Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, plots, the whole load of Gensomaden Saiyuki. But I do own Yuki-chan and Soichiro-kun. The new characters for this chapter are Saijo and Mira.

Author's note: OK...I have decided to add in an extra chapter to this story as one of the reviews has given me an idea. Hope this is worth it...

*** means flashback



A Snowy Run-In


Chapter Three: A Snow Of The Past


Yuki stood at the opening of the cave with observant silvery eyes, her hands gripping the fur blanket draped over the slender figure. She watched the icicles at the edges of the cave and the fluffy piles of snows formed outside, creating small hills against the dark billowing sky. Looking up and down at the icy crystal stalagmites and stalactites, she ran her fingers over the icy smooth texture, enjoying the chill it created on the fingertips.


'Snow...so white and so pure...so beautiful and so clean...' just then, her finger had mindlessly moved on its own accord across the stalagmite and pricked her fingertip. A drop of blood formed before it trickled down the end and dropped onto the snow outside as a pale, pink drop where it splattered. Her eyes darkened ominously, 'Yet it can be tainted by such horrible things...'


A gust of wind howled into the opening, creating a loud guttural moan. Yuki winced visibly, her strong demeanor fading.


'Mou...yamette...not the sound...' her heart pounded against her chest, a cold sweat forming on her forehead, "Ahhh!"


All of a sudden, an unexpected pain throbbed in her chest, looking down upon her breast, she found that it was glowing in a sinister purple aura. She whimpered and tears of pain and sadness stirred up memories she buried in her heart and mind.


***


Saijo chuckled, "Mite yo, Yuki-chan, Soichiro-kun..."

"This is how our powers keeps us strong against snowy weather..." Mira said with soft eyes.


On a beautiful sunny wintry morning, a silver haired and eyed young youkai couple with their five-year-old two children, a boy and a girl in between, sat on a snowy hill in front of their cottage. Each parent was holding out a silver glowing cupped hand. Rivulets of snow and liquid ice formed a small but majestic arch between the two hands, mist flowing out of the ice created. The two children cooed with shiny wide eyes, their hands reaching out to touch the icy bridge before they transformed into a sparkling mass of snowflakes.


"Oka-chan! Otou-chan!" the little girl giggled, "That was so beau...bea...so pretty!"

"Yuki!" the boy retorted, rolling his eyes with a grin, "You meant 'beautiful.'

"Hai, Soichiro-kun," the mother nodded and turned to her husband, Saijo, "Your father and I inherited snow powers from our ancestors who lived in this mountain. This has gone on for so many generations. These powers enable to control snow and ice in any way we please and able to survive in cold mountain weather. You two have inherited these powers from us."

"Hontou!" Soichiro's eyes widened with glee, "Sugoi! Now me and Yuki can play endless snow fights!"

But Saijo's face held a grim look, "But having these powers comes with a price, children. Do you see that village below the mountain where we live?"


The children stood from the hill and looked down to find a cluster of snow topped roofs and trails of chimney smoke rising up into the sunny filled sky. Curious at their father's seriousness, the children looked back and nodded.


"That used to be our home but not anymore. Ever since the wave of unbalance have spread throughout Togenkyo, chaos was everywhere and humans lived in fear of demons."

"Demo, otou-chan," Yuki said, looking up to her father, "We did nothing to them."

Saijo shook his head and picked her up to carry her, "No, Yuki-chan, you see, long ago before you and your brother were born, humans and demons lived in harmony and peace. We got along well with each other and at that time, there were many of our kind who have inherited snow powers. Our snow powers brought many benefits to the humans. Whenever they need to cross the mountain, we can bring calm weather. And when their crops fail, our melted snow act as pure spring water to help plants grow. And the humans kept on teaching us of the way they live and we get to share their food, drink and shelter. But all of that changed, when the wave crossed over the land. The wave caused an imbalance between humans and demons. The demons lost their control and started to kill humans for blood lust. Some of them knew of their breaking control and ran away never to be seen again. Since that day, the humans became afraid of us and killed us in defense."

"But that is cruel!" Soichiro protested, "How can they do this to us?!"

"Soichiro-kun," Mira soothed the boy, "The humans are not to be blamed. They retaliate in fear when they do not understand what was around them."

"Because of the fear created, the humans started to kill our families, whether they have lost control or not, whether they were adults or children..." a vacant look appeared in the father's eyes and his voice cracked, "Your mother and I weren't lost in the control and managed to escape up to the mountains with a help of one human family who have been good friends of ours since childhood. But they died helping us as their human comrades killed them, thinking they were betraying their own kind. So we grew up in the mountains and realised that we are the last of the demons with snow powers. And then we have you two..."


Saijo's eyes lost the vacant look but there were tears at the edge of his eyelids and he brought the young girl close to his heart and gently kissed her forehead. Mira hugged her son close and also kissed his forehead.


"When you two were born...the both of us made a vow that nothing should ever harm you and so we never let the humans see us up here and live in seclusion," Saijo finished, before turning to his wife.

"Otou-chan..." the girl was starting to cry, "That is so sad...how could they be like that..."

"It's all in the past, sweetheart," the father comforted her before he smiled, "Because we are going to live our lives to the fullest."

"Yes," Mira nodded, "And you know that we both love you very much."


The children nodded with large eyes and sweet smiles.


***


'Yes...those were the happy times together,' Yuki-'s silvery eyes blazed with fury, 'But I can never forgive them for being murderers!'


***


"Odd..." Saijo frowned when he saw silhouettes that suspiciously looked like humans armed with weapons coming up the hills, "What are they doing here?!"

"It's impossible! How can they survive the cold weather?! Especially at night?!" Mira exclaimed as she hugged the children, who were now ten years old.

"Youkai!" the leader cried out with the people trailing behind them, "You must die!"

"Yamero yo!" Saijo cried out, "Go back while you still can! You can't survive in this weather!"

"Urusei! Do you not understand! Demons are killers and you are no exception!"

"Yamero!" Saijo held out a hand and fired small icicles.

"Ikuzo! Don't let them get the better of us!" the leader shouted and fired the gun.

"Kah!" Saijo was shot at the shoulder, spilling blood into the snow.

"Saijo-kun!" Mira cried out.

"Otousan!" the children wept.

"We have weapons now!" one of the men aimed the gun at the remaining shivering demons, "We can start by finishing them off."

"No!" Saijo leapt in front of his family, "Leave them! Leave us alone! Give us a chance!"

"And let you kill us in our sleep!" the leader fired the gun again, "Never!"


The winter howls of the winds were mixed with screams and gunshots. After what it seemed to be eternity, the human crowd surrounded the two demon children.
Yuki and Soichiro stared in angered disbelief as they stared at the bloody corpses of their dead parents. The snow surrounding the bodies were tainted pink with their splattered blood.


"Otou-chan..." Yuki's eyes were starting to glow darkly.

"Okasan..." Soichiro's voice was starting to sport a bitter edge.

"IIE!"


All of a sudden, the two children's screams echoed along with the winds and snow began to gather around their bodies, creating a gigantic whirlwind spitting icicles. The currents pushed the villagers off the edge and the icicles clashed on their bodies, creating scratches and slashes. The remaining survivors ran away, their faces frozen in a picture of fear.
As soon as the villagers were gone, the glow dissipated and they two young demons rushed to their dead parents. Yuki touched her mother's pale bloodied cheek before bursting into tears and sobs. Soichiro wrapped his arms around his sister and wept too. As they did, their hearts were filled with hatred.


"O-Onichan...I can never forgive them!" Yuki sobbed.

"Me too, Yuki-chan!" Soichiro nodded with blazing anger in his tear-filled eyes.


***


By the time, Yuki relived the memory, her cheeks became pale and blotched with tears. The strong icy mask was crumbling as she fell onto her knees, feeling the pain in her chest starting to increase.


"Onichan..." she whimpered, "Tasukete..."

"Yuki-chan!"


A pair of strong arms wrapped around her body and she found herself facing her brother's muscled chest. She looked up with tearful eyes and found his chest glowing in the same aura. Soichiro's face was filled with pain too. She sobbed and gripped her brother tightly.


"Onichan...tasukete...the pain is happening again. One minute I was staring and then...onichan!" she wept and buried her face in her brother's chest.

"I felt it too, Yuki-chan..." he whispered and brushed her hair tenderly, "I saw the memories again...gomen, imouto..."

"Onichan..." she wept and found her brother crying after hearing his cracked voice, "How long more...I can't do this...how can we make them die more quickly so that we can join otou-chan and oka-chan?!"

"Shhh..." Soichiro hushed her despite the tears trailing down his cheeks, "The talisman's power in our bodies will help us kill those human vermin and that pathetic Genjo Sanzo."

'Yes...' she thought as her brother kissed her forehead softly before hugging her close again, 'The talisman...'


***


"Perhaps I can help you, young ones..."


Yuki and Soichiro, who were now sixteen years old, stopped what they were doing and whipped their heads around to find the source of the mysterious voice. They found a man behind them. He was not demon at all. He was a human in a doctor's suit and lab coat, his cat-like eyes behind square-framed glasses, a cigarette dangling on his lips and holding a stuffed bunny. the two teens slitted their eyes, glaring at him.


"What do you want from me and my sister?!" Soichiro sharpened his claws, "You are not welcome here."

The man chuckled and stepped closer without any fear on his face, "On the contrary, dear boy, I am here to help you. I am sure that you have heard of the infamous Sanzo-ikkou..."

"Sanzo-ikkou, ka?" Soichiro frowned and turned to his sister, "Yes, we have heard of them by word of rumor."

"On no, it is not a rumor at all. I heard that he is going to come to your area sometime in the future. He will solve your predicament of your lost loved ones..."


At this, Yuki's eyes glazed over. Seeing the sad look on his sister's face, Soichiro growled and yanked the man by his collar.


"If you do anything to make her cry..." Soichiro exposed his fangs and pointed his claws at the man's neck.

"I offer you this talisman, young ones," the man stepped back and pulled out twin piece of paper with inscriptions on them. With a smirk on his face, he threw them swiftly, making each of the talismans land squarely on each of the demon teen's chest before they were engulfed in a blackish purple aura, "They will enhance your powers and make you stronger, you will need them to defeat the Sanzo-ikkou to truly lose the pain you harbor in your hearts. But there is a side effect to it..."


As if on cue, as soon as the glow faded, Yuki cried out in pain and fell onto her knees, clutching her chest. Soichiro, seeing his sister in pain, rushed to her side. He gasped softly to find a purple aura around her chest.


"Yuki-chan!"

"Ite..." Yuki whispered, blinking tears back.

"The talisman will not tolerate weaklings and will cause pain whenever it desires. Any upbringing of memories and display of weakness will trigger the pain. The talisman will not harm you when you are strong..."

"Teme!" Soichiro roared.


But the man was gone before he could even leap to land a blow on him. The only sounds he could hear were the man's laughter resounding in the mountain wintry air.


***


'Imouto...' Soichiro gazed down upon his sister who had calmed down. He sighed with relief when he found the purple glow around their upper bodies gone, "Ne...Yuki-chan...we must get some rest...doushita no?"'

"Onichan...gomen..." the girl murmured and brought a hand up to cup her brother's cheek, "I didn't mean to be weak like this...it just-"

"Daijoubu, Yuki-chan..." Soichiro shook his head and gazed tenderly upon her, "Once we kill them, we will be free and then otousan and okasan will be proud of us for standing up like this. Yuki-chan..."


Soichiro bent down to kiss his sister's eyelids tenderly before she returned him with a sisterly peck on his lips.


"Onichan...I love you very much..."

"You are very important to me, Yuki-chan. Can you stand up?"

"Hai..."

"Come..." Soichiro took her hand, "Let's go and sleep. We have a big battle and tomorrow...we are going be free."

"Free..."


Soichiro pulled his sister close as they went deeper into the cave where a nest of fur blankets awaited them. They pressed their bare bodies together in amidst the fur, bringing some warmth. Yuki immediately fell asleep in Soichiro's embrace, her head on his chest and her arms around his waist. Soichiro brought a hand up to brush against his sister's icy coloured locks before landing a gentle kiss on her head.


'Yes, Yuki...' he sighed and closed his eyes, 'We are going to be free and Genjo Sanzo and his group will cease to exist...'


**tzuzuku**


Author's note: I hope this is worth reading...wait for the next chapter! Please read and review!