Alias: I'm baaaaaaack! Thanks for the good reviews one and all.
Ayie: Yes you were right on who they'll get—but that's only part of the fun.
Missheru: I once again bow to your Beta Reading supremacy. Can't do this without you and you KNOW it.
Gojyo: Oi, girlie! Get on with it aleady! I wanna see what happens next!
Alias: Hai hai! With no more stalling….here it is…..
Junket Quest: chapter 2
Meeting the Guide
By AliasOfWestgate
The Sanzo-Ikkou looked at the simple silver rings, and glared back at Kozeon again, in turns. They'd been given them, but had no clue on how to use them. Of course, the Kami of Mercy hadn't bothered to explain himself on how to use them yet.
"Yosh! Now boys, it's easy to use it, the thing is you have to have a grip on your rival to get it to key correctly. That—and make them say 'taku' with you. Then you'll appear back here in fairly short order." Kozeon walked around Jiip as he gave these instructions, looking at each of them in turn.
Sanzo was still glaring at him, arms crossed and a sneer marring his face. Goku scratched his head and asked, "What do we have to say again?" There was a muffled thunk as Gojyo hit the brown haired boy on the head this time with the flat of his hand.
"Baka saru! He said 'taku' even you can remember that one!" The crimson haired rogue grinned around his cigarette as he said this.
"Oh, since when are we mister memory now, ero kappa!" Goku smirked.
"Since you never remember anything except for breakfast, lunch and dinner, chibi saru." Gojyo's voice rose as he retorted.
Before Goku could reply, a heavy white fan struck both their heads with no warning whatsoever, not even the usual scream that accompanied the action most times. Kozeon grinned again.
"Itai!!!" came from both mouths as both Goku and Gojyo rubbed the resulting lumps on their heads. Hakkai had watched the entire exchange silently, a quiet grin on his face. He wanted to know what was next—or more likely, who was first to go on this wild tachi chase.
"Now for the fun part, who shall I take first on this merry chase" the Kami of Mercy grinned again as his gaze fell on Hakkai. This brought on the rare startled expression to the quiet, but deadly member of the Sanzo-Ikkou.
"Yes, I think it's your turn to lead the way this time, ne?" Kozeon simply clasped a beautiful hand around Hakkai's wrist and pulled him out the driver's seat. Bringing a startled "kyuu!" from Jiip. "Oh I won't leave you either, would you like to tag along this time?"
Jiip's answer was to transform into his smaller, cuter dragon form, and fly to perch on Hakkai's shoulder—with no time for the rest of the party to scramble out. And with that, both Hakkai and the smiling Deity disappeared from sight.
"Oi, saru get your hand off my leg! I hope that's the saru anyway..." Gojyo complained as he tried to get out of the resulting tangle of three people after Hakuryu's sudden transformation. Which did him no good as Sanzo's right hook caught him in the jaw.
"Damn you, slanty eyed monk!" Sanzo managed to untangle himself and walked away to sulk a few feet away. He was not looking forward to waiting around with these two fools.
Damn you Kozeon!!! Couldn't you have picked the more annoying ones first? His violet eyes gazed at Goku and Gojyo finally getting up off the hard dirt of the road. Goku animatedly began picking up his own backpack, and moved the packs reserved for the rest to the other side of the road. As this was being done, Gojyo found a convenient tree to lean against. The forest they'd been traveling through had shown no end, and with their transportation gone, he made himself at home, as usual.
Goku's stomach chose that moment to growl. "Ne, Sanzo? I'm hungry? Do we have anything to eat in these?" Sanzo's eyebrow began to twitch as he realized it was going to be a long wait for Hakkai to return.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Hakkai gazed at their new surroundings. There had been no disturbance in the eye-blink it had taken to get here. He also looked at the girl they'd appeared in front of. At least she looked like a young girl. The air smelled of water and trees, as her wide brown eyes widened in surprise behind her oblong eyeglasses. She was short, even shorter than Goku, he noticed, with skin more golden than Gojyo's. He smiled back automatically, hoping she wouldn't scream. I know I would, seeing a man with a tiny dragon and what appears to be a gorgeous woman in front of me, with NO warning whatsoever.
"Hold on a minute? You can't be who I think you are? You're only a graphic novel and anime character. This can't be real!" Hakkai noticed her voice was light, but not as high pitched as he thought, coming from one so small. She stood her ground dressed in black jeans and a blue t-shirt.
"Hello Mitsu." Purred Kozeon. "Yes we are, and right now, you are the only one that knows this area well enough to help us out on this little jaunt. I've elected you to be the Guide for him, and the others" His voice was a smooth contralto as he said these words, Mitsu's eyes narrowed.
"What's the catch?" suspicion dripped from those words as they left the tiny girls mouth.
"Oh nothing, just help them find the Kougaiji-tachi, preferably without too much trouble." Was the answer from the currently Very entertained Deity. "I'll even provide a way to pay for everything, here's a Three Aspects Gold Card, I'm sure you're familiar with this little thing, ne? So you don't bankrupt yourself when Goku's turn rolls around." This was said with a smile.
Mitsu's long fingered hands grabbed the offered card out of the Bodhisattva's hand quickly at the thought of this. Alright, this spoils my vacation time this week—then again…maybe not. I get Hakkai first? Drawing on her knowledge of the man standing before her, which was only the from manga and anime she laughed at in the company of her few friends. OH man are the idiots that call themselves pretty are gonna go wild seeing ME, the nerdy anime nut in the company of this cutie! Heh. Yeah, this will be fun, mostly to see their faces. Heh!
"Alright Kozeon, I'll do it. Now how the HELL are we supposed to find them?" Mitsu moved her thick, brown hair out of her eyes as this was said.
"Easy! ^_~ Hakkai, your ring will warm up the closer you get to your target, who happens to be Yaone. She volunteered to go first on this little foray. Now I've provided any necessary items for you that might be feasibly needed here. Mitsu I'm sure you know what I mean. Papers and such, just look in your car! Everything else is up to you dear girl." And with that, the Kami of Mercy disappeared, leaving the two people in the giant shadow of a swan.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"Damn it…oh well. I guess I should say 'hi' now, after all that grumping. Gomen! " Mitsu smiled at Hakkai as she bowed, her wide lips framing small teeth, with a wide gap in the front two.
"Ah...I know the feeling, Mitsu. Kozeon has a tendency to do this to all of us." Hakkai replied and returned the gesture.
With that, Mitsu walked over to her car, which was a blue Geo Metro…tiny, blue and slightly battered along the sides. During the entire exchange they had been in a lakeside parking lot, which amazingly for midsummer Michigan—had no other patrons. Mitsu beckoned Hakkai over as she unlocked her passenger door, and stuffed the Three Aspects Card into her small black purse. He got into the car as she turned on the radio to a station, and sat back in her seat.
"Okay, now that that's out of the way… we need to think of where she might be. Got any ideas? Her long arms behind her head, as the car's open windows let the lake winds mess with her hair. "Actually, you can do that as we get back to my house. I need to pick up a few things. This might get messy, if I remember correctly, you don't go anywhere without trouble too far behind. Even if this is only to find someone, I'd rather be ready for anything." She quietly sat up, turned the key and the 3-cylinder engine started up.
The drove a few miles up the road, which was mostly large leafy trees, interspersed with some affluent two-story homes. Most of them look the same as any middle class neighborhood in Michigan. The general colors were white, grey, occasionally a brown would show up in the monotony that was Lakeshore Rd in this tiny town. Eventually she pulled into the driveway of a small one story white house, and hopped out of the car, black purse in hand. "I'll be right back; I just need one or two things." She said with a grin again as waved with her other hand.
Hakkai put his head on his hand and looked around him. There was a large green-eyed cat lounging in one of the windows, with silky black fur and a white star on its chest. His gaze wandered to an empty lot next door, there was a huge red truck there, and three times as big as the current vehicle he was sitting in. Curiosity getting the better of him, he wanted to see this vehicle. He quietly got out of the little car, and walked over to the 4X4. Looked back, and wondered how much faster they could get around in this beastly huge thing. Grin widening when he noticed the owner had left the keys in the car as well. It was even stick shift! Hakkai had no love for automatic transmissions, if he was driving. "You thinking the same as I am, Jiip?" He asked dragon upon his shoulder. Jiip nodded without a sound, and smiled.
His slim form made no sound as he opened the unlocked door into the truck and slid into the driver's seat. Green eyes widening in delight as he started it up. Jiip's little wings flapped as he perched behind him on the large seat.
Mitsu was just on her way out of the house when she saw where her guest had gone. Gripping a rapier in her left hand, and shouldering backpack of her own she raced over to the truck.
"Hakkai! Oh no! Don't tell me you like this thing?" as she opened the passenger door.
"Hai! Miss, you don't mind if I drive for the rest of this little side trip?" He got a pleading look in his forest green eyes that Mitsu immediately suspected—but couldn't resist. It was her idiot brother's monster anyway, seeing what Hakkai would do with it would be even more fun. Considering all her brother did with it was pick up girls and get arrested for speeding.
"Alright, you can drive…it's my younger brother's truck anyway. His fault he left the keys in it!" Mitsu grinned viciously. "Now give me one more minute, I'm gonna grab those papers that Kozeon told me about." She left the 3-foot blade on the passenger seat, with her backpack as she raced back to the Geo, tossed open the passenger door and grabbed all that had been said out of the glove compartment. She found a passport, a Michigan driver's license and a few others she didn't have time to look at as she stuffed them into her arms and rushed back to the truck.
Mitsu grinned again as she crammed all the papers into her blue backpack, found a better hiding place for the rapier, and grabbed onto the 'Oh Shit' bars as Hakkai backed out of the parking lot and onto the road… Let the fun begin!!!! She thought as he backed out of her small parking lot, and shifted gears again and gunned it into town.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
To Be Continued: Chapter 3 (untitled as of yet)
Alias: That's chapter two…enjoy!
Gojyo: Hey I'm not in this one! Did you have to leave me with that lousy monk?
Alias: No yer not, kappa, but you will get more time. I guarantee it! *glomps him*
Hakkai falls over laughing in the background.
Alias: Ja Na! ^_^