I want to thank dream-eater-is-hungry for the short review. Even
though it's only one, it is very encouraging for an amateur writer like me.
Thank you.
Forgive me, but this chapter, when it gets half way through, is almost the same with the 5th episode, I think. It was because I had to put it in there and the "girls" couldn't do anything about it. They are still very confused about what they should do
Oops, I think I said too much, sorry. Enjoy!
* * * * *
Chapter Six
The girls and the Sanzo party stood there as the purple light from the necklace covered Yohina. The next thing they knew, Yohina wasn't there anymore, neither was the necklace.
"What...what happened?" Sakura muttered with shock. No one said anything. They were all speechless.
"She...I...I...think she went back." That was the only thing appeared in Vessica's mind.
"But it's impossible. All these times we came and left together. How could she go back by herself?" Machi said with defiance.
"It's not! You don't know anything! We still don't know why we are here and how! How could you say it's impossible if you don't know anything about it?!" Vessica shouted back. Then the quarrel started between Machi and Vessica while the others just stood there, thinking.
"If you would allow me to talk, then I say your friend there went back in her own will. If the necklace is the reason you guys are here, then when she threw away that necklace, that power was lost to her and so she just gone back to your world." Sanzo said with indifference.
"I wonder if we could go back if we do what she had done." Nuriko muttered thoughtfully.
"Who cares? I don't want to go back. Staying here is fun. At least it's better than all of the homework we have." Machi muttered and sat down carelessly. Vessica and Sakura didn't say anything.
"Well, just go to sleep now, girls. We still have to go on our journey tomorrow. I'm sure Yohina would be fine no matter what happened, especially if she went back to your world." Hakkai said with an awkward smile. Yohina's friends thought he would be right, but he was definitely wrong. Yohina would be better off if she had gone elsewhere and not back to her own world.
* * * *
"Where have you been?" Yohina's mother shouted as she saw her daughter standing right there in front of her.
"I...I didn't go anywhere." Yohina didn't know what to say.
"Where...where is Sakura? Where is she?" Sakura's mother grabbed Yohina and screamed at her ear desperately.
"Stop it! I...I don't know! I didn't see her! They were together and I was alone! I don't know anything!" Yohina screamed back with anger.
"I'm so glad you are OK. But really, where did you go and how can you get back in here without a key?" Yohina's mother asked when she was finally alone with her daughter and husband.
"I really don't know, mom. I want to go to school right now. I'm sure the others will be all right, wherever they are." Yohina muttered sadly.
Her mom studied her, but she couldn't find anything suspicious on Yohina's face, nothing but sadness and depression. Slowly, she nodded. "All right, but are you sure? It'll pretty tough at school." She muttered.
"I'll be fine. Going to school is much better than staying home." Yohina said and thought back about how she went to the Saiyuki world. She never wanted to go back again.
Yohina walked into her class with a sunken heart. She knows that everyone was going to ask her questions, but she didn't want to stay home. She wouldn't be able to stand the loneliness at home. As she stepped into the room, the silent classroom broke into whispers. She didn't mind it and handed the teacher her pass.
She tried her best to ignore the whispers, but found herself couldn't. Suddenly, she wished that she had stayed home after all. Yet, when she caught her friends' worried faces looking at her, the weight lifted off of her shoulders.
"You OK?" Takeya asked quietly as Yohina sat down in her desk. "I'm fine." Yohina answered and then became absent-minded.
Her mind was in turmoil the whole time the class went on. She didn't even know how she managed to get from one class to another. It was as if she was in one room this minute and another room in the next minute.
"Yohina! Answer this question!" Her calculus teacher's rough voice broke through her thoughts. Startled, she looked up and asked with a dumbfounded look, "What?"
Everybody was looking at her now, as always when somebody was called to answer the calculus questions. Yet, that wasn't the only reason. It was also because of Yohina's sudden reappearance after disappearing for 3 days.
"I asked you to answer the question!" Mr. Calculus said sternly with anger. They called him Mr. Calculus because he was the most strict teacher in the whole school, probably the entire country, and also because he wouldn't allow any talks about any other subjects in his class. If you linked a calculus problem to another subject, he'll tell you to go out for 10 minutes or more and give you at least 100 problems to finish within that time.
Yohina looked at the board and saw the problem on the board. Without thinking, she answered, "I don't know the answer."
"How can you not know? I've been explaining this problem for the past 30 minutes! I just changed the numbers and you don't know? What were you doing? Dreaming?" The teacher bellowed.
Yohina wanted to say "yes", but told herself to shut up. She knew what her punishment would be, but she didn't care. In the past year, calculus had become the subject she didn't care for.
"Take this workbook and go outside! Do pages 35-40 and finish it before the end of class. It's a test grade!" Mr. Calculus said dangerously as he saw the indifferent look on Yohina's face.
She sighed as she grabbed her pencil, eraser, the "book", and left the classroom. Chairs weren't so hard to find since there were always at least four chairs outside the calculus classroom. Her heart sunk deeper as she flipped through the six pages that she had to do. She didn't even know half of it. Yet, she had no choice. She started on it quickly, but was soon irritated and bored. She suddenly wanted to cry as she wondered if Vessica and the other girls were all right.
"Crying now?" Tyler's voice startled her. She wept away the few tears that were coming out and forced a smile.
"Not really. I was just wondering what happened to Sakura and the girls." She muttered and avoided looking at him.
"Tell the truth, Yohina. What really happened? Where were you for the past three days?" Tyler asked gently.
"I don't really know, Tyler. I don't know what happened." She answered quietly, which was half of the truth. The something hit her. "Wait! Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in class?" She asked with shock as she wondered why did Tyler get out also. He's usually the model boy in Mr. Calculus' class.
Tyler suddenly smiled awkwardly as he grumbled, "well, I...I..."
"Thanks, Tyler." Yohina knew what happened and she was really thankful for his company.
For the rest of the time left, the two of them worked on the pages they had to do. It wasn't really hard once Yohina really put her mind into it. The two of them finished exactly when the bell rang. Mr. Calculus looked satisfactory enough when they turned in the answers.
During lunch, Tyler wanted to sit with Yohina and her pals since Jason was also sitting with them even though Nuriko wasn't here, but Yohina said she would be fine and he should go back to his friends. She didn't want to attract more attention to herself, especially not from Tyler's snobby cheerleader girlfriend Amelia.
"Looks like somebody's got a crush on you, Yohina." Jason said as he eyed his brother weirdly.
"What are you talking about? If you are talking about the roses, I gave them away the next day to a cheerleader I knew got a crush on Kyle. Kevin told me about it." Yohina wasn't thinking at all.
Jason kind of laughed at her and shook his head helplessly. "What is wrong with you today? Did you get cursed or something? Tyler told me that you got kicked out of class in Calculus." Jason asked with a teasing smile.
Yohina didn't answer him and looked around. Everything looked the same, except that Machi wasn't here. It kind of feels quiet without her blabbermouth and easiness. Takeya was sitting across from her, talking with some other friends on the other table. Jason was the only one sitting with her, and maybe two other girls who Yohina didn't really know.
She ate her lunch quietly, answering Jason's questions. She knew that he was just trying to cheer her up, but she didn't have the spirit, but she didn't want to make him feel bad either. When lunch was almost over, Kevin came and sat down beside her.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your friends?" Yohina asked with annoyance.
"Look, I know you don't feel so good and all, but I found out who sent those roses this morning. I was just wondering if you want to know. It's quiet surprising, really!" Kevin sounded convincing and excited. Yohina turned to look at him with little interest in her eyes.
"Who?"
"Guess."
"How am I suppose to know? There are so many boys in this school. Just tell me, I'm not in the mood to play with you." Yohina said with irritation.
"All right, but I think you wouldn't believe me. It's one of my friends." Kevin said with a smile.
"Who? Kyle?" Yohina asked with sarcasm as she drank some water.
Kevin didn't say anything and nodded. Yohina looked at him sideways and choked on her drink. "What?" That was the only word she managed to say.
Kevin shrugged. "That's what I heard from Scott this morning. He was the one who ordered the roses for Kyle. I didn't believe it, but the others told me the same thing, and Kyle looked uncomfortable when I asked him about it." He explained.
"I don't believe you. Kyle likes me? You've got to be joking. What about his girlfriend Janice? Besides, he hates me. I've always gotten him into trouble." Yohina muttered carelessly, but she turned around to look at where Kyle was sitting, nevertheless. He didn't seem to notice her as he joked around with his basketball friends, but Janice was nowhere to be seen.
"Believe me or not, it's true. Oh, if you haven't heard the news yet, Kyle broke up with Janice on Monday. Well, I'm just telling the truth. Bye." Kevin left with a kiss on Takeya's cheeks.
"That went well." Jason commented. Yohina gave him a small smile. "Don't believe him. Kyle's just playing a joke. You know him better than I do." She mumbled, but Jason didn't remark on that.
The rest of the day went by quickly. In the afternoon, Yohina was able to concentrate more on her schoolwork than that had happened days before. She didn't get scolded in her other classes and everything was peaceful. However, when school ended that day, she found the purple triangle necklace inside of her locker. It didn't look as shiny as before. Rather, it looked dull and rusty with the color barely visible, but Yohina knew what it was anyway. She wanted to throw it away, but thought better of it.
* * * *
The next day, the Sanzo party and the four girls reached a restaurant called Tavern Yamatoya. They were famished, so everyone wanted to go and have something to eat. They got their own little corner in the restaurant and waited for the waitress. There was only one waitress even though the whole tavern was full. They waited patiently while discussing about Yohina.
"I'm worried. I wish I could go back and see if she really returned to our world." Vessica muttered, but the others didn't really care.
"Oh, she'll be fine. If not, the worst thing that could happen to her is dying. Big deal, she wouldn't mind." Machi muttered as she wondered when is the waitress going to get here. She was really hungry.
As they talked, the waitress came up to them. "Sorry about the waiting. There are just too many customers. So are your ready to order?" The waitress was a pretty lady with purple hair tied back in one ponytail. She wore a pink cheongsam that was down to her knees and showed her slender body figures.
"Yes, we are." Goku shouted out with excitement and then the eight customers threw out their orders like firing bullets at demons. The waitress kept asking them again and again to make sure that she didn't miss out on anything.
"Is that all?" She asked with another pretty smile once the customers finished talking. They nodded. "Then, may I suggest the blue plate special? It's only for today." She inquired.
Without for anyone else to answer, Goku and Machi shouted out "yes." That was the end of that. About 15 minutes later, the waitress brought in all of their orders. "This is all of your orders. It is to die for!" She said with excitement as if she was eating the food.
"Think this is enough?" Gojyo asked as he looked at the table full of food.
"For Goku I wouldn't be so sure." Hakkai answered him with the smile he always has. "And for Machi." Sakura added, but Goku and Machi were both too preoccupied with the food. They wondered if they could start eating now.
Yet, just as when Goku was about to put the first piece of chicken into his mouth, the waitress gave out a little scream as the plate she was carrying dropped on the ground. They all turned to look and what was going on and saw several other male customers being very impolite.
"You are right, man. The service here could be much nicer." The one wearing a blue shirt said as he gave a perverted look at the waitress.
"Man, I could kill them so easily. If only..." The waitress thought murderously as she tried to get out of the man's grip.
Then the man suddenly let go of the waitress and gave out a yell himself. "You don't like the service here? Then maybe you should get out." Hakkai said as he twisted the man's arm. The man looked very painful from Hakkai's grip. A sudden shocking thought passed through the waitress' mind at Hakkai's doing.
"Mind your own business, you bastards!" Another man wearing green said as he kicked the table full of food and everything was spilled. "Thanks a lot, you jerk." The waitress muttered unhappily.
Yet, a thrilling cry came and everybody turned and saw Goku in tears. "Why? You bastards!" Goku cried and hit the man who overturned the table.
"You want a fight, kid? Let's have a fight!" Another man shouted and the next thing everybody knew, Goku and Gojyo were fighting against at least 15 other men in the tavern while all of the other customers enjoyed the entertainment. As for the four girls, Sakura, Nuriko, and Vessica didn't really care about the food even though they were famished, but as for Machi, she joined the fight because the men also disturbed her precious lunch.
Sanzo just sat there with Hakkai standing beside him, watching the little fight. "You know, it's ironic that they should be fighting the very people we are suppose to be protecting." Hakkai commented. "Very ironic indeed..." Sanzo nodded thoughtfully.
"Hey, aren't you their friends? Shouldn't you be fighting also?" One man asked and without waiting for Sanzo's reply, he charged forward with his fist tight. Yet, Sanzo just stretched out one foot and the man tripped.
"Hmm...Face flat on the floor." He muttered without any humor in there.
While the fight was going on, the waitress looked around with a heart of turmoil. She came here on her free will to kill the Sanzo party, but somehow she found that she couldn't do it anymore. "It...It's just they are so different..." The thought appeared in her mind and it was true. They were different. They saved her when she expected them not to care at all. They were nice people, or demons. She couldn't do it. Yet, she remembered when Kougaiji saved her years ago. She was to be sent to Hyakugan Maoh because of her beauty and also knowledge in the medicine field. However, when Kougaiji saw her crying while she was following the servant into the palace, he took her under his care and he had cared for her for the past few years like he had promised.
"Is this how I repay his kindness? With betrayal?" She thought, hating herself. Then, her mind was settled on killing the Sanzo party.
While Gojyo, Goku, and Machi were fighting with the annoying men, they smelled something weird all of the sudden and felt dizzy. Soon, the men dropped to the ground and fell asleep while Hakkai figured out what they were breathing in. It was sleeping powder. Yet, he wondered who did it as he warned the ones who were still standing and covered his own nose and mouth with his hand.
Soon, he found that he and Vessica were the only ones left standing in the whole room, well, except for the waitress. "So you are the one who did this?" Hakkai asked with anger. He barely gets angry, but when his friends were threatened, he sometimes couldn't control his anger. By that time, Vessica was right beside him.
"You are an assassin...sent by Kougaiji!" Vessica muttered and took Hakkai's line in the story.
The waitress just smiled as she took off the bracelet she was wearing. "The bracelet! It's her demon power limiter!" Hakkai muttered as he caught the bracelet. Yet, before he could do anything, a spear was stabbed at his face and he jumped back.
"Hello, my name is Yaone. As you said, I'm here to kill you, so get ready to die!" The waitress said with a spear in hand and then attacked viciously. Yet, Hakkai was a much more experienced fighter than Yaone as he dodged every one of her attacks. As for Vessica, her katana was in hand, but she didn't know what to do. Yaone's attacks were too fast for her to interfere.
Then, all of a sudden, Yaone's spear brushed by Hakkai's face as she forced Hakkai out of the door to the clearing outside of the tavern. "Just die!" Yaone shouted as she attacked again. Yet, that attack was a total failure. Hakkai grabbed the end of the spear as he moved out of the way and pushed Yaone just enough so she dropped onto the ground without her weapon. Vessica rushed out of the tavern just in time to see Yaone get up to a sitting position on the ground.
"Stop it! This is useless. You don't want to kill me!" Hakkai said as he threw the spear out of the way. Yet, Yaone didn't answer. She sprang up from ground and threw two explosives at Hakkai. "Or maybe she does." Hakkai thought with amazement as he focused his chi and set up a barrier in front of himself.
"Oh no, he can block it." Yaone thought with both anger and disappointment.
"Why are you doing this?" Hakkai asked with anger as Vessica stopped beside him again. At the same time, Sanzo and the others woke up and wondered what was going on.
"Where is Hakkai?" Sanzo asked as he felt the dizziness dispersing inside of his head.
"He...He is outside...fighting with the waitress." Gojyo muttered as he saw what was going on.
"I failed him. I failed Lord Kougaiji! I'm useless." Yaone blamed herself as she felt tears coming out of her eyes.
"Hey, come on. Stand up..." Hakkai wondered what was wrong with her. She seemed to sad.
"Get away! Kill me! Just kill me! I'm useless!" She shouted at him as she sprang up. Vessica wanted to say something, but her mouth wouldn't listen to her. Hakkai was hesitant.
"If you don't kill me, I would do it myself!" Yaone shouted as she pulled out a dagger hidden behind her and place it on her neck.
Just as Yaone was about to do it, Goku rushed out and shouted, "No, stop!" Hakkai felt his head spinning as he remembered three years ago, the death of his love-Kanan. She suicided in front of him with tears flowing down her face like a cataract. He was too late to save her. He couldn't let Yaone die for no reason at all.
Hakkai rushed forward to stop Yaone. This time, Vessica couldn't control herself as she shouted, "Hakkai, get back!" Yet, she wasn't able to change the story. A thread of fire like a dragon wrapped itself around Hakkai, but didn't really hurt him.
By that time, the rest of the Sanzo party and the other three girls were already outside. "Kougaiji." Sakura couldn't control herself and muttered.
Kougaiji had saved Yaone. He didn't want her to die. He didn't know why she wanted to die, but he couldn't just let one of his servants die like that, especially suiciding. Kougaiji landed on the roof of the tavern and put Yaone down beside him. "So this is the Sanzo party, I'm not impressed." He said out loud as he studied the people down on the ground. "Girls?" The weird thought entered his mind.
"We are not either." Gojyo said.
"I'm just here to retrieve my associate. I'm sure we'll see each other soon enough. That is, if you stay alive." Kougaiji smirked.
"Don't leave! Why don't you stay and let's play a little?" Goku said as his weapon appeared in his hand. He jumped up from the ground and shot toward Kougaiji. "Pathetic!" Kougaiji said as fire glowed in his hand and another thread of fire came out and surrounded Goku, sending him to the ground.
After Goku dropped to the ground, Gojyo attacked, but Kougaiji caught Gojyo's blade between his fingers. "Man I hate this guy." Gojyo muttered. Next, Kougaiji attacked Hakkai. Hakkai was just in time to set up his barrier to protect himself when the fire reached him.
It looked as if Kougaiji was winning, but the next thing he knew, a gun was pointing at the back of his head. "How nice is it for you to join us?" Kougaiji asked.
"Well, I'm all about service. Since I came up, it would be nice of you to cut to the chase and tell us who is responsible for all of this uprising." Sanzo said dangerously and coldly.
"Then, let the chase begin." Kougaiji sneered and disappeared along with Yaone. Just as he disappeared, two threads of flames came out of the ground and went to the defenseless girls. No one was ready for the sneak attack. Yet, something purpled flashed in front of the girls and absorbed the fire into it. The girls saw that it was Yohina's necklace. It wasn't as shiny as before. Rather, it had a dull look on it after absorbing the fire in. However, before they could get it, it disappeared again.
* * * * * *
"It's cold tonight. Just like the night when I met you three years ago." Hakkai heard Sanzo talking behind him. The day's event had taken its toll on him. He felt depressed like many times. He had tried to forget, but what Yaone tried to do reminded him of Kanan.
"It's only three years? No offense, but it feels like a hell lot longer than that." Hakkai muttered as he leaned against the open window.
"It's OK. I know what you mean. Hakkai, I just want you to know that if you want to leave for some revenge, then just go. No one's stopping you. Just make sure that revenge is the path you want to take." Sanzo muttered as he lit a cigarette.
"Nah, I don't want to leave. I want to be here. It's fun." Hakkai smiled.
Before Sanzo could say anything, the door burst open. "Sanzo, we are changing rooms. He...He drew pictures on my foot while I was sleeping!" Goku shouted and pointed at Gojyo, who was standing behind him.
"What else am I suppose to do? You were snoring so loud I couldn't sleep!" Gojyo complained angrily.
Then, the two of them started to fight like they always do and they say pretty funny things to each other also. Gojyo would call Goku monkey while Goku tease that Gojyo is a half water demon, but couldn't swim. Sanzo and Hakkai watched with impatience.
"All right. I'm staying now, but I can leave whenever I want to." Hakkai grumbled.
"Just take me with you." Sanzo gave out a helpless sigh. Then, he took out his paper fan out of nowhere and whacked both Gojyo and Goku.
"All right! Shut up! The both of you! I'm not changing room with anyone! Just shut up!" Sanzo hollered. That made them stopped as they looked at Sanzo, pretending they were afraid. The two of them turned to leave, but as usual, someone landed on them. Actually, someone landed on Gojyo.
Thank you.
Forgive me, but this chapter, when it gets half way through, is almost the same with the 5th episode, I think. It was because I had to put it in there and the "girls" couldn't do anything about it. They are still very confused about what they should do
Oops, I think I said too much, sorry. Enjoy!
* * * * *
Chapter Six
The girls and the Sanzo party stood there as the purple light from the necklace covered Yohina. The next thing they knew, Yohina wasn't there anymore, neither was the necklace.
"What...what happened?" Sakura muttered with shock. No one said anything. They were all speechless.
"She...I...I...think she went back." That was the only thing appeared in Vessica's mind.
"But it's impossible. All these times we came and left together. How could she go back by herself?" Machi said with defiance.
"It's not! You don't know anything! We still don't know why we are here and how! How could you say it's impossible if you don't know anything about it?!" Vessica shouted back. Then the quarrel started between Machi and Vessica while the others just stood there, thinking.
"If you would allow me to talk, then I say your friend there went back in her own will. If the necklace is the reason you guys are here, then when she threw away that necklace, that power was lost to her and so she just gone back to your world." Sanzo said with indifference.
"I wonder if we could go back if we do what she had done." Nuriko muttered thoughtfully.
"Who cares? I don't want to go back. Staying here is fun. At least it's better than all of the homework we have." Machi muttered and sat down carelessly. Vessica and Sakura didn't say anything.
"Well, just go to sleep now, girls. We still have to go on our journey tomorrow. I'm sure Yohina would be fine no matter what happened, especially if she went back to your world." Hakkai said with an awkward smile. Yohina's friends thought he would be right, but he was definitely wrong. Yohina would be better off if she had gone elsewhere and not back to her own world.
* * * *
"Where have you been?" Yohina's mother shouted as she saw her daughter standing right there in front of her.
"I...I didn't go anywhere." Yohina didn't know what to say.
"Where...where is Sakura? Where is she?" Sakura's mother grabbed Yohina and screamed at her ear desperately.
"Stop it! I...I don't know! I didn't see her! They were together and I was alone! I don't know anything!" Yohina screamed back with anger.
"I'm so glad you are OK. But really, where did you go and how can you get back in here without a key?" Yohina's mother asked when she was finally alone with her daughter and husband.
"I really don't know, mom. I want to go to school right now. I'm sure the others will be all right, wherever they are." Yohina muttered sadly.
Her mom studied her, but she couldn't find anything suspicious on Yohina's face, nothing but sadness and depression. Slowly, she nodded. "All right, but are you sure? It'll pretty tough at school." She muttered.
"I'll be fine. Going to school is much better than staying home." Yohina said and thought back about how she went to the Saiyuki world. She never wanted to go back again.
Yohina walked into her class with a sunken heart. She knows that everyone was going to ask her questions, but she didn't want to stay home. She wouldn't be able to stand the loneliness at home. As she stepped into the room, the silent classroom broke into whispers. She didn't mind it and handed the teacher her pass.
She tried her best to ignore the whispers, but found herself couldn't. Suddenly, she wished that she had stayed home after all. Yet, when she caught her friends' worried faces looking at her, the weight lifted off of her shoulders.
"You OK?" Takeya asked quietly as Yohina sat down in her desk. "I'm fine." Yohina answered and then became absent-minded.
Her mind was in turmoil the whole time the class went on. She didn't even know how she managed to get from one class to another. It was as if she was in one room this minute and another room in the next minute.
"Yohina! Answer this question!" Her calculus teacher's rough voice broke through her thoughts. Startled, she looked up and asked with a dumbfounded look, "What?"
Everybody was looking at her now, as always when somebody was called to answer the calculus questions. Yet, that wasn't the only reason. It was also because of Yohina's sudden reappearance after disappearing for 3 days.
"I asked you to answer the question!" Mr. Calculus said sternly with anger. They called him Mr. Calculus because he was the most strict teacher in the whole school, probably the entire country, and also because he wouldn't allow any talks about any other subjects in his class. If you linked a calculus problem to another subject, he'll tell you to go out for 10 minutes or more and give you at least 100 problems to finish within that time.
Yohina looked at the board and saw the problem on the board. Without thinking, she answered, "I don't know the answer."
"How can you not know? I've been explaining this problem for the past 30 minutes! I just changed the numbers and you don't know? What were you doing? Dreaming?" The teacher bellowed.
Yohina wanted to say "yes", but told herself to shut up. She knew what her punishment would be, but she didn't care. In the past year, calculus had become the subject she didn't care for.
"Take this workbook and go outside! Do pages 35-40 and finish it before the end of class. It's a test grade!" Mr. Calculus said dangerously as he saw the indifferent look on Yohina's face.
She sighed as she grabbed her pencil, eraser, the "book", and left the classroom. Chairs weren't so hard to find since there were always at least four chairs outside the calculus classroom. Her heart sunk deeper as she flipped through the six pages that she had to do. She didn't even know half of it. Yet, she had no choice. She started on it quickly, but was soon irritated and bored. She suddenly wanted to cry as she wondered if Vessica and the other girls were all right.
"Crying now?" Tyler's voice startled her. She wept away the few tears that were coming out and forced a smile.
"Not really. I was just wondering what happened to Sakura and the girls." She muttered and avoided looking at him.
"Tell the truth, Yohina. What really happened? Where were you for the past three days?" Tyler asked gently.
"I don't really know, Tyler. I don't know what happened." She answered quietly, which was half of the truth. The something hit her. "Wait! Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in class?" She asked with shock as she wondered why did Tyler get out also. He's usually the model boy in Mr. Calculus' class.
Tyler suddenly smiled awkwardly as he grumbled, "well, I...I..."
"Thanks, Tyler." Yohina knew what happened and she was really thankful for his company.
For the rest of the time left, the two of them worked on the pages they had to do. It wasn't really hard once Yohina really put her mind into it. The two of them finished exactly when the bell rang. Mr. Calculus looked satisfactory enough when they turned in the answers.
During lunch, Tyler wanted to sit with Yohina and her pals since Jason was also sitting with them even though Nuriko wasn't here, but Yohina said she would be fine and he should go back to his friends. She didn't want to attract more attention to herself, especially not from Tyler's snobby cheerleader girlfriend Amelia.
"Looks like somebody's got a crush on you, Yohina." Jason said as he eyed his brother weirdly.
"What are you talking about? If you are talking about the roses, I gave them away the next day to a cheerleader I knew got a crush on Kyle. Kevin told me about it." Yohina wasn't thinking at all.
Jason kind of laughed at her and shook his head helplessly. "What is wrong with you today? Did you get cursed or something? Tyler told me that you got kicked out of class in Calculus." Jason asked with a teasing smile.
Yohina didn't answer him and looked around. Everything looked the same, except that Machi wasn't here. It kind of feels quiet without her blabbermouth and easiness. Takeya was sitting across from her, talking with some other friends on the other table. Jason was the only one sitting with her, and maybe two other girls who Yohina didn't really know.
She ate her lunch quietly, answering Jason's questions. She knew that he was just trying to cheer her up, but she didn't have the spirit, but she didn't want to make him feel bad either. When lunch was almost over, Kevin came and sat down beside her.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your friends?" Yohina asked with annoyance.
"Look, I know you don't feel so good and all, but I found out who sent those roses this morning. I was just wondering if you want to know. It's quiet surprising, really!" Kevin sounded convincing and excited. Yohina turned to look at him with little interest in her eyes.
"Who?"
"Guess."
"How am I suppose to know? There are so many boys in this school. Just tell me, I'm not in the mood to play with you." Yohina said with irritation.
"All right, but I think you wouldn't believe me. It's one of my friends." Kevin said with a smile.
"Who? Kyle?" Yohina asked with sarcasm as she drank some water.
Kevin didn't say anything and nodded. Yohina looked at him sideways and choked on her drink. "What?" That was the only word she managed to say.
Kevin shrugged. "That's what I heard from Scott this morning. He was the one who ordered the roses for Kyle. I didn't believe it, but the others told me the same thing, and Kyle looked uncomfortable when I asked him about it." He explained.
"I don't believe you. Kyle likes me? You've got to be joking. What about his girlfriend Janice? Besides, he hates me. I've always gotten him into trouble." Yohina muttered carelessly, but she turned around to look at where Kyle was sitting, nevertheless. He didn't seem to notice her as he joked around with his basketball friends, but Janice was nowhere to be seen.
"Believe me or not, it's true. Oh, if you haven't heard the news yet, Kyle broke up with Janice on Monday. Well, I'm just telling the truth. Bye." Kevin left with a kiss on Takeya's cheeks.
"That went well." Jason commented. Yohina gave him a small smile. "Don't believe him. Kyle's just playing a joke. You know him better than I do." She mumbled, but Jason didn't remark on that.
The rest of the day went by quickly. In the afternoon, Yohina was able to concentrate more on her schoolwork than that had happened days before. She didn't get scolded in her other classes and everything was peaceful. However, when school ended that day, she found the purple triangle necklace inside of her locker. It didn't look as shiny as before. Rather, it looked dull and rusty with the color barely visible, but Yohina knew what it was anyway. She wanted to throw it away, but thought better of it.
* * * *
The next day, the Sanzo party and the four girls reached a restaurant called Tavern Yamatoya. They were famished, so everyone wanted to go and have something to eat. They got their own little corner in the restaurant and waited for the waitress. There was only one waitress even though the whole tavern was full. They waited patiently while discussing about Yohina.
"I'm worried. I wish I could go back and see if she really returned to our world." Vessica muttered, but the others didn't really care.
"Oh, she'll be fine. If not, the worst thing that could happen to her is dying. Big deal, she wouldn't mind." Machi muttered as she wondered when is the waitress going to get here. She was really hungry.
As they talked, the waitress came up to them. "Sorry about the waiting. There are just too many customers. So are your ready to order?" The waitress was a pretty lady with purple hair tied back in one ponytail. She wore a pink cheongsam that was down to her knees and showed her slender body figures.
"Yes, we are." Goku shouted out with excitement and then the eight customers threw out their orders like firing bullets at demons. The waitress kept asking them again and again to make sure that she didn't miss out on anything.
"Is that all?" She asked with another pretty smile once the customers finished talking. They nodded. "Then, may I suggest the blue plate special? It's only for today." She inquired.
Without for anyone else to answer, Goku and Machi shouted out "yes." That was the end of that. About 15 minutes later, the waitress brought in all of their orders. "This is all of your orders. It is to die for!" She said with excitement as if she was eating the food.
"Think this is enough?" Gojyo asked as he looked at the table full of food.
"For Goku I wouldn't be so sure." Hakkai answered him with the smile he always has. "And for Machi." Sakura added, but Goku and Machi were both too preoccupied with the food. They wondered if they could start eating now.
Yet, just as when Goku was about to put the first piece of chicken into his mouth, the waitress gave out a little scream as the plate she was carrying dropped on the ground. They all turned to look and what was going on and saw several other male customers being very impolite.
"You are right, man. The service here could be much nicer." The one wearing a blue shirt said as he gave a perverted look at the waitress.
"Man, I could kill them so easily. If only..." The waitress thought murderously as she tried to get out of the man's grip.
Then the man suddenly let go of the waitress and gave out a yell himself. "You don't like the service here? Then maybe you should get out." Hakkai said as he twisted the man's arm. The man looked very painful from Hakkai's grip. A sudden shocking thought passed through the waitress' mind at Hakkai's doing.
"Mind your own business, you bastards!" Another man wearing green said as he kicked the table full of food and everything was spilled. "Thanks a lot, you jerk." The waitress muttered unhappily.
Yet, a thrilling cry came and everybody turned and saw Goku in tears. "Why? You bastards!" Goku cried and hit the man who overturned the table.
"You want a fight, kid? Let's have a fight!" Another man shouted and the next thing everybody knew, Goku and Gojyo were fighting against at least 15 other men in the tavern while all of the other customers enjoyed the entertainment. As for the four girls, Sakura, Nuriko, and Vessica didn't really care about the food even though they were famished, but as for Machi, she joined the fight because the men also disturbed her precious lunch.
Sanzo just sat there with Hakkai standing beside him, watching the little fight. "You know, it's ironic that they should be fighting the very people we are suppose to be protecting." Hakkai commented. "Very ironic indeed..." Sanzo nodded thoughtfully.
"Hey, aren't you their friends? Shouldn't you be fighting also?" One man asked and without waiting for Sanzo's reply, he charged forward with his fist tight. Yet, Sanzo just stretched out one foot and the man tripped.
"Hmm...Face flat on the floor." He muttered without any humor in there.
While the fight was going on, the waitress looked around with a heart of turmoil. She came here on her free will to kill the Sanzo party, but somehow she found that she couldn't do it anymore. "It...It's just they are so different..." The thought appeared in her mind and it was true. They were different. They saved her when she expected them not to care at all. They were nice people, or demons. She couldn't do it. Yet, she remembered when Kougaiji saved her years ago. She was to be sent to Hyakugan Maoh because of her beauty and also knowledge in the medicine field. However, when Kougaiji saw her crying while she was following the servant into the palace, he took her under his care and he had cared for her for the past few years like he had promised.
"Is this how I repay his kindness? With betrayal?" She thought, hating herself. Then, her mind was settled on killing the Sanzo party.
While Gojyo, Goku, and Machi were fighting with the annoying men, they smelled something weird all of the sudden and felt dizzy. Soon, the men dropped to the ground and fell asleep while Hakkai figured out what they were breathing in. It was sleeping powder. Yet, he wondered who did it as he warned the ones who were still standing and covered his own nose and mouth with his hand.
Soon, he found that he and Vessica were the only ones left standing in the whole room, well, except for the waitress. "So you are the one who did this?" Hakkai asked with anger. He barely gets angry, but when his friends were threatened, he sometimes couldn't control his anger. By that time, Vessica was right beside him.
"You are an assassin...sent by Kougaiji!" Vessica muttered and took Hakkai's line in the story.
The waitress just smiled as she took off the bracelet she was wearing. "The bracelet! It's her demon power limiter!" Hakkai muttered as he caught the bracelet. Yet, before he could do anything, a spear was stabbed at his face and he jumped back.
"Hello, my name is Yaone. As you said, I'm here to kill you, so get ready to die!" The waitress said with a spear in hand and then attacked viciously. Yet, Hakkai was a much more experienced fighter than Yaone as he dodged every one of her attacks. As for Vessica, her katana was in hand, but she didn't know what to do. Yaone's attacks were too fast for her to interfere.
Then, all of a sudden, Yaone's spear brushed by Hakkai's face as she forced Hakkai out of the door to the clearing outside of the tavern. "Just die!" Yaone shouted as she attacked again. Yet, that attack was a total failure. Hakkai grabbed the end of the spear as he moved out of the way and pushed Yaone just enough so she dropped onto the ground without her weapon. Vessica rushed out of the tavern just in time to see Yaone get up to a sitting position on the ground.
"Stop it! This is useless. You don't want to kill me!" Hakkai said as he threw the spear out of the way. Yet, Yaone didn't answer. She sprang up from ground and threw two explosives at Hakkai. "Or maybe she does." Hakkai thought with amazement as he focused his chi and set up a barrier in front of himself.
"Oh no, he can block it." Yaone thought with both anger and disappointment.
"Why are you doing this?" Hakkai asked with anger as Vessica stopped beside him again. At the same time, Sanzo and the others woke up and wondered what was going on.
"Where is Hakkai?" Sanzo asked as he felt the dizziness dispersing inside of his head.
"He...He is outside...fighting with the waitress." Gojyo muttered as he saw what was going on.
"I failed him. I failed Lord Kougaiji! I'm useless." Yaone blamed herself as she felt tears coming out of her eyes.
"Hey, come on. Stand up..." Hakkai wondered what was wrong with her. She seemed to sad.
"Get away! Kill me! Just kill me! I'm useless!" She shouted at him as she sprang up. Vessica wanted to say something, but her mouth wouldn't listen to her. Hakkai was hesitant.
"If you don't kill me, I would do it myself!" Yaone shouted as she pulled out a dagger hidden behind her and place it on her neck.
Just as Yaone was about to do it, Goku rushed out and shouted, "No, stop!" Hakkai felt his head spinning as he remembered three years ago, the death of his love-Kanan. She suicided in front of him with tears flowing down her face like a cataract. He was too late to save her. He couldn't let Yaone die for no reason at all.
Hakkai rushed forward to stop Yaone. This time, Vessica couldn't control herself as she shouted, "Hakkai, get back!" Yet, she wasn't able to change the story. A thread of fire like a dragon wrapped itself around Hakkai, but didn't really hurt him.
By that time, the rest of the Sanzo party and the other three girls were already outside. "Kougaiji." Sakura couldn't control herself and muttered.
Kougaiji had saved Yaone. He didn't want her to die. He didn't know why she wanted to die, but he couldn't just let one of his servants die like that, especially suiciding. Kougaiji landed on the roof of the tavern and put Yaone down beside him. "So this is the Sanzo party, I'm not impressed." He said out loud as he studied the people down on the ground. "Girls?" The weird thought entered his mind.
"We are not either." Gojyo said.
"I'm just here to retrieve my associate. I'm sure we'll see each other soon enough. That is, if you stay alive." Kougaiji smirked.
"Don't leave! Why don't you stay and let's play a little?" Goku said as his weapon appeared in his hand. He jumped up from the ground and shot toward Kougaiji. "Pathetic!" Kougaiji said as fire glowed in his hand and another thread of fire came out and surrounded Goku, sending him to the ground.
After Goku dropped to the ground, Gojyo attacked, but Kougaiji caught Gojyo's blade between his fingers. "Man I hate this guy." Gojyo muttered. Next, Kougaiji attacked Hakkai. Hakkai was just in time to set up his barrier to protect himself when the fire reached him.
It looked as if Kougaiji was winning, but the next thing he knew, a gun was pointing at the back of his head. "How nice is it for you to join us?" Kougaiji asked.
"Well, I'm all about service. Since I came up, it would be nice of you to cut to the chase and tell us who is responsible for all of this uprising." Sanzo said dangerously and coldly.
"Then, let the chase begin." Kougaiji sneered and disappeared along with Yaone. Just as he disappeared, two threads of flames came out of the ground and went to the defenseless girls. No one was ready for the sneak attack. Yet, something purpled flashed in front of the girls and absorbed the fire into it. The girls saw that it was Yohina's necklace. It wasn't as shiny as before. Rather, it had a dull look on it after absorbing the fire in. However, before they could get it, it disappeared again.
* * * * * *
"It's cold tonight. Just like the night when I met you three years ago." Hakkai heard Sanzo talking behind him. The day's event had taken its toll on him. He felt depressed like many times. He had tried to forget, but what Yaone tried to do reminded him of Kanan.
"It's only three years? No offense, but it feels like a hell lot longer than that." Hakkai muttered as he leaned against the open window.
"It's OK. I know what you mean. Hakkai, I just want you to know that if you want to leave for some revenge, then just go. No one's stopping you. Just make sure that revenge is the path you want to take." Sanzo muttered as he lit a cigarette.
"Nah, I don't want to leave. I want to be here. It's fun." Hakkai smiled.
Before Sanzo could say anything, the door burst open. "Sanzo, we are changing rooms. He...He drew pictures on my foot while I was sleeping!" Goku shouted and pointed at Gojyo, who was standing behind him.
"What else am I suppose to do? You were snoring so loud I couldn't sleep!" Gojyo complained angrily.
Then, the two of them started to fight like they always do and they say pretty funny things to each other also. Gojyo would call Goku monkey while Goku tease that Gojyo is a half water demon, but couldn't swim. Sanzo and Hakkai watched with impatience.
"All right. I'm staying now, but I can leave whenever I want to." Hakkai grumbled.
"Just take me with you." Sanzo gave out a helpless sigh. Then, he took out his paper fan out of nowhere and whacked both Gojyo and Goku.
"All right! Shut up! The both of you! I'm not changing room with anyone! Just shut up!" Sanzo hollered. That made them stopped as they looked at Sanzo, pretending they were afraid. The two of them turned to leave, but as usual, someone landed on them. Actually, someone landed on Gojyo.