Here's Chapter 9!
Enjoy!
"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny...but in ourselves." -William Shakespeare.
"Just hold on tight Hitomi... tojita nara...look inside yourself kodou kanjiru kara...Yes mirai....shinjite hoshii...you can take another look...from the other side...Just hold on tight kokoro...kujikete mo...reach into your soul ashita ga mienakute mo...Yes chigau...sekai ga atte...you can take another look...from the other side..."
Goku sang softly as he held Lirin closer to him.
"Ai no...subete...ni...deau made..." A tear escaped from the heretic's eye.
The wound on the back of Lirin's head had stopped bleeding and she began to breathe normally. But there was just one problem...
Goku couldn't get her to wake up.
"Lirin?" Goku whimpered.
Nothing.
Goku laid his head back down on the cold rock floor of the cave.
"When you wake up...we'll go to the nearest restaurant and order lots of food! And when the waiter finds out we don't have any money, we'll run!" Goku laughed, hoping that it would wake Lirin up.
Again, Nothing.
Goku's ears perked up.
Someone was coming.
"Lirin!" A female voice called. "Lirin! I don't want to play these games! Come here right now!"
'Yaone...' Goku thought.
He could see her outside the cave. She moved closer to the entrance and peered in.
"Lirin?" Yaone said. She couldn't see Goku hiding in the far corner.
Yaone caught site of Lirin and gasped. "Lirin!" she screamed.
The demoness picked the child up in her arms. She looked down and saw other traces of blood that certainly did not belong to Lirin.
"Who's there?" Yaone said, with both fear and anger.
Goku sighed. He couldn't hide from the world any longer. He stepped out into the light in front of Yaone.
"She...took care of me...so I..." a tear escaped from his eye "I tried to take care of her..."
Goku lowered his head. Afraid to look Yaone in the eyes.
Yaone lifted the boys chin and looked at him. She smiled.
"Then I'll take care for both of you."
"My lady..."
"What are you doing back?"
"Phase one...check."
Ryoushi brushed his hair back.
"And the heretical child?"
"I uh...haven't quite...gotten to him yet..." Ryoushi stepped back.
There was an eerie silence coming from the darkness. Suddenly a vine came flying out and whipped Ryoushi in the face.
"OW! What the hell!!!!!"
"I want that boy brought here! You will not come back here empty handed! Understood!?"
Ryoushi straitened up and wiped off his clothes. "Your wish is my command." He said sarcastically.
Yaone had bandaged Lirin's head and held the girl in one arm and a sleeping Goku in the other.
She had seen how stressed and miserable the boy was and instead of killing him like she should have, she decided to play 'mother' for the two of them.
Yaone was incredibly confused by the physical changes in the heretic. His power limiter was on, but yet, he looked almost like his demon self.
"Yaone?" Lirin asked sleepily.
"Lirin! Thank god you're awake!" Yaone hugged the girl with one arm.
Lirin smiled, but then looked at Goku. "Is he ok?"
"He's fine."
"Good."
Lirin stood up and stretched. "Can we take him with us?"
"Lirin...you know we can't...Kougaiji would have a fit."
"But he's got no where else to go." Lirin pouted.
"He has the others."
"Not anymore. Goku-sai was out here all alone in the rain, so I took care of him! I think they left him there cause their mean!"
Yaone held the heretic closer. "The poor thing." She then looked sternly at Lirin "But you shouldn't assume things Lirin. Goku might have just gotten separated from them."
"Goku-sai doesn't want to go back to them!"
"I don't think they abandoned him Lirin."
"Well, Goku-sai had a big fight in the restaurant with red-head! He said he couldn't go back!"
Yaone thought for a solution. Should they take Goku with them and risk getting into trouble, or leave him here on his own.
Yaone could only find one answer to Lirin's pleas.
"Lirin...we have to go."
Lirin's eyes started welling up with tears. "You mean...we can't take him with us?"
Yaone shook her head and gently laid the boy down. She put a hand on his face "I'm sorry. Try to take care of yourself." She got up and exited the cave.
Lirin kneeled down and kissed Goku on the cheek "Goodbye." She whispered.
Ryoushi watched the young demon sleeping in the cave, plotting his attack.
'Now...should I just get him in his sleep? Or wait till he wakes up and prove I'm not a pansy.' He thought.
He sat in the tree wondering about it when he heard a small whimper. He looked towards the cave and saw Goku tossing and turning in his sleep.
'Bad dream perhaps?'
Ryoushi hopped out of the tree and pulled a James Bond rip-off move. He made his way to the resting heretic in 'stealth mode' and dropped to the ground when he heard the boy sigh.
::Mission Impossible theme kicks in right about now.::
"Heh heh...now I got'ch ya." Ryoushi grinned as he neared the 'prey'.
Just then, Goku's eyes shot open and turned bright gold. Ryoushi's expression changed dramatically.
A rock fell from the ceiling of the cave, blocking Ryoushi from Goku.
"You little-"Another rock fell right on top of Ryoushi.
Goku just went back to sleep.
Gojyo was perturbed by the silence coming from the group. He wanted so much to pick a childish fight with, that he feared for his sanity.
"It's been three whole fucking days...and no sign of him." Gojyo mumbled.
"You don't have to remind us you know." Sanzo said.
"I wonder...if he's alright." Hakkai sighed.
"We all do Hakkai." Gojyo stated.
"It worries me...that he hasn't come back to us yet. I mean...Goku's never been out there on his own. And from our past experiences, the world can be a scary place. And we all know Goku...he has trouble taking care of himself. I just can't help but wonder...what's going through his head right now? It's not safe out there...especially with that lunatic after him..." Hakkai finished with a deep sigh.
Sanzo, being as stubborn as he was, didn't admit to feeling worried about Goku. Flashes of memories he had shared with the boy appeared in his mind.
Goku smiling.
Goku laughing.
Goku's eyes.
Sanzo remembered that those eyes are what saved the boy from getting the shit kicked out of him by Sanzo. The monk took pity upon the child locked away in the mountains, and freed him instead of striking him.
"I'll find you...and save you." Sanzo whispered.
Ryoushi sat facing the rocks that formed a fortress around Goku.
He had discovered that every time he drew near the boy, another rock would fall to protect him.
"Hmmm...." Ryoushi pondered. "All right ya little punk, you may be able to defeat me with those rocks...but I can out-wit you."
Ryoushi stood up and catapulted himself over the rocks and around any falling ones. He landed in the fortress, next to Goku.
Goku turned over and opened his eyes.
"Yo." Ryoushi grinned.
Goku immediately sat up and backed away.
"What's the matter? Ya scared?"
Goku sprang forward at Ryoushi.
"Oh no ya don't!" Ryoushi batted Goku in the face with the end of his staff. "It's gonna take a lot more than strength to beat me."
Goku got up and rubbed his face. "Ow!"
"Oh please...why don't you just give it up?" Ryoushi smiled.
"Why don't you make me!?" Goku ran at Ryoushi again.
"I don't make monkeys..." Ryoushi caught Goku by the neck "I train 'em." He mocked.
Goku struggled and then bit Ryoushi's arm.
"I came prepared this time!" Ryoushi showed off his armored arms.
'Shit.' Goku thought.
Ryoushi pulled out a dagger from his belt. "This might hurt.........ok.........I'm putting mildly...this is gonna really hurt. But don't worry...She'll make it all better..."
Before Goku could respond, he felt the dagger plunge into his stomach.
Goku coughed up blood. He couldn't breath.
He gasped.
A tree fell from behind Ryoushi, almost hitting him.
Another fell. This time, Ryoushi was forced to let go of the boy. Goku fell to the ground.
Two rocks came out of no where and both flew at Ryoushi, causing the hunter to flee.
It began to rain again.
Goku lay there, holding the dagger that was still stuck inside him.
He tried to pull it, but the pain was becoming unbearable. Goku tried to form enough energy to cry out for help.
He failed in doing so.
His friends were nowhere in sight, Lirin was gone and hope was lost.
Goku got up on his hands and knees and crawled away from the fallen trees, still grasping the knife.
He cried out when he finally started to pull it out.
He knew no one could hear him, which reminded him of his mountain prison.
He looked at the dagger and noticed that half of it had broken off and huge shards still remained inside his wound.
He threw the knife behind him and started to crawl away, whimpering and crying while trying to keep blood from pouring out.
Hope you guys liked it!
Sorry this took so long to post guys.
Lirin-chan