Onna: Disclaimers apply desu! Time to wrap up this thing. Apologies for the delay in posting, but I've been so busy with my original stories and re-writing one that's been gathering cobwebs for years. If you want, check it out in my Fictionpress profile. My handle there is the same one I use here.
Bluejay: Plugging, she is. *shakes head* The shame.
******
It was the aftermath of their battle, and the Sanzo-ikkou were most likely lounging in their hotel room, doing the things they habitually did. Gojyo would probably be drinking alcohol again, while Goku would be surrounded by piles and piles of food again. And Sanzo would be holding a lit cigarette in his mouth as he stared outside the window. That Yaone could be sure about.
She sighed, looking up at the stars from her perch on a tree that was overlooking the hotel where the Sanzo-ikkou stayed. Things have been settling into a routine since she started working for Kougaiji. It was always going after Sanzo and his sutra, fighting Hakkai, and then working together when another enemy shows its face. This was really no different from all those other instances, she reminded herself.
But somehow, something was different. The look in his eyes, the gentleness of his touch, it's as if there was something behind it all. When their leader wasn't around, Yaone had become more perceptive of his actions. It was as though she had been free to observe, without the sight of the monk to remind her of their overall goal. She sighed, leaning back against the trunk, thinking, yet not really knowing where her thoughts were going.
Did she really have feelings for Hakkai, her enemy? And could it be possible that he felt the same way about her?
Yaone shook her head, knowing she should not be thinking about this. She promised Kougaiji, and she resolved to follow him till the day of her death.
But where did that leave her feelings?
"You know, if you grip that branch any harder it would snap," the soft tenor of his voice startled her and she snatched at the branch under her legs to steady herself. He responded with a laugh.
Yaone felt her face flaring. "Hakkai-san, that was not funny!"
"Hontou? I found it very amusing," he chuckled, then laid one hand on the large, rough trunk. "Mind if I join you?"
She blinked in question, then shrugged. "If you wish to," Yaone answered. He began climbing gracefully and smoothly, and she voiced her surprise. "I didn't know you could climb trees."
"If you were once a schoolteacher with children whose toys often stuck to trees, then it's something you have to learn," Hakkai said as he settled on the branch above her and smiled. "You are deep in thought, are you not?"
"H-Hai..." she murmured, unable to meet his eyes. "You do understand. That after today, we're enemies again."
Hakkai remained silent, perhaps thinking on what she had just told him. But it was the truth, even if in the back of her mind, she railed at their situation.
She saw him nodding slowly from the corner of her eye. "I understand, Yaone-san. That is why I chose tonight to speak with you."
Yaone narrowed her eyes as she tilted her head to one side. "What do you wish to tell me?"
He grinned at her. "I don't think Sanzo will be too happy with what we've done. I mean, after all, the fighting we've done till now was with youkais. But in this case, we fought - and killed - humans."
"I didn't think Sanzo-san would go as far as shoot the man..."
"Neither did I," Hakkai continued, turning serious. "I'm not too happy about it myself, having been put through this journey to stop the unnecessary sacrifice of human blood. Instead, we find that there are humans who are just as willing to be corrupted by all this power."
She nodded slowly, then asked, "Why are you telling me this? After all, you were sent on that journey to stop Kougaiji-sama, who I work for. I am your enemy after all."
"The reason I tell you this is because I don't see you as my enemy, you're just on the other side of the fence. I can always talk to someone over the fence, can't I?"
"W-Well-" Yaone stammered as her face burned. "I-I guess you can..."
He didn't see her as an enemy, and she realized that she didn't see him as one as well... The realization lifted the heaviness on her chest.
He continued to speak to her about his thoughts on their previous battle, and she gave him her own insights – and misgivings – as well. The battle had taken its toll on both of them, she knew, and the drain on their bodies was matched by the drain on their spirits. Their talk somehow allowed to express this, and before long both began to feel slightly better.
Only slightly though, since Yaone was no closer to the answer to the question of her heart.
All she had as a clue was the way he looked at her when they decided to climb down from the tree, the touch of his hand as he helped her down.
As she turned to leave, he placed a hand on her shoulder and whispered, "I enjoyed our talk..."
"As did I..."
He held her hand a bit longer than expected, then she moved to blend with the darkness, leaving him there...
I'm on the other side of the fence, Hakkai-san... but someday...
Someday...
We'll be on the same side of the fence...
I just know it...
******
Sanzo turned around when Hakkai entered the room. "Don't forget they're supposed to be our enemies."
The human-turned-youkai paused before he shut the door. "I won't, Sanzo."
"You know I won't hesitate to kill you if you get in my way."
"Hai."
The monk returned to his staring out the window, smoke from his cigarette floating lazily as though mimicking his indifference. Hakkai started picking up things – discarded beer cans and food wrappers mostly, but also a wayward sock here, a bundle of towels there – and putting them in their rightful places. Sanzo was a neat person. It was only times when he had too many things to think about, meaning that he wanted to be left alone and undisturbed, that he tended to leave things the way they are to be picked up later by himself or Hakkai. And the green-eyed youkai didn't mind it, used as he was to Gojyo's messy habits.
Sanzo hissed suddenly, making Hakkai pause in the middle of folding the towels. "Sanzo...?"
"Damn...bakasaru." The monk's fingers had twisted his unfinished cigarette, annoyance plain on his pale features. "He's too noisy."
Hakkai could only blink in confusion. "I didn't hear anything."
Violet eyes stared back at him in surprise, framed by moonlight coming from the window. "Didn't you? He's shouting loud enough for the entire inn to hear."
Hakkai blinked some more. "Anou, are you sure you heard Goku? Because the entire inn has been silent ever since I came back."
*****
Onna: WAH! Mushy! XD *runs far, far away from Bluejay* Okay, I'll probably leave fanfiction writing after this and work on my originals! XD
Bluejay: This is what I get for getting a romantic-at-heart as my co-author... *takes bow and arrows and proceeds to run after Onna* Well, someone was asking what happened with the previous chapter and I understand it didn't quite meet up with expectations. There's a simple reason for it. I was reminded yet again of the silliness of this fic and try as I might, I can't bring my creative juices into it any better. So, I decided to end this as quickly as I could, and focus my energies into writing what could be my last Saiyuki fanfic: The Art of War. Thank you for your patronage and I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed my modest offerings.