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: As usual… Arigatou for those who had read and reviewed. I really10 appreciated your reviews since it's encouraging me to keep on writing. For those who had read this story but did not review, I really hope that you'll review because I need readers' opinion sometimes so I'll know that I'm doing the right thing ^_^turned around and spotted Sanzo's trying to steal her pillow Oi kono namaguza bouzu! What are you doing?-__-+
Sanzo: You got four pillows already… I only got two…you better hand me that one or omae wo koruso…Whacked Ayie's head with the pillow
Gojyo: Oi oi! Kono baka onna and kono baka bouzu, can you see that the rest of us were trying to sleep here? Ayie and Sanzo: Nanda' to? Looked at Gojyo with menacing glare and suddenly hit him continuously with pillows
Hakkai: Actually we are trying to get Ayie to sleep early tonight…she was completely exhausted after striving to finish the last chap and a new fic 'Season in the Sun'…and doing all the cooking and the cleaning… but it looks like she's not going to sleep before it's dawn shook head and glanced at the pillow fight scene in front of him Goku: Chaaaarged…!!!! Dashed toward the trio with a pillow in hand
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Chapter 17 – The Haunting Past
Sanzo stared at the blazing fire right in front of him before turning his gaze to the girl sitting opposite to him. Aiko's face was a total blankness. She looked as if she had no emotions at all. The door creaked opened, making him glanced to the door. Hakkai entered the hut and walked toward the fireplace, joining them. He settled down next to Aiko and smiled when the girl looked at him.
"They are having their bath… and knowing Goku, they'll be long" Hakkai reported as he was assigned to shoo Goku and Kazo off the hut. Aiko wanted neither Kazo nor Goku to listen to what she's going to say. 'The boys probably took hours playing in the river'. "I made Harkuryu and Nimmiku look after them…so they'll warn us if Goku and Kazo were finished"
"Arigatou…" Aiko whispered as she fixed her sapphire blue eyes to the empty wall over Sanzo's head. "I guess I should go on with the narrating ne?" she tried to smile but her effort was futile. She sighed. She took a deep breath and began recounting her past.
"After I left the orphanage… my foster family moved into another town, and that's when I heard the news of Oshio-sama's death" Aiko glanced at Sanzo. She tried to find the courage to keep talking. She locked her hands into one another and twisted it round and round. It was not easy to let something you've being striving to forget to come back all at once. Suddenly, a hand was reached out from beside her and gripped hers tightly. She turned to her side and found Hakkai smiling at her. Aiko found her courage in that smile. "I thought Koryuu-nii-chan was dead too and I didn't have the courage to go back to the temple to pay a last visit to his dead body" Aiko continued. "I never knew that you had change your name to Genjo Sanzo" she added after a little while later. Her fingers clung to Hakkai's. Her past is all coming back to her.
"Otosan was an ex-Marshal of the Tougenkyou Royal Army and he's a good fighter indeed" Aiko gulped down sobs as she mentioned the word 'father'. "He raised his children and at the same time taught them how to fight, I was not excluded" her faint voice was being swallowed by her sobs. "I learned martial arts together with my siblings and my fiancée since we were kids"
"Then, when I reached the age of twenty… I asked for my parents permission to go back to Chang-an Temple and pay a visit to your resting place" Aiko shook the tears away and held back the tremble in her body as she glanced at Sanzo.
Sanzo sighed. 'Is it a mistake to announce that Koryuu was no more after the death of Oshio-sama?'. "They granted my wish as long as my fiancée kept me company, but we were not even halfway to our destination when we heard a rumor that a clan of youkai had attacked my village and took my sister away" Aiko shivered.
Hakkai tried to calm the girl by wrapping her shoulder with his protective arm. Now, he had a bigger responsibility upon Aiko. Hakkai looked at his other companions. They were listening attentively. He turned to look at Aiko and found out that the girl tried really hard to hold back her tears. Hakkai tightened his grip on that girl's shoulder.
"I went back to the village and found out that the youkais wanted to have me and my other three fighting partners to fight at their side" Aiko hung her head low. It was not easy but she had to finish it somehow. "Otosan refused and that caused the youkai to take us by force" she wiped away the first salty drop that ran down her cheek and struggled to avoid the rest.
Gojyo looked at Aiko. He could not stand to watch a woman crying. The sight reminded him of his stepmother. 'She was always crying every time she saw me'. He sighed heavily.
"Xiang was one of us before…before they turned him into a beast after one nasty experiment" Aiko gulped. She could picture the whole thing, the whole terrible thing. Leya, Xiang, Leon and she herself curled up in a tank fill with green liquids and youkais smiling at them every time they stirred restlessly. "After we were kidnapped from the village, the youkai made us undergo an experiment to turn us into beasts and Xiang was the first to complete the experiment while the three of us, me, Leya-nee-chan and Leon, my fiancée were still in phase one test" Her trembling hand wandered on her temple. 'They put that in my skull, in my head and it still lived and will never die'
"You mean you're already went through that experiment?" asked Gojyo, astounded to hear the girl's statement.
Aiko nodded weakly. She brushed a lock on her temple to the back and revealed a tiny scar that looked like a dot. "The phase one experiment was to give us extraordinary power and for me was my ki-energy, but this phase didn't turn us into complete beast" explained Aiko. "A chip was planted in my skull and the same happened to Leya-nee-chan and Leon, this scar was what was left"
The bishounens spotted the scar and sighed. 'It must hurt like hell when they put that inside'
"Before they brought me and Leya-nee-chan for the last experiment, which will turn us into beast, our family came and rescued us…" Aiko burst out into tears, as she could not hold on it any longer. Hakkai caressed her shoulder softly. "My family once said that I am their greatest treasure and being that, they sacrifice their own life for me" Aiko sobbed. Her breath is getting shorter and faster. "Leya-nee-chan helped me and Leon to escape from the prison but she herself didn't manage to do so". The sight of Leya plucking out the red marble from her own skull haunted Aiko over and over.
"My family left o-nee-chan like that so that they could protect me…but each one of them were slaughtered to death and my sister-in-law blew herself up to kill all the youkai" Her past which always came back to her in nightmares now is haunting her when she's awake.
Aiko's last statement made the bishounens gaped at her with sympathy. 'This girl's past was even worst than ours'. "I went back to the youkai's den to rescue my o-nee-chan but once again o-nee-chan helped me to escape by making herself a life bait… once she realized that she could not escaped anymore, Leya committed suicide by plucking out the chip which was planted in the phase one experiment from her skull…" Aiko stopped. "You see…this chip that I have in my head must not be removed or I'll be dead" Hakkai gulped nervously. 'Sou ka… so she was carrying a time bomb in her head all this time'
"So Leon and I, together with Kazo ran away from the den but we met Xiang in the woods" Aiko continued. "Xiang was a complete beast by then and he tried to kill us, but having to deal with Leon, who was ten times stronger and faster than him, Xiang was defeated" She brought her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly.
"Before he teleported away, Xiang managed to release a large ki-blast to Kazo and Leon, being the one near Kazo, lurched and stood in front of Kazo and received the blow" Aiko sighed. "He died soon after that since his inner organs were badly damaged from the blow" she finished her story except that it didn't end with a happy ending. Aiko sunk her face onto her knees and cried. She had to let it go. After Leon died, her tears had dried away. The sorrow was too great that crying didn't make her feel relief even a bit.
Hakkai's heart sunk at seeing the girl crying. He was going to cuddle her when Aiko lifted her face and smiled. The smile left the three guys completely puzzled. A moment ago she was downcast and drenched with tears and now she's completely jovial. Aiko swept away the tears from her face. "Ma…ma…what a beautiful sunny day" as soon as Aiko finished her words the door was pushed opened and the lively itan together with the young hanyou entered the hut merrily.
'That was close!' Gojyo sighed with relief. Luckily Aiko finished recounting her past right in time or the kids would surely heard everything. He glanced at Aiko. The girl is smiling again. And God he hated that smile much the same he hated the cries.
Sanzo stared at Aiko. It was obvious that she tried to hide her sorrow behind that sweet smile. Just like those years that they had shared together as young kids. Reika always hid her tears of sorrow and her cries of fear beneath her sweet smiles. Even Koryuu could never tell if Reika was either angry, or sad or happy. She always smiled as if nothing was bothering her. This girl Aiko is nothing different from Reika. They might bore dissimilar names but they were still the same person inside. "Ch!" Sanzo looked away. It was so annoying to look at the pretending face.
Aiko looked at Hakkai, who was holding her in his arms and smiled nervously. "Hakkai…" she whispered as she turned her eyes away into the raging fire. Hakkai turned and looked at her. "Are you sure you want a murderer… a mutant to be your girl? I mean… I killed a lot of people and I was not a human anymore and not even youkai or heretic and far from megumi-sama" Aiko murmured softly as a faint curl appeared on her bruised lips.
Gojyo managed to hear that remark and he replied it by throwing a tiny stone to the girl's head. The latter cried with pain as the stone hit her right on her temple. She rubbed the sore spot and sent Gojyo a raging glare that said 'I'm going to kill you'.
"Don't say it and hope that we'll feel sorry for you" that word didn't came out from his mouth. Gojyo scanned his companions and found the one who said the words that he had in his mind a moment ago. He sighed as he found that the claimer was no one else except the corrupt monk.
"Oi namaguza-bouzu, I was going to say that first" Gojyo yelled to Sanzo's face.
"Nanda'to?" Sanzo's vein popped out at instance at hearing the word namaguza. He took out his shoureijuu and fired twice over Gojyo's head. Gojyo sweat dropped and smiled frightenedly. He slammed himself to the wall behind him, next to the holes made by Sanzo's bullets.
Aiko and Hakkai sweat dropped. Sanzo's still firing out his bullets to the last, except now the target was on Goku and Kazo who were running around in the hut, chasing each other. The boys dodged the bullets and ran out off the hut.
"Ma…ma…Sanzo-nii-chan…" and Aiko bit her tongue for the slip. Now, she's going to get the price for her clumsiness. She grinned childishly, trying to be innocent as Sanzo glared at her with a menace look.
"And you… don't call me Sanzo-nii-chan!!!" the gun blasted and sent the bullet dashing into the direction of Aiko's head. The bullet missed it target by purpose and passed Aiko's cheek with several inches at distance. Aiko yelped and spontaneously hugged the man next to her. Lucky for her she turned to the right side. If she somehow turned to the other side she would have hugged the kappa instead of Hakkai.
"Ek! Gomen nasai" Aiko yanked herself away and blushed. Hakkai brushed the back of his head and laughed slightly.
"Chit..! This couple is making me crazy" Gojyo slapped his forehead in disbelief as he witnessed the event happening before his two eyes. "How often would you meet a couple who would apologized to each other as they kissed and hugged… you wackos were one of those species"
"Nanda'to?" Aiko asked, perplexed with the kappa's exclamation. She turned around to Sanzo and asked him "Can you lend me your harisen?" with one hand reached out to Sanzo's face.
"My pleasure" Sanzo took out his harisen and gave it to Aiko. Aiko snatched the harisen from Sanzo's hand and whacked Gojyo's head once and later turned abruptly to Sanzo and presented him the second whack. Hakkai stumbled head over heels at that sight. Gojyo and Sanzo stood astounded and gawked at her bewilderedly.
"That's for shooting at me and talking bad about me" Aiko tossed the harisen to the floor and dashed hastily to the door. Once she reached the door, Aiko stuck out her tongue toward the groaning bishounens. "Served you right!" she exclaimed before she disappeared from behind the door.
"Ano baka" Gojyo grumbled as he clutched his head in one arm. He looked at the monk. It was once in blue moon to see Sanzo rubbed his head after receiving brutal whack like that. "Sanzo-sama… how did you feel after being whacked by a girl?" Gojyo teased the mentioned man.
Sanzo's ears reddened at that remark. He had three strong reasons for that. First he hated being called Sanzo-sama, secondly he's not fond of being whacked by another people, especially if that particular people is a girl, and lastly, it irritated him when Gojyo was the one who brought it all in the open.
"Shi---ne!!!!" Sanzo yelled as he lurched furiously toward Gojyo.
"Yada…yada…what a peaceful day" Hakkai chirped merrily.
Sanzo and Gojyo turned abruptly to Hakkai. "Yameru Hakkai!!!" they warned him and at the same time struggling to punch each other's faces.
Hakkai chuckled edgily. He sneaked out of the fighting scene and dashed out of the hut at instant when he reached the door. Better to prevent than to cure. It was a disaster if the two started fighting and Hakkai didn't want to stay in the middle of it.
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Hakkai shut the door behind him and walked toward Aiko, who's leaning against jippu. She was busy attending to Nimmiku, who seemed to miss hanging around with her master. Nimmiku cooed softly as she nuzzled Aiko's neck with affection. Aiko returned the little dragon's favor by caressing the latter's head.
"Will they be long?" Aiko asked Hakkai as she rubbed Nimmiku's neck lovingly.
Hakkai glanced back to the hut. He could hear shouts and gunfire. The shouts were no doubt belonged to Gojyo and the latter would only belong to Sanzo's shoureijuu. "Iya… they'll be out soon" Hakkai replied calmly. "Aiko…" he looked at the girl.
Aiko looked up and smiled. "Nanda?"
"Tell me… Sanzo… when you knew him as Koryuu, was he ever the same like he was now?" Hakkai can't help wondering. It would be nice to know if the monk actually had a softer side when he was little.
Aiko chuckled. "Koryuu… he was no different from Sanzo, except that he didn't have any harisen or a shoureijuu at that time" Aiko answered. Hakkai giggled nervously. "But… Sanzo was different from Koryuu… back at those time Koryuu would never fight back if any kids teased him… now… you knew it better" Aiko added.
"I guess I did ne?" Hakkai laughed slightly. Then, he remembered something. "You said Xiang was one of your fighting partners back at Tougenkyou… was his power equaled to yours?" He needed confirmation. The last encounter with Xiang proved to him that their next duel with that white-haired man is going to be one hell of a fight.
"The four of us had different strengths, with Leon on the top, Xiang the second and o-nee-chan and I were the last" Aiko answered. "The only one who would win over Xiang was Leon" Aiko knew her chance of winning over Xiang in their next duel was quite small. She sighed disappointedly. It was not in her favor of fighting the love of her sister's life.
Hakkai wrapped one arm around Aiko's waist. "Daijoubou da yo…I'll be by your side" Hakkai reassured as he could sense the fear in his girl's heart. Aiko turned to him and smiled.
"Kyuu?" Nimmiku cooed with a baffled tone. Aiko and Hakkai chuckled nervously. As soon as they disengaged from each other's arms, Goku and Kazo appeared from the woods. Each of their cradles was filled with fruits and berries.
"That's a real reward you got there Goku, Kazo" Aiko praised the boys as she noticed their enormous offering. The younger ones smiled proudly at her approval.
"Hai! That will give us enough food supply until we reached the mansion" Hakkai approved the job well done from the boys.
Goku sunk his teeth into a fleshy and juicy looking peach and bit it greedily. He munched the peach and said "Hakkai… I'm right am I? I asked you to do the right thing didn't I?" he asked, sending a bit of the peach flesh to splattered all around his chubby cheeks.
"Goku, don't talk with your food in your mouth" Aiko warned as she put the boys' offerings inside a bag.
Goku gulped down the half munched substance in his mouth and looked at Hakkai. Hakkai was confused. "Which thing ne Goku?" he asked.
"You know… you should kiss Aiko in order to save her…? The legend said so" Goku continued as he took another bite from the peach. The tender and crispy flesh of the peach really turned on his appetite. "You kissed Aiko and she was fine"
Hakkai and Aiko sweat dropped. They could feel their blood steamed and the steams were reaching their faces and flushed it red. "Who told you I kissed Aiko?" Hakkai finally had the gut to say something.
"Gojyo did!" Goku and Kazo said altogether.
Hakkai slapped his forehead with disbelief. 'He did it again'
"Ugrh…!" Aiko grunted as her head blew off steam. "I'm going to kill that man… I am!" she marched grumpily toward the hut but Hakkai caught her on her waist and lifted her until her feet separated from the ground. She struggled to move and flailed her arms and feet frantically. Aiko seemed to fly in Hakkai's hold.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Aiko yelled as she tried to reach the door of the hut with her outstretched arms. Goku and Kazo stared at her with surprise and exchanged glances.
"Adult can be weird sometimes" Goku exclaimed. Kazo nodded approvingly.
The emerald-eyed man made Aiko sit in jippu. "Please stay here…" Hakkai smiled. Aiko grumbled. She folded her arms across her chest and stay put. Her face was bitter. Hakkai laughed merrily. 'She's definitely different from Kannan' and knowing that Hakkai was rather happy. At least he knew Aiko could look after herself.
Nimmiku hovered Aiko's head and perched on her slender shoulder. The she-dragon cooed soothingly, trying to cool off her master. Nimmiku snuggled Aiko's face and licked her cheek continuously. Aiko chuckled with delight as the latter's act tickled her. At last the steam on her head vanished and her reddened face turned soothe. Hakkai smiled.
Goku and Kazo hopped into the jeep and cuddled Aiko's neck from the back. The trio laughed merrily as Hakkai smiled with satisfaction. 'What could he ask for more?'
The door of the hut was pulled opened as Sanzo stepped out of the hut with Gojyo tailing behind him. Both of the bishounens walked toward the jeep. No words uttered from any of them. The brunettes and the gakis fell silent at instant. They stared at Sanzo and Gojyo with amaze.
Aiko giggled and at sudden clamped her mouth shut as Sanzo looked up and sent her a death-promising glare. She avoided her gaze from the monk's glare and looked at Gojyo. Then, she started to giggle again. Bruises and bumps were everywhere on the red haired face. And that's why Aiko cannot help herself from not giggling or chuckling like crazy. She could probably hold back her laugh if it was Gojyo alone but on the other hand, Sanzo also suffered the same bruises and bumps. Well, that was courtesy of their childish behaviors.
"Ikkuzo!!" Sanzo ordered as he walked grumpily toward jippu. Gojyo on the other hand, hopped into the backseat and settled himself behind Hakkai's seat. Aiko climbed up to the backseat and gave way to Sanzo. She sat behind Sanzo, trying to prevent the monk from doing any possible damage to the passengers in the backseat.
"Hai hai!" Hakkai settled himself behind the steering wheel. He switched on the ignition switch and the engine roared at instant. Hakkai patted the steering wheel affectionately and said "Ikkuzo Harkuryu… we don't want to make Dai waiting".
"Kyu…kyu!" Harkuryu cooed and the jeep sled smoothly through the wood, in the direction of the mansion. The passengers on board, high-spirited and highly-motivated, were ready for any possibilities in what was waiting at the end of their journey.
To be continue………..
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Ayie: Huargh…! yawned and fell asleep at sudden
Hakkai: glanced at sleeping Ayie, Sanzo, Goku and Kazo phew..! They're asleep at last. I would like to apologized on ayie's behalf for the delay… she's having writer's block recently. Furthermore, she was thinking about the next chaps, which are fighting chaps, which she found it quite difficult.
Aiko: Yupe! Poor Ayie… having writer's block and all… and oh! Azzie-san, please don't make yourself crazy by thinking what gender ayie is… Ayie and Hairi were definitely two different persons… Hairi was the mastermind, and Ayie was the one who made the idea came to live on black and white. It's true that Hairi is a boy's name but that's ayie's real name…
Gojyo: Instead, Ayie was Hairi and Hairi was Hairi… gesh! No wonder Azzie-san went crazy… I'm getting confused myself…scratched his head
Aiko: ma…ma… Gojyo…get a hold of yourself. It's simple…I mean they both shared the same name… but they are not the same person.
Hakkai: which means….?
Aiko: You still didn't get it don't you? slapped head in disbelief… Hakkai and Gojyo: shook head
Aiko: Hairi was Ayie's brother… who gave her all the ideas and the encouragements. However Ayie's name is also Hairi… see… they shared the same name… well some part of it. If any of the readers noticed this… ayie had already changed her pen name into ayie@Hairi…
Hakkai: Hai! She said she wanted her brother to take all the responsibilities too if she should ever get any negative responses. looked at Gojyo who had already asleep with confusion
Hairi's note: I definitely helped my sis with her fic… but it's not me who said all the things that were against men…e.g: "Men are so annoying!" from the last chap…she made it all by herself… and Homura (from Azzie-san ikkou), what made you think that man can't write beautifully ne?
Aiko: Actually they couldn't… that's why he asked his sis to write it all down instead he himself wrote the ficwhispering mode by the way… you would see Hairi interfering a lot in the coming chaps… he fought with ayie over the computer… and he won sometimes…
Hairi: she asked for it…
