Bluj: And yet again, we say it.
Onna: WE DON'T OWN SAIYUKI!
Bluj: People have been asking how come we write separately. Here's reason number 1. I'm currently somewhere in South East Asia.
Onna: *wails* And I'm in the Southern Hemisphere studying!!! I'm oceans away from my best friend!
Bluj: *pats Onna* Reason number 2 appears below. But don't worry, Onna and I do discuss every chapter with each other.
Onna: I don't post any of the chapters until they are read and edited by the both of us. So no need to worry about chapters that will leave you confused unless we want you confused.
Bluj: This is a long disclaimer.
Onna: Shut up. Let's just get on with it.
*****
It was the pain that woke him up; a consistent pounding near the back of his head that overrode all thought and making him wish somebody had just chopped his head off to spare him the agony. Sanzo tried to shift to his side to ease the ache but there was someone else in the room with him – and it wasn't any of the three idiots.
"Don't try to sit up yet, Sanzo-sama," said a velvet smooth voice, too smooth for his liking. "The blow to your head was too severe."
What?
"Courtesy of your travelling companion, if I may add." The voice spoke, as if hearing his thoughts. Sanzo heard something being set down beside him. He opened his eyes but only darkness greeted him.
"They are not here now," continued the voice, somewhere to his left. "My son brought you here as soon as he saw what happened."
What...happened...? Sanzo couldn't remember. His memories were suddenly too fuzzy for him to clearly recall how he got here...or who hit him if the voice was to be believed. He vaguely remembered arriving at the town, buying the saru food, and then staying at the inn. Everything else after that was a blur of images.
"The young boy in your group," continued the voice, "came back to the inn and knocked you out. It was a good thing my son was passing by that time."
"Hn," was the only sound Sanzo could make. His tongue felt thick in his mouth. Did he have something to drink? He tried to sit up, but firm hands on his shoulders pushed him back down.
"I told you not to sit up yet. You would only be nauseous."
"Wh-Who...?" Damn, his voice sounded weak. Sanzo was hating this more and more.
"I am Facheung. My son's name is Ping Wei."
Ping Wei. I heard that name before. It was as though someone had opened a door to let in flood of visitors. Voices suddenly spilled into his head, each clamouring for attention. Sanzo squeezed his eyes shut and tried to get the voices to. SHUT. UP.
And then, something cool was being poured into his mouth.
Drink. The command came clearly in his head, drowning out the voices.
Too startled to do anything else, Sanzo swallowed obediently. Spreading chill quickly seeped down his throat.
The voices dimmed. His eyelids were beginning to feel heavy. He fought to stay awake but soon found himself drifting...
Hakkai didn't know what to do. Other than soothe the distressed Goku and keep him from going out to look for Sanzo on his own, the green-eyed man had no idea what happened to Sanzo in the first place. It was obvious the monk was abducted, but as for reasons why he was taken was unknown to him.
"If they wanted the sutra," he muttered to himself. "They would have taken it and left. But they didn't. Instead, they took Sanzo as well."
"This isn't a part of my plans." Kougaiji spoke from the doorway.
"Of course it isn't." Gojyo snorted derisively from his crouch beside the bloodstains. "Kou's too honourable to be abducting people."
"Was that supposed to be an insult?"
"What do you think it is?"
"Oi, this isn't the time for that." Dokugakuji cut in before the two could get even more aggravated. "We should be leaving."
"Oi! Matte!" Lirin bounded in front of Kougaiji. "We came all the way here to look for the Sanzo-ikkou and then we're just going to leave?"
"They don't even have the sutra! Or Sanzo for that matter!"
"Then let's go look for Baldie Sanzo!"
"Lirin!" The furious tone froze the young youkai halfway to the door. "We're not going to help them look for Sanzo. Got it?"
"Demo-!"
"I don't think it's a good idea to get out into the town now," Hakkai offered.
The four youkais regarded him silently as he smiled. "After all, we've just made the entire town our enemies."
"Those humans are no match for us!" Lirin retorted.
"That wasn't how we saw it."
The three older youkais exchanged looks as Lirin clenched her fists. "Well, we weren't ready back then! And those humans had something protecting them!"
"Something?" He saw the other two perk up in surprise.
"Um!" Lirin gave a brisk nod, green eyes bright with certainty. "They had some sort of shield protecting them when we fought! And something kept pushing us and kept us from moving!"
"Sou desu ne..." Yaone began but Goku was shaking his head.
"We didn't see anything like that."
"It can't be seen, baka!" Lirin retorted.
"I'm not baka, you are!"
"Bakasaru!"
"Saru ja ne yo!"
"Sou desu ne…" Hakkai ignored the bickering children. "Well, I suppose we don't have a choice now."
"A choice?" Kougaiji repeated. "For what?"
"Unless we find a way to get past whatever is protecting them..."
"...we'll have to fight together." Yaone finished for him.
*****
Bluj: The second reason I'm separating the parts is because I can't seem to do Kougaiji-tachi POVs well. So instead, I let Onna write what she wants to write while I edit the entire thing for her. Now that I've said that, I have a confession to make.
Onna: *blinks* Who says I write Kougaiji-tachi POVs well? I've never even written in Kougaiji's or Dokugakuji's! The last chapter I wrote was my first time to write in Lirin POV!
Bluj: *does not hear Onna's protests* For probably the first time in my ventures in Saiyuki fanfiction, *takes a deep breath and* I don't know what to write in the next chapter!! *wails in despair*
Onna: *vein pop and bonks bluejay* Oh geez, thanks a lot for dumping the load on me!
Bluj: *is still wailing*
Onna: *shakes her best friend* WILL YOU CALM DOWN ALREADY?!!!