" The girl took her last breath along with the words. The girl's hand slipped away from hers.
"Leya!! Leya-nee-chan!" She wailed in horror. She closed her eyes and opened it after a while. She's not anymore inside the mansion, but in a wood instead.
"It looks like that I couldn't keep our promise of dying together anymore" A man's voice rang in her ears. She looked down. On her lap, laid a young lad of her age. The man shivered in her arms as he clung to her face. His bloody hands touched her face and then to his wounded chest. "I…I have to go first" he said and smiled to her.
"You don't have to do this, sacrificing your life for me" a boy tugged at that man's body. He cried, seeing his best friend in that state. The young man smiled and ruffled the boy's hair.
"Kazo, do me a favor will you?" he asked, holding the boy's hand tight and firm. The boy looked up. He nodded weakly.
"Take care of your sister for me… I could not keep my eyes on her anymore.." The man's speech started to tremble. "I trusted you to continue my task for me" His breath was getting shallow and faint. He looked at the boy with hope. The boy nodded as he wiped his tears away.
The young man smiled peacefully at the boy's reply. He pushed himself to sit upright and stared at her face. He held her face and drew her face closer to his. He kissed her lips and hugged her tightly.
"Aishiiteeru …koi" He whispered to her ears and fell down on the ground, lifeless. His hands slipped away slowly from her face and they parted away.
"Leon!!!" the boy screamed.
"Leon…" she cried, deep down in her heart.
She looked around and found nothing butt pools of blood.
The blood of her loved ones.
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Aiko snapped her eyes opened. She glanced around and gasped. She was in the same cave that she was in before she fell asleep. Goku was using her lap as a pillow, Dai's still sleeping and Sanzo…Sanzo was looking at her with wonders.
"Daijoubu desu ka?" Sanzo asked. He had stayed on guard since a couple of hours ago, and he swore that the girl slept restlessly since she last fell asleep. The girl moaned and groaned in her sleep.
"Hai!" Aiko nodded with a nervous smile. She trembled as she uttered the reassurance. She swept her forehead that was soaked with sweat. She leaned her head against the cave wall and sighed deeply.
"Nightmares?" A word popped out the monk's mouth and Aiko found it rather unusual. The monk sounded like he cared.
"Iya!" Aiko denied it with a smile. It was the same smile she used to display on her face when Kazo woke up in the middle of the night and found her gazing upon the stars high up in the sky.
"Ch!" Sanzo knew it better. The girl was not telling the truth.
"Honto!" She insisted. But then, she sighed slowly. 'It's not nightmares, it's just my past that I'm trying to live with'. Aiko stared at nothing on the wall in front of her.
"You didn't slept a bit don't you?" Sanzo was being a bit friendly and talkative tonight.
"Hai! How did you notice it?" Aiko admitted. No use lying to this guy, he would know after all. Alas, he's a monk, may be he can reads mind too right? 'Ops! That's too much'. "I have problem to sleep peacefully" a reason she thought would shut the man's mouth.
Sanzo nodded. The girl showed no effort of trying to sleep again.
"You can sleep now, I'll take over" Aiko said as she caressed Goku's hair tenderly. She always did the same thing upon Kazo when the boy was asleep. 'Poor Kazo…I never show how much I cared, fearing that he could not bear the sorrow if he was to lose me someday'.
"No need" Sanzo declined the offer. 'Okay, let me see… I put myself into sleep and let a girl on guard? That's stupid'.
"But Sanzo, you've been worn out by today's fight" She protested but was soon stopped abruptly by a gun pointed toward her.
"Urusai!" Sanzo warned.
Aiko retreated. 'Fine! Hard-headed bouzu. Don't sleep, keep your eyes open and die of fatigue in the morning'. Aiko cursed slightly under her breath. But then, a smile reappeared on her lips. This blonde guy did remind her someone she treasured so much.
Sanzo looked at Aiko from the corner of his eyes. The girl was smiling to herself. 'Gosh! If Hakkai has a twin sister, this girl best suited the position'. But, 'the smile seemed familiar'. Sanzo shook his head frantically, shoving away the sudden feeling of wonder in his mind.
"Darn!" Sanzo felt like his head could burst anytime now. 'What am I thinking? The girl was dead'.
"Huh?" Aiko lifted her head and gazed at Sanzo. "Sanzo, you said something?" Aiko looked at him suspiciously.
"Iya!" Sanzo replied coldly.
Aiko giggled. She was sure she heard Sanzo said something about someone being dead, but then may be it's her own imagination.
"Fried dumpling, meat bun, fried noodles…" the boy on Aiko's lap chanted the name of variety of food. It looked like he's having a very nice dream. 'Kazo must be having the same dream too'. Aiko laughed slightly and landed a peck on the boy's cheek.
"Aiko-nee-chan" Goku's chant suddenly changed. He unconsciously hugged Aiko's waist and nestled himself into the warmth of the girl's body. Aiko smiled as the boy fell deeper into his dreams.
'Aiko-nee-chan?' Aiko smiled. 'It's been long since I last heard that word'. Kazo used to call her by that name before she warned him not to. The reason? He would only be her little brother and would never grow up to take care of himself. Aiko admitted it, she might act a little bit harsh on Kazo, but she didn't want him to grow up as a crybaby. Furthermore, she didn't want to take any chances of endangering Kazo's life.
Aiko looked at Sanzo, the monk was reading a newspaper. 'Again?'. "How was your wound doing?" a concern tone slipped from her mouth.
Sanzo looked up and turned his gaze back to the news headline. "Fine!" he answered shortly.
Aiko sighed. 'Human definitely took longer time to heal themselves than youkai and this monk was no different, except that he's lying'.
"The youkai that have attacked us today were sent by Baron, they wanted the baby" Aiko informed the blonde guy, trying to evolve a conversation.
"No doubt" Sanzo already knew about that. The youkai told him during their fight. Other reason that he would figure out by himself, the youkai was too strong to be Kougaiji's disciples but too weak to be Homura's.
"Whatever they are, I hope they won't attack us while we're in this condition" Aiko's glanced at Sanzo. "You two are not in better condition for a fight" She combed Goku's hair between her fingers, sending the boy to stir in his sleep.
Sanzo had to agree with that too.
"Are you always this quiet?" the girl asked at sudden. Sanzo looked up. "I thought a monk would preach and preach and preach" actually Aiko was annoyed with Sanzo's cold attitude. She didn't know why she reacted that way. Usually she would just let it be.
Sanzo lifted his face and gave Aiko a glare that sent down a chill to her spine. Aiko gulped and looked away. Sanzo shrugged. "Are you going to keep talking until I say something?"
Aiko blushed. "Gomen, I don't mean to disturb you…it's just that…" She stammered at the sudden feeling of guilt in her heart. 'I just don't want thing to be this quiet…it makes me think of my past'.
Sanzo grunted. "You just need to talk to someone to chase the nightmare away" Sanzo finished her words. The girl's face told him that he was right. "The hell I care with your nightmares" Sanzo muttered and started to read again.
"K'so!" Aiko cursed slightly. 'May be I was wrong, this monk can really reads other people's mind'. She looked at Sanzo and secretly stuck her tongue at him, hoping that he wouldn't notice it. But the monk caught her in the act. Aiko gulped.
In a fraction of a second, the legendary harisen hit her right on the nose. Sanzo threw it at her instead of whacking her head with it.
"Ittai! Nande sun dai yo?" Goku's famous line came out from her mouth. She rubbed her aching nose and looked at Sanzo from the corner of her eyes. Her eyes then gazed at the harisen, which landed on the ground next to her. She picked up the harisen and waved it at Sanzo.
"Yay!Yay! I got your harisen, now let's see what will you use to whack our heads" she grinned a devilish grin.
Sanzo smirked, a menacing and devilish looks displayed on his face. He searched for something in his oversized sleeve and took out another harisen, new and fresh harisen.
Aiko gaped at that sight. The harisen he just took out seemed to sparkle in some way. "How do you keep a lot of this thing in 'that' robe?" and she stressed on the word that. She was amazed.
"Now, you were saying?" Sanzo grinned devilishly and Aiko started to give him a puppy look. She was soooo dead!
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Hakkai looked at the east. He flinched at the stabbing pain in his eyes as he gazed upon the rising sun. It's dawn and he's the first one to wake up. Actually, he never woke up from his sleep, as he was not sleeping the entire night.
"Hakkai…" Gojyo yawned and stretched his arms.
"Oh! Ohaiyo" Hakkai greeted him with a smile.
"You were not sleeping at all aren't you?" Gojyo asked without even bothered of returning the latter's greeting.
Hakkai smiled. "Hai! You knew me best Gojyo"
Gojyo sighed. 'Yes, he knew Hakkai too well that he didn't like it when Hakkai acted that way'.
"Should we continue our search?" Hakkai gave a signal that they should rose and shine, ready to look for their lost companions. Or is it them who got lost? Never mind, think of that later.
"Hai hai!" Gojyo rose up and shook Kazo's shoulder. The boy stirred and yawned but didn't open his eyes at all. Gojyo poked the boy's head, causing the latter to jerk up at sudden and cried of pain. "Wake up you lazy kiddo!" Gojyo ruffled the boy's hair.
"I'm.not.a.kiddo!" Kazo said it word by word and ended with him pounding the kappa's head.
Hakkai slapped his head. "Yare…yare…desune" . 'Not again'.
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Goku looked up at Aiko, now busy at completing her task, dabbing ointment on Sanzo's fresh bruised face. Actually, Aiko didn't look any better than Sanzo. There were bumps on her forehead and bruises everywhere on her delicate face.
Aiko's face was bitter, equal to Sanzo's. Aiko was not even looking at Sanzo and so was the latter. She just let her hand moved freely around the monk's face, dabbing here and there, even the spot where there is no bruise or bump. Sanzo on the other hand, just looked away and let Aiko did whatever she wants.
Goku scratched his head, confused. From the moment he woke up, Goku had find Sanzo and Aiko staring at each other with deadly glares. Their eyes were sending electrical waves and connected in the middle of the cave. Veins popped out of their heads.
Aiko looked at Sanzo from the corner of her eyes. There were plasters everywhere on the monk's face. Aiko looked away and let out a slight laugh, but then her laughter turned to tears. She sunk onto a rock and started to weep.
"Aiko…" Goku was indeed worried. 'What actually happened last night? Another attack from the youkai?'. But if that so, why didn't they wake him up?
"Sanzo?" Goku looked at Sanzo, hoping that the latter would help him to reassure Aiko. Aiko was still weeping for an unknown reason.
Sanzo grunted. He advanced toward the girl and handed her a hanky. The girl looked up with surprise. "Here…wipe the tears away" Sanzo looked outside the cave, it's already morning.
Aiko took the hanky and wiped her tears away. Goku was clinging to her arm, reassuring her with soft pleas.
"Why are you crying anyway?" Sanzo asked, turning his back to Aiko and Goku.
"You hit me too hard! Not fair!" She protested.
"Ch! Don't say it as if you hit me with mercy" Sanzo's eyebrows twitched. The bump on his head is giving him a headache.
Goku's eyes widened. 'What? Sanzo's being hit?'. Goku looked at Sanzo and Aiko continuously and scanned the area inside the cave. Two shattered harisens lay on the cave floor. So, the image he had seen last night was not a dream after all. The image of Aiko chasing Sanzo all around the cave with a harisen in her hand, and the image of Sanzo whacking Aiko's head with another harisen, it's not from his dream!
'A paper fan fight?!'. Goku finally realized what had happened last night and rolled on the ground, laughing like a maniac. His laughter didn't last long when the two elders joined venture and smacked him on his head with two harisens.
"Ittai!!!" Goku screamed. 'Double harisens, double trouble, double bumps!'. He rubbed his head with two hands, for two bumps.
"Here" Aiko handed the hanky back to Sanzo. Sanzo took it and shoved it inside his robe.
"Arigatou" Aiko thanked him. "Thanks for the hanky, but it still doesn't change the fact that I won last night" she sneered. A she-devil she was.
Goku laughed quietly, covering his mouth with his palm. 'Sanzo lost over Aiko in harisen's fight? I gotta tell Gojyo this'. "Bwahahha!!!" Goku burst out laughing after he couldn't hold it any longer.
"Ch!" Sanzo turned away. "Ikuzo!" he ordered. He walked toward the cave's opening, feeling the fresh air and the coldness of the morning breeze as he walked closer into the outside world.
Aiko cupped Dai in her arms and followed Sanzo. Goku was trailing her steps. "Aiko" the girl looked back to the kid behind her. "How hard you whacked him last night?" Goku asked, curiously. His voice was so low.
"Double as hard as he whacked you" Aiko winked at the boy. Goku giggled. "Luckily, he didn't use the shoureijuu" Aiko shook her head. She wasn't even sure how she managed to get involve in the harisen's fight and won over it.
But then, the fight brought her to her childhood. A time she treasured so much she wished she would never lost it.
"Sanzo! Chotto matte yo!" Goku ran toward Sanzo, dragging Aiko with him. Aiko had to keep her pace fast and swift to avoid stumbling down to the ground.
To be continue……..
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Ayie: Okay…in this chap, I included the OC's past in a form of a dream. I'm going to reveal her identity later on…Well, thanks for reading the fic.
Sanzo and Aiko: plasters all over the face Aiko: you know…you could avoid us from having a harisen's fight….
Sanzo: Ya…It's embarrassing
Ayie: But I like it..
Gojyo: well, the writer
said it…
