Disclaimer:  usual stuff-I don't own Saiyuki

CHAPTER 1

The cold morning air beat against his face.  Kai made his way towards campus. He looked round ascertaining himself that he was alone, he slipped his hands into his pockets took out a cigarette and lit it.  Puffing out the smoke he grinned "My old man gets to know and I've had it for the rest of my existence" He gazed at the glowing end of his cigarette. It reminded him of something….red and glowing….eyes glowing ….with anger, hatred…..despair?! He could never put his finger down on the cause that provoked him to have such weird thoughts….Red eyes!!! Who the hell had red eyes anyway?!…… Well, he did know someone but Kai was sure he wore contacts in spite of the guy insisting that they had appeared a couple of times before him in his family… "Sh…." a name was coming to his mind…."Starts with a kind of SH sound but it's not ….nah! It's a totally different name!" Flustered he threw his cigarette to the floor and put it out. Another funny thought came to his mind….why was he dreaming himself dressed up as a monk and chanting….chanting till his strength was completely drained away from him…chanting….his lips started moving, words flowing out, words he did not know, words of an ancient dialect he couldn't understand.  Shocked he forced a frown to his face, it had by now become his trademark, "what the hell am I doing?!" he thought reproaching himself, "singing nonsensical limericks in the middle of the street!!!! The stress of the last year must really be kicking in!"  he lit another cigarette and was about to leave the side of his convertible when suddenly something pinned him to the spot where he was standing…..a feeling…a memory…a blurred image in his mind then….as clear as day …..A voice!

"Bye Mum, See ya! Thank for the lunch! And the lift too!" A boy still about 18, with brownish hair and large golden eyes, waved his hand at the empty street.

"Golden eyes…."thought Kai, "such a weird colour for eyes….yet, they are not easy to forget though, Son Gokuh's eyes…" Realizing what he was thinking Kai felt his blood run cold…why had this boy brought to his mind the name of that legendary character?!

Takeo turned round, he felt strange in this whole new world…a new city…a new life…"Funny though" he thought, " we've never moved house till now….yet it is as if I've went trough such a change before….a long long time ago". Then he saw him..a guy with blond hair shining like the sun…wearing….. monk's clothes?!!! Takeo blinked, he had seen wrong, the guy was wearing jeans and a shirt with the collar unbuttoned. "Strange…he looks kind of familiar…..But he wasn't wearing t-shirts the last time I saw him that's for sure! Now where could I have met him…...?"

Kai felt uncomfortable under the boy's gaze and with the unfriendliness, he had always shown others he said "What are you staring at?! Seen a ghost or something?"

The words seemed to jerk Takeo back to his senses: "Sorry! I kind of got the impression I knew you" he said laughing a bit.

"Yeah…me too" thought Kai but instead he said "Don't know who the hell you are!"

"Must be the excitement then! I'm new around here….don't have many…actually any….friends yet.  Want to be the first to show me around the campus?"

"Find another baby-sitter, whimp!"

"Now Kai! You could be just a bit nicer to the kid!" Rei Kamaki, the university genius, put his head out of the window of his four-wheel drive.

"Shut up clown! And wipe that hideous Mr. Niceties smile off your face! It makes me sick so early in the morning.

Ignoring him Rei held out a hand at Takeo, "Hi, my name is Rei and this is Kai-don't take what he says too seriously he's always a bit cranky in the morning. We're in the Psychology course"

Takeo took the outstretched hand and a smile lit up his face "Hi I'm Takeo! And I'm starting the math course this year".

"Wow math! Now that's a hard bone to chew! You must be a really bright one!" exclaimed Rei.

"Despite appearances…" put in Kai.

"Well… actually", Takeo blushed with embarrassment, "I only got here because I won a scholarship to study Bojitsu in this part of the country, I was the Junior Champion last year…and well this university is closest to the dojo so.."

"Wow! You mean to tell me that you little guy are Takeo Tomori? The Takeo Tomori?!! I can't believe this! Hey I love what you do with that Bo! The way you handle it…and those strikes! It's all fascinating!"

"Thanks! What can I say…I'm a natural! I can show you a couple of tricks one day if you like?"

"Thank you anyway but I don't think I'd manage it. I'd rather stick to Aiki", replied Rei feeling a bit guilty once he saw Takeo's disappointment.

"Oh well, in that case…" he looked at Kai, "perhaps I …."

"Forget it!" Kai shot back at the unfinished phrase.

"Did you know that Kai is the campus' best hits-man?" Rei was desperately trying to break the ice, "He can shoot any target yards away! And he hardly ever misses except for the fast moving targets…"

"Like the one approaching right now?" asked Takeo pinpointing at another guy, with red hair and eyes, who was rushing towards them.

"Rei...Rei! Do an old friend a favor….Quick hide me!" The guy ducked behind Rei's jeep just as a girl, blond and rather good looking was seen approaching them, steam pouring out of her ears.

"Rei, have you seen Shigeru?" she inquired.

"Sorry Reika, I guess he's late like always" replied Rei with the usual smile upon his face.

"The son of a …OOPS! Sorry!" she held a beautifully manicured hand to her lips.  "I must mind my language,  Hi Kai!" she giggled, "Are you busy tonight? I need some help with an assignment".

"I'm always busy. Get lost bimbo!" was all that the extremely chivalrous Kai bothered to say.

"Fine!!" screeched the girl as she walked away, in a worse temper than before.

"Phew! That was soooo close!" The red haired guy reemerged from his hiding place.  "Kai, you have no tactics with women! No wonder you're still single"

"I can live without them unlike some one", he snorted.

"Hey, just what do you mean?!" Shigeru's hands were already clenched into fists.

"You guys have already started fighting?!!" asked Rei; that smile was still playing on his lips. "By the way, Takeo, this is Shigeru Sanari…eh…the…eh…"

"Campus' biggest playboy! And that was No.43 right after dumping" continued Shigeru.

"Hi I'm Takeo. Pleased to meet you! What class are you in?"

"Economics…though I would rather have taken sexology…What time is it?"

"8.45", replied Kai bluntly.

"Shoot! I'm going to be late for physics!"

"But you don't do physics!" replied Rei in amazement.

"I know but Reileen does!" Shigeru winked, "See Ya! Gotta go make a girl's day!"  With these last words he ran towards the big white building ahead.

"Guess I'd better get moving too", Takeo gulped nervously, "gotta find room No.76. You know where it is?!"

He looked at Rei with his huge golden eyes and Rei got the feeling that those eyes had looked at him in that way a multitude of times before, although it was the first time he had seen them.  But then again this strange feeling of deja-vu was not at all alien to him. He had felt the same way the first time he had seen Kai smoking next to his convertible and Shigeru chatting with the girls the second he set foot on campus. It was in a way like being pervaded by a strong sense of nostalgia, a longing for some distant past. He still couldn't understand why this kind of bitter-sweet feeling.

Kai, Shigeru and Takeo were thinking the same thing too.  What was that unexplainable urge they had felt to talk to each other….to try hard to get to know each other, even Kai although it was completely against his nature to do so.  They felt that by getting to know each other each one of them could find the missing pieces to his puzzle or was it just one big puzzle?

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Kenren T: Hope you make it till chapter 2!!!

Sanzo: And why should they?

Kenren T: Cause I think it's rather Ok….well not too bad for a fanfic….

Sanzo: (sarcastically) Really?! I didn't notice….

Kenren T: (sigh)…..anyway…..despite the high ranked bonzou's support & encouragement…I really hope you make it to through the next chapters…