A sun burned high, the fiery orb blazing in the midst of a cool blue sky, golden light filtering through the thick canopy of the forest below. Heat rose from the ground like a blanket and most did their best to keep still and silent to fend of the thick, encasing heat. Most...but not all..... "Shut up!" "Make me shut up you little monkey!" "I'm not a monkey jerkwad!" "Haven't you seen your face you little fag?"
"Dream on pervert!" Sanzo's eye twitched with irritation in the front seat.
"What the hell are they even arguing about?" He muttered in irritation to Hakkai. Hakkai just smiled peacefully.
"I don't think anything. I'm pretty sure they just started up out of no where a few minutes ago."
"I'm hungry." Goku had paused in his arguing to lean over the seat. "When are we gonna stop and get some lunch. It's been hours since I've had anything to eat."
"I've got-" Gojyo started then paused as Sanzo's gun leveled with his head.
"Start up again and I'll shoot you. And you-" he turned to glare at Goku "Sit back or I'm going to-" He was cut of as the jeep slammed to a halt and the gun fell from his hand.
Goku went flying forward to smack against the front of the car, kicking Gojyo in the face in the process and landed in Sanzo's lap. "Hakkai! What the hell?" Goku sat up rubbing his head.
"We've got a road block apparently." Hakkai answered, eyes fixed straight ahead.
A brown-cloaked figure sat astride an armored white horse; shadow encasing the stranger's face. What wasn't any mistake of their intention however was the bow that was level with them, arrow docked and drawn back taunt and ready to be fired. The horse shifted nervously under the stranger.
"Get out of our way now and spare yourself the effort." Sanzo said with obvious impatience. A young demon boy stepped forward from the cloaking shade of the forest. The boy looked no older then 13 with tawny hair and clear blue eyes. The boy's face was expressionless as he watched the group.
"You are the Sanzo party?" He asked.
"And you're in our way." Sanzo replied haughtily.
"You will come with us peacefully and we will not harm you." The boy said ignoring Sanzo's words.
"Oh please let me take them!" Goku said raising up excitedly from his seat. Hakkai smiled his amusement.
"He'll whine forever if we don't let him Sanzo."
Sanzo sighed. "Fine."
"Oh yea!" Goku jumped up. "Take this!" jumped at the boy bringing his nyoibou down on the boy's head but the cloaked stranger on the horse moved fast, turning his horse so it blocked the demon boy and released the arrow at the same second.
The shaft erupted into dark gold light and struck Goku's weapon sending him backwards to strike a tree back first. The rider had another arrow set and ready instantly and backed his horse from infront of the boy slowly as Goku sat up growling and shaking leaves out of his head.
"How the hell did he do that?"
"I think there's more to all this then a simple raid." Hakkai said with mild interest.
"You have your options." The boy said tonelessly. "Come with us now or die."
"I've had just about enough of this." Sanzo said standing.
"Me too." Hakkai agreed.
The four of them moved at once. Sanzo fired of a round which hit the horse and let out a cry as it disinerated. The figure on it dropped rolled but moved in time to shelter the young demon boy against Gojyo's shakujo with another arrow. At the same time one of Hakkai's ki-attacks struck him in the side and he released a light grunt as he fell sharply to the side, bow falling from his hands, Goku snatching it up. The stranger whipped around to look at the boy whose eyes had widened with shock. He made a gesture and the boy hesitated, frowned then turned and fled in tot he forest.
"Go after him!" Sanzo snapped. But the boy was gone already. Sanzo snarled his irritation and leveled his gun with the stranger's head. "Who are you? Show us your face."
The stranger shifted and lifted his head and the four blinked in surprise.
"It's a....woman." Gojyo said in shock.
"You're human." Hakkai said easily.
The girl's blue eyes snapped with fury and she sat up, shaking the pale braid the color of corn silk, back behind her shoulder. "Very perceptive aren't you."
"I don't like her. Maybe we should just kill her and get it over with." Sanzo said though he lowered the gun a bit.
"You have such a way with the ladies." Gojyo mused quietly.
"If you're going to kill me I wish you'd hurry." She said her tone lightly polite now as she sat patiently. She glanced around as none of then moved and sighed. "If you don't attack me I'm going to feel very bad about killing all of you."
"She sounds a lot like you Sanzo." Hakkai said cheerfully from the car.
"Shut up." Sanzo said testily. "Arg!" The grunt came as the girl brought a foot around and it connected with his shin. She leapt back out of his way and moved to drive a punch towards him. He caught her wrist, twisted it and pinned her, locking her own arm around her chest, lifting the gun to level with her face again. "Do that again and I will kill you. Now I want some answers."
The girl said nothing but set him with a blue gaze that flashed dark azure fire, the glare wavered however as a child's voice rang through the trees. "Jilly!"
The woman's gasp was audible and she swung her eyes up towards Sanzo again. "Please." Voice quietly pleading. Eyes nervous.
"Sanzo?" Goku questioned from where he stood, his weapon lowered easily.
"She doesn't understand...." The woman broke of and just pleaded with her eyes as the child's voice rang out through the trees again.
Sanzo glared. "If you run I won't hesitate to shoot you." He warned.
She nodded. "I swear." He released her but hovered near to enforce the threat. She rubbed her wrist but didn't move and forced a smile as a little demon girl of about 4 broke through the bushes. She hesitated at the sight of the 4 men and walked around them before rushing into the blonde woman's arms.
"Jilly." She whimpered and cuddled closer as the woman lifted the child up into her arms.
"What's wrong baby?" the woman asked in a falsely cheerful voice that seemed to ease the child's worry.
"My thumb." She held out the mentioned digit to the woman
"Your thumb? Well let me see." She took the girl's finger. "It's just a scratch. Here." She dropped a light kiss on the child's thumb. "There. Better?"
The girl giggled and nodded. "Yes." She peeked around the woman at Sanzo then at Hakkai, Goku, and Gojyo who watched with curiosity before whispering loudly. "Are you coming home soon?"
The woman nodded. "I'll be there later. Go find your mother baby before she starts worrying." The girl shook her head and stuck her thumb in her mouth.
"I wanna stay."
"Be a good girl Lain and do as I say." She kissed the girl's nose then set her down. "Or else we'll both be in trouble with your mother. Very frightening."
She made a face and the child laughed then glanced over at Gojyo. "Be careful of him. Maiya told me about men with red hair." She said in a serious tone.
"What about men with red hair?" The child shuffled forward to whisper in the woman's hair and she smiled then nodded. "I'll be sure to stay clear then."
The child nodded her acceptance; cast a look at the group then before turning and running of into the forest again. The woman straightened and turned to look at them and a warm smile blossomed across her face.
"Thank you."
"We aren't finished here yet." Sanzo said. "Who are you?"
"My name is Jypsy."
"The little girl called you Jilly." Goyjo said from where head was leaning against a tree. The woman turned and lifted an eyebrow at him.
"She's 4. She can't pronounce my name correctly yet. Who in the world would name their daughter Jilly?"
"And why were you trying to kill us." Sanzo steered the interrogation back to the original point. Jypsy sighed.
"I wasn't trying to kill you. Well not at first anyway. We did give you a choice."
"Then what do you want from us?" Hakkai walked up to stand next to Sanzo.
"It's very complicated." Whatever else she might have said was cut of as an arrow cut through the forest to embed itself in the tree Gojyo had been leaning against heartbeats ago.
"My lady!" They turned to see armed arches moving from the shadow of the forest, arrows aimed variously at all 4 of the men. The armed party seemed to be a mixture of human, demon, and half- breeds. Jypsy turned as a brown horse galloped towards her and swung up into the saddle.