Authors Note: Okay! And our last assassin has been chosen. Thank you so much to everyone who sent one in! And sorry if I didn't choose yours. So this chapter is dedicated to Kyon. Thanks for letting borrow Tetsu.
Shots rang out across the expanse of desert loudly quickly followed by Sanzo's growl of annoyance. "What the hell is with these damn butterflies!?"
"There back here too." Goyjo said smirking towards the multicolored creatures that covered Amunisis' head and shoulders. "I'm pretty sure they're hers."
Sanzo cursed, swatting away the butterflies that had landed in his hair, shooting at air to scare them away but they simply fluttered back to settle over them again. Amunisis smiled and reached out a hand to touch his hair. He slapped the hand away lightly.
"Stay back there." He snapped and she sighed, sitting back, a few of the winged insects coming to land along her outstretched arms.
"They're really pretty Isis." Goku said in an attempt to cheer her up. "Did you make them?"
She smiled at him and nodded, holding one of the tiny things out to him. Goku took it and it sat in the palm of his hand for a while, flexing its wings then took flight. Goku watched it flutter away then turned back as her heard Goyjo speak.
"Man I'm tired."
"You're not the only one." Sanzo said in a tone that managed to be calm and irritable at the same time.
"Uhh...guys." Hakkai pointed towards the northeast were the desert stretched into forest and the forest broke to rise up to a sheer cliff. Towards the bottom of the cliff just shy of the trees was a small bar. Four head turned towards Amunisis simultaneously.
"She didn't make that did she?" Sanzo questioned.
"I don't think so." Goyjo answered. "She's been playing with those butterflies the whole drive."
"Stop blaming stuff on her!" Goku defended. "She didn't do anything."
"Well then in that case..." Goyjo leaned forward. "Why look a gift horse in the mouth?"
"I have to admit I need a drink." Sanzo said hesitantly.
Hakkai smiled. "To the bar on the cliff we go then." Turned the jeep in that direction.
"This place looks brand new." Goku observed as they pulled up infront of the bar.
"And somehow they still managed to make it look like a dump." Gojyo clapped his hands together. "Lets go in then. Drinks are on Sanzo."
"How generous of you." Sanzo muttered dryly as they entered the bar.
The place looked as new inside as it did outside; mahogany tables still polished and unmarred by cigarette burns and ingrained ash. A ceiling fan twirled up ahead sending soft breezes through the room. Bottles of different colored liquor glittered on the shelves behind the bar like gems and the bar itself was polished black granite. A single man sat in one the stools at the bar, leaned over a drink. He lifted the glass to take a slow sip then spoke in a quiet tone.
"It's about time you assholes got here. I've been waiting for hours." He stood, took another sip of his drink then set it down before looking at them. 6ft, lithe with light muscled arms and a shock of mahogany hair. Green eyes flashed with surly impatience. He wore casual attire, jeans, white shirt left half unbuttoned, and heavy combat boots that clunked on the wood floor and he walked towards them. "Lets get this over already."
Goyjo cursed and Sanzo glared. "Kougaiji's assassin right?"
The man nodded reaching out to pick up a swiss poleaxe up from where he'd laid it on the table. "Yea. I'm Tetsu. I'm supposed to be taking the lover of the one called Sanzo. I'm guessing it's her." He said pointing the axe towards Isis lightly.
"Lover?" Goku and Sanzo exclaimed, Sanzo gritting his teeth with annoyance.
Tetsu nodded. "Yea. So lets do this." He moved then, flames sprung from nowhere flaring up from the floor like a wall, ringing the 5. Goku lifted a hand to cover his mouth and nose as they moved to the circles center, back to back.
"I hate when they clump us together like this." Goyjo said with mild amusement.
"So do I. Split up then?" Firing a ki attack at the floor, bursting the wood apart creating a break in the circle of fire, Goyjo moved out then snarled and ducked right in time to avoid having his head taken of by Tetsu's axe. He turned flicker out his shakujo and it curled around the axe.
Goyjo smirked. "Not quick enough." Flicking his weapon back to pull the axe from Tetsu's hands to sent it to embed itself in the wall.
Tetsu didn't spare Goyjo a glance moving the second the weapon was tugged from his hand and caught it up by the shaft once more the same moment it stuff in the wall, jerking it from the wood, then lifting the blade, turning it to fend of 3 shots from Sanzo and threw up a fire wall to block Hakkai's attack.
"Forgot about me Tsu-chan!" Goku called as he swung his Nyoibou towards Tetsu sending him back into the wall.
The man hit the wall back first and slid down, one arm draped over his knee, motionless. Goyjo frowned and stepped closer.
"He dead?"
"Don't." The man started, voice low and deadly. "Call me that." He lifted his head, eyes burning scarlet, and threw out a hand now laced with dark blames, fire engulfing the blade of his axe. He put a hand on the table to help himself stand, the wood dissolving almost instantly into cinders. He got his feet under him then roared lunging at Goku who watched in shock, catching him with a punch to the cheek. Goku yelled as the flames on Tetsu's fist charred his cheek, the blow sending him back to strike hit head against a chair.
"Don't you know you shouldn't play with fire?" Goyjo growled sending the shakujo in Tetsu's direction. The weapon curled around the axe again, but them the metal started to sizzle as if came in contact with the flaming shaft, melting against the wood. Tetsu glared, roared, and jerked backwards flipping Goyjo over him and sending the red haired man into the shelf behind the bar, glass breaking and liquor pouring out over the floor.
Her turned then and snarled. "Don't even think it." Creating a large ball of fire ad flung it towards Hakkai when he sent a ki attack Tetsu's way, the fireball meeting the ki attack no more then a foot away from Hakkai, exploding sharply throwing Hakkai through the wall, splintering wood, a long trickle of blood running down Hakkai's forehead from where he landed, sprawled.
"You and me monk." Tetsu glared at Sanzo, eyes traveling to Amunisis, who was clinging to his arm glancing around with a look of worry. "Hand over the sutra."
Sanzo growled. "Bite me." Firing at him. Tetsu moved again, slipping between the bullets, infront of Sanzo before the monk could react and drove a flame laced fist into the monk's stomach. Sanzo grunted in pain, eyes widening as Tetsu send a kick to his side, slamming him away into a table.
"Hmm." He smirked and turned towards Isis. "Come on."
Reaching out to grab her arm and screamed. The flames disappeared, replaced by and ethereal white glow that seemed to move up his arm, causing the flesh it touched to bubble. Isis stood immobile glaring at him icily as he screamed. The sound was cut of by a gun shot as Sanzo struggled up, and fired a shot at Tetsu, the man's screams going on own until he disintegrated into nothing.
