Gojyo dismissed Shakujou.
As the winding streamers of mist dissipated, he dusted off his hands on his black jeans and surveyed the eight youkai sprawled out around them on top of the churned-up snow. The area under some of the bodies was stained red with blood, while the snow beneath others remained pristine white. Regardless of how their adversaries had been struck down, none of them would be moving again any time soon. "I guess these guys weren't so tough, after all."
The youkai attackers who had been waiting for them in the grove of evergreens had underestimated them badly. Hakkai would have thought that the sorceress in charge, who had already figured out that they were here on orders from the Sanbutushin at Chou'An, would have been more prepared for their arrival--but apparently not. The fight had taken just under a minute, and none of the attacking youkai had managed to land a single hit on either of them.
Hakkai bent down beside the nearest body, smiling in response to the disappointment he heard in Gojyo's voice. "I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure this isn't all of them." He came up a moment later with a ring of keys in his hand, which he held up cheerfully for Gojyo's inspection. "At least they've provided us with a way in."
Gojyo stuck his hands in the pockets of his winter coat, his crimson gaze narrowed as he scanned the snow. There was no question at all about which direction they should follow. Tracks had packed a nice little path in the sheet of white powder, leading to the northern edge of the circular dome. "Awfully damn convenient, to send out house keys with the welcoming party."
Hakkai responded with a smile. "Yes. After such a thoughtful gesture, it would be rude to keep them waiting. Shall we go?"
They followed the trail down to the side of the glass building. But as they started to walk around the circumference, Gojyo slowed and then stopped. "Y'know, I bet they'll be expecting us to go in by the front door."
"That's true," Hakkai said, stopping beside him.
"...And it would be kinda stupid for us to do exactly what they expect, even if they are a bunch of wimps."
"It would."
Gojyo kicked at a mound of snow, clearing off the large rock underneath. "What is it that they say about people who live in glass houses?"
Hakkai gave him a sidelong look, catching the implications immediately. "...That they shouldn't throw stones?"
"Yeah, that's the one." Gojyo picked up the rock, walked the ten paces forward to the side of the building, and then heaved it through one of the large glass plates. The glass imploded as the rock struck, dark shards raining onto the carpeted floor of the room beyond.
"That was effective," Hakkai said approvingly.
The comment earned him an abbreviated bow. "Saankyu." Gojyo used the heel of his boot to clear the remaining jagged edges away from the metal frame. "It seems like these guys haven't been in this business very long. They're pretty clueless about defense."
Before Hakkai could tender any sort of reply, a wave of vertigo struck him. He stayed very still, bracing himself against the wash of lightheadedness. This wasn't the first time he'd felt this dizziness--the first bout had hit him last night, right after Gojyo had woken him up from the nasty little trap that had been stored in that spelled quartz crystal. Originally he had thought it was just an aftereffect of the trap. But by now he wasn't so sure. He caught his breath as his eyesight wavered, skewing slightly, as if his perception had momentarily changed. He squeezed his eyes shut, and then blinked them open again, waiting for the odd sensation to fade.
Gojyo looked back in time to catch Hakkai rubbing at his temples for the second time that morning. This time, he didn't let it pass. "Oi, did the sun get in your eyes?"
Recovering himself, Hakkai just smiled and waved him off. "It's nothing," he said breezily. It had to be nothing. Certainly it wasn't any sort of attack. It was too subtle, and didn't match the pattern that their adversaries had been using. Far more likely that it was the precursor to a headache, or the beginnings of a cold.
Gojyo didn't look like he believed the offhand explanation for a minute. But he chose not to pursue the subject. The half-youkai had never been one to pry into Hakkai's business, relying on the knowledge that Hakkai would tell him things in his own time if there were anything that Gojyo needed to know. That unspoken trust had been a defining part of their friendship from the very beginning. Hakkai was grateful for it.
He followed close behind Gojyo as the half-youkai stepped through the hole in the outer wall of the dome. The room they entered was, of all things, a small, tidy library. Shoulder-high shelves packed with books and scrolls lined the sidewalls, and a large table took up the center of the room. There were only four chairs, indicating that it was probably a personal library rather than one for general use. There had to be over two hundred books here.
Hakkai couldn't help himself. Half-entranced, he stepped over to the nearest bookcase. The shelves were predominated by titles pertaining to geography, geology, and magic. "These look useful," he murmured. Magic and geology he could have guessed, from the nature of the trap that had been left for them back at the inn room. But to find books on geography intrigued him, and made him wonder where this group of youkai had originally lived before they'd decided to set up shop here.
"Hey," Gojyo said sharply from behind him, "don't forget why we're here. We don't have time to mess around."
Hakkai fingered the bindings of the books in front of him, tracing the gold-lettered spines. "Yes, you're probably right," he sighed.
He started to pull away reluctantly, then stopped as a glint of white toward the back of one of the lower shelves caught his eye. Curious, he crouched down to get a better look. A moment later, he reached back and hooked his fingers around the lattice of a small wicker cage, then rose to his feet and walked it over the table. The cage was just barely large enough to contain a little, scaled reptile curled up in the bottom, eyes closed and white leathery wings tucked up fast against its sides.
It was a dragon.
Even Gojyo paused at this turn of events. "It doesn't look too good," he said, poking at the wicker cage. "Youkai are supposed to ride these things, but this one looks way too small. Do you think they were going to eat him?"
"Who knows," Hakkai replied, his attention focused on the ring of keys that he had already pulled out of his pocket, thumbing through them until he found a small silver one that looked about the right size to fit the lock on the cage. The lock sprang open, and Hakkai worked it free of the wicker, opening the door. But the little dragon hardly twitched. Ribs showed up starkly under the patterning of fine scales.
"Not much of a meal there," Gojyo observed. "It looks half-starved."
"Well, then, we should probably give it some food."
"What do you think it eats?"
"Well, reptiles eat lots of things," Hakkai answered absently, fishing around in the pockets of his long winter coat, his voice slipping almost unconsciously into the cadence he used with his students. "Some eat green plants or insects. I suspect bigger dragons probably eat fresh meat. But unfortunately, we don' t have any of that right now." Finding what he'd been searching for, Hakkai set a roll of rice crackers, an apple, and a packet of jerky down on the surface of the table.
Gojyo frowned. "Since when have you started stocking a portable kitchen?"
Hakkai's mouth twitched up, although his gaze didn't leave the little dragon. "With our circle of friends? You have to ask?"
"Ch. That small amount wouldn't keep Goku occupied for five minutes." Gojyo's eyes fell on the closed door that led out of the library. "Well, if you're going to feed it, make it quick. We'll probably be getting company any time now."
The little dragon uncurled on its own at the scent of food. The jerky was a bit too tough for it to handle; and the rice crackers, while palatable, were apparently not the preferred food. Instead, the little dragon fell to work on the apple, devouring bite-sized pieces so quickly that Hakkai was afraid it might choke. "I'm sorry, Dragon-san," he said apologetically, when the apple had been stripped to the core. "I'm afraid that's all there is."
"Pii." The creature chirped, craning its neck up to stare at him with bright red eyes.
"Feeding time's over," Gojyo said, his patience obviously wearing thin. "C'mon, Hakkai."
"Ah." Hakkai rubbed the back of his neck as he regarded the dragon self-consciously. "I'm afraid we have to go rescue somebody now. You probably should leave here while you still have the chance."
The little dragon climbed clumsily out of its cage and stretched its wings. Apparently the food had done some good, because it proceeded to launch itself up into the air. As Hakkai and Gojyo looked on; it winged its way gingerly around the room twice. Both times it paused to hover in the air in front of the hole in the broken glass wall that led to the outside, but it didn't leave. To Hakkai's surprise, it came back over and settled without hesitation onto the left-hand shoulder of his winter coat.
The dragon's weight was about the same as that of a small cat. Its neck curved down beneath his chin and its tail draped across his back as it settled itself more comfortably in place. It was a very strange sensation, to have a dragon perched on one's shoulder. Somehow Hakkai found it oddly appropriate.
"Don't tell me you're taking it with us," Gojyo said.
"Well," Hakkai answered mildly, "we can't just leave it here. And it doesn't seem to like the cold. It probably wouldn't survive very long outside in the middle of winter."
"...And that means we should baby-sit? That thing won't last five seconds the next time we run into a bunch of youkai."
Hakkai considered that. The creature would be in danger if it stayed on his shoulder, not to mention that its presence could seriously hamper his fighting technique. "You're right, of course," he said to Gojyo. He turned his head and regarded the little creature on his shoulder with a polite smile. "Dragon-san, if there's a fight, you'll have to go away and hide for a bit, okay?"
"Kyuu."
The corridor beyond the library door curved away to the left and to the right of them, following the contours of the outer wall of the dome. It was composed of panes of the same dark material as the glass outside. It also turned out to be completely deserted. The only noise they could hear was the sound of their own footsteps echoing back at them from the opaque walls.
"Did we surprise them that much by coming in from the side?" Gojyo wondered aloud.
They made their way silently through the maze of deserted corridors, keeping track of the twists and turns as they worked their way closer to the center of the dome. After a little while, the hallway they were walking down dead-ended in a large set of double doors that appeared to be constructed of polished obsidian. The lintels on either side were lined with haphazardly stacked pieces of clear quartz, which flickered in the light of two lamps on either side of the door. The convex wall around the door was made of black glass, interspersed with triangular tiles of polished black marble.
"I'd say this is the place."
As Gojyo spoke, the doors swung ponderously open. Hakkai took the momentary opportunity as they were in motion to step over to one of the lamp stands, and gently nudged the white dragon off his shoulder and onto the horizontal surface of the brass pedestal supporting the lamp. "Stay there, please, Dragon-san," he said, feeling oddly as if he were giving instructions to some sort of strange dog. "Please don't be concerned. We'll come back here when this is over."
"Kyuu."
The heavy doors clanged to a halt with an air of resounding finality. Gojyo and Hakkai stepped through the open doorway.
The room they entered was a miniature version of the glass dome that enclosed this whole place. Curved black walls arose to a center-point a good fifteen meters above the black marble floor. At the center of the room about twenty meters from the doorway was a circular dais, surrounded by six pedestals composed of different types of minerals--lapis, onyx, malachite, jade, agate, and rose quartz. On top of each rested a bowl made of the same material. At the center of the dais was a throne made of solid crystal, and on the throne was a youkai woman, dressed in jewel-toned silks and wearing a collection of about fifteen amulets, all made of semi-precious stones. On either side of her stood a youkai wearing armor. Other youkai, armed but more poorly equipped, were ranged on the floor below the dais.
More to the point of their mission was the shaven-headed man dressed in monks robes, chained to the floor at the foot of the throne. This must be the person they were looking for. Sanzo had mentioned that he was a high-ranked paper-pusher at one of the other temples. ...A paper-pusher much like another high-ranking monk they knew, Hakkai had observed at the time, to Sanzo's annoyance and Gojyo's delight. Truthfully, however, it would be hard to imagine someone who looked less like Sanzo. This man appeared to be the kind who hadn't ventured beyond the temple walls since he was an apprentice. He was old, slightly overweight, and currently quivering with terror--the last of which being rather understandable under the circumstances. Monastic bureaucrats normally didn't get kidnapped and held for ransom by groups of hostile youkai.
"Greetings," the youkai sitting on the throne said, favoring them with an unpleasant smile. "I knew you'd come."
Hakkai returned the smile cheerfully. "Yes. And since you already know why we're here, why don't you just make this easy on everyone and let us have what we came for?"
The woman ignored Hakkai's words, her eyes resting on him thoughtfully. "I was very surprised to find out that you were still alive. There was enough power stored in that crystal I left in your room that you should have died when you touched it. How interesting."
"Look, lady," Gojyo spoke up, "It was a long walk to get here, and it'll be a long walk back. So don't waste our time. Release the monk so we can go and nobody gets hurt."
The youkai woman laughed. "You're threatening me? I hardly think that's appropriate under the circumstances. You both fight well; you've proven that already. But here you're on my turf, outnumbered by more than ten to one." Her voice abruptly lost its amused tone. "I am giving you your only opportunity to surrender. Understand that it's the Sanzo priest in the temple down the road that has what I want. I'll kill and keep killing his servants until he chooses to come and challenge me in person."
"Hey!" Gojyo said indignantly, "Just who are you calling servants? We don't have to take that kind of crap!"
"Oh, I don't know," Hakkai said to the sorceress softly in response to her earlier statement, measuring up the youkai force that filled the room. "Most of these guys don't look so tough. I think we may have pretty good odds after all."
Fury filled the woman's eyes. "You just lost your one chance to live," she spat. "Now my followers will rip you to shreds." She gestured with one hand, and the youkai surrounding them began to close in.
Hakkai took up a defensive stance. Beside him, Gojyo summoned Shakujou. Before the front rank of youkai could reach them, however....
"Halt!"
As quickly as the youkai had started, they immediately stopped their advance. The sorceress slowly uncoiled from her throne, staring narrowly at Gojyo.
"You're a youkai," she murmured in enlightenment, as her eyes traveled from the half-youkai's hair down to his hands, curled around Shakujou. Then she looked over at Hakkai, searching from head to foot and back again, until her gaze fell on the silver bands adorning his left ear. Then her eyes lit with sudden understanding. "You're both youkai."
Suddenly, she threw back her head and laughed--wild cackles of glee that seemed vastly inappropriate to the situation. The laughter echoed, the vibrations amplifying as it bounced off glass and crystal, until some of her youkai followers actually covered their ears.
Gojyo and Hakkai merely exchanged glances. "She's lost it," Gojyo muttered.
"I agree," Hakkai replied in an undertone. "Perhaps the stress was too much. Not everyone is cut out for this kind of job, after all."
The laughter cut off as abruptly as it had begun. As the echoes died away, the youkai lowered her head to gaze at them. There was an anticipatory--no, a triumphant smile on her face, as she reached for one of the many pendants that hung around her neck.
"Ah, but that makes things so easy...."
+++++
A/N: Heh. XD actually beat me to a Jeep story, posted yesterday. (Cute fic, XD!) Also, I didn't realize that there was actually a cannon version of Jeep's backstory already printed in the Saiyuki novels. Oh well, I guess that makes this fic an official AU rather than simply being wild fanauthor speculation. ^_^ A happy wave goes out to wonderful reviewers of this little fic, and some individual responses as well. Lizalou42: *bows* You're welcome. And your comment on the unconscious youkai was very interesting. That plot thread originally *did* have a more complete resolution. However, it was cut during editing to streamline the chapter. Since Minekura-sama never deals directly with the aftermath of "nameless youkai" fights, the cut didn't seem too out of place, although perhaps a softer cut with some hints about what had happened would have been better. Blades of Ice: Thanks for the comments. I hope your headache went away quickly! Black-ocean: Thanks, as always, for the encouragement. I'm glad you keep reading! Chiefraz: Heh. Not for much longer, at least. Only one chapter and an epilogue left to go. ^_^ Attiqah Gensui: Hope the wait for this chapter wasn't too long! I'm afraid yours truly was a little internet-limited during the holidays.... SeaGull: Excellent, glad to hear that chapter 2 was okay. About your question--Hakkai's comment certainly could be interpreted that way. Although, to say something "dryly" usually implies humor, so it was actually meant to be more of a reflection on the fact that nobody ever comes to help them/stop them whenever they get into fights in populated areas. ^_^ Nightfall Rising: *bows* Thank you. Your review (and the specific comments) was very much appreciated. Hakkai's voice usually seems pretty clear in my head during writing--I guess it's not too hard to tell who a fan author's favorite(s) is/are. ^_^ UltraM2000: Heh. Well, this *is* an action/adventure fic. Gotta have lots of fight choreography (more to come, of course). Thanks for the review. BranBlack: Glad you liked the story! And thanks again for reading, everyone. -V
