Three chapters! Three whole chapters! :::Does happy dance::: And I got lotsa reviews! Well, not actually, but to the people who did, thanks!!!!! To those who didn't, please do! Happy happy happy happy! :::Sweat drop::: I'm hyper. That's to be expected I suppose. Sugar will occasionally do that. Heh. I have got to start typing. :::Skips away singing::: Oh; in some later chapters, as I said, there will be some Saiyuki Gaiden. Hong-san has a char back then, her name is Shan. I will explain both names' meanings in the after A/N. You will understand why I chose Hong-san's name soon.
DISCLAIMER: I don't have a girlfriend, I don't have a computer in my room, and I don't own Saiyuki. It is the property of the honorable Kazuya Minekura. :::Scheming::: I wonder how much it would cost to buy the rights….
Goku woke to Hakkai's face above his own. He expected to smell breakfast cooking over the fire; instead, Hakkai was shaking his shoulders with a worried look on his face. Goku sat up. Sanzo and Gojyo were awake and had expressions of annoyance on their faces.
"Hakkai, what happened?" he asked. "Where's breakfast?"
"There," Sanzo answered for him, waving his arm at the road. "Somewhere out there. Someone stole our food."
"And my lighters," Gojyo added, glowering at them. "Both of my new lighters. How the hell am I supposed to smoke now? Mr. High-and-mighty Monk has a lighter, of course. The thief didn't steal his!"
"What are we supposed to eat?" Goku wondered. "We'll all starve!"
"I doubt you'll starve, monkey," Gojyo told him angrily. "After spending five-hundred years with out food in a cave, you won't starve now."
"Don't worry," Hakkai assured them, reaching into his pack. "We won't go hungry." He pulled out a small bag and opened it. Inside was a small package of flour and many small biscuit-like crackers. "Not much," Hakkai said. "But enough to tide us over until we catch the thief." He handed two biscuits to each person and gave them each a cup of water from a spring nearby.
He filled the large water bottle from the said spring and stored it under Sanzo's seat. Packing up all the bags, he stored them in the back between Goku and Gojyo's seats. He finished just as the others had completed their meal.
Gojyo looked closely at Hakkai, searching for any signs of the previous night's ailments. "You okay?" he asked.
Hakkai nodded, and climbed into Hakuryuu's front seat. The others climbed in as well and took their places.
As Hakkai drove onto the road, Gojyo spoke up on the matter of the nighttime thief.
"You know what? I bet it was the girl from the inn. Hong-san."
"Did you figure that out all on your own?" Goku asked sarcastically.
"You may be right Gojyo," Hakkai said pleasantly. "It may be her, as she's trying to get as far away from the village as possible."
"It's not going to work."
The three others looked at Sanzo with a questioning look in their eyes.
"Not only did she commit some crime punishable by death, but she's a thief as well. It may take a day or two of out journey, but its justice."
"I though we weren't 'Champions of Justice,'" Goku muttered.
Sanzo glared at him. He shut up.
"We didn't find out what her crime was," Gojyo realized. "I mean, if we're gonna catch her, we should know what she did."
"Is it enough that an entire village is willing to give up a human life; she must have done something terrible to warrant that." Hakkai kept his eyes on the road, but they could all see the pain he felt at speaking those words.
"Hey Hakkai," Gojyo spoke casually. "Let's not worry about that. We find the tart, get our stuff and backtrack a few days to put her back in the village."
The others nodded, and they continued on their way in silence.
After a few hours, Goku lifted his face and sniffed experimentally at the wind a few times. He shook his head and sniffed again. "Sanzo," he said quietly. "We're near her."
Sanzo nodded and the silence resumed for a few moments.
In a couple minutes, a dash of color, Hong-san's shirt, became visible on the side of the road. The slowed down and pulled up next to her. She was wearing black pants, a red tunic/shirt, a black sash and a pair of dark brown boots; sunglasses in place and heavy black kerchief tied snugly in place. She had two large packs which looked quite heavy, neither of them their stolen pack.
Driving at a snail's pace, they matched hers.
"Hello," Hakkai called cheerily.
Hong-san started; spinning around, she faced them.
"Uh……hello," she called warily.
"Where might you be headed to?"
"There." She gestured down the road.
"Really? Why?" Hakkai smiled, his features entirely innocent.
"Just to get away." She smiled back, if a bit nervously. "Teen rebelliousness you might say." She seemingly casually pulled out a cigarette and lighter. Sticking it in her mouth, she realized her mistake; she quickly shoved the new black lighter back into her sash.
Gojyo couldn't stop himself from crying, "My lighter!"
Hong-san gave them one panicked look before dashing off into the woods.
They took enough time to gaze down the road, where one of the village's cars was approaching, before running after her; Hakuryuu in his dragon form flapping after them.
Hong-san crashed through bushes and trees, and hurtled over a small creek; she puffed up a small hill, hearing her pursuers close behind. She ran through a small grove of trees, lower branches whipping her face. The four men, she noticed, sounded like they were having the same trouble. Her kerchief came loose and she almost paused to fix it, before hearing quite how close they were. She shook her head and tried to ignore it, running as fast as she could. Her two packs banged against her legs.
'That hurts,' she though, wincing.
Gojyo cursed as a fifth branch scraped over his head, some leaves remaining in his crimson hair. He tripped in a pothole and tumbled over, his foot twisting. The others stopped, Hakkai's face a mask of worry. "Damnit," he grabbed his ankle. "Don't wait; catch the bitch and bring her back."
They nodded and continued, following the thief's colorful outfit. Hakkai jogged closer to Sanzo and whispered something in his ear, pointing ahead where their prey was about to enter a small clearing. Sanzo nodded and Hakkai ran ahead, soon lost within the trees.
Hong-san spotted the glade in front of her; she put on a burst of speed and ran in.
Straight into Cho Hakkai's waiting arms.
He held her tightly as she struggled, one arms around her waist, the other pinning her hands to her sides. She kicked at him, and he easily stepped by them all.
"Now," he said pleasantly. "You wouldn't be trying to hurt me, would you?"
"What gave you that idea," she snarled, and snapped her head to the side, trying to dislodge him.
Suddenly, she halted, standing still. Hakkai's grip loosened slightly, surprised. That was all Hong-san needed to pull out a small knife from her sash.
She slashed at him and he skipped back, letting go. She slashed again; Hakkai jumped out of the way, a chi ball growing between his hands. Hong-san could see he was reluctant to let it go at her. While he concentrated on the glowing ball, she hacked at his right arm.
He yelled, a red line on his sleeve growing as blood dripped out of his wound. Hong-san spun around, ready to run, and found herself staring down the barrel of a Smith&Wesson.
"Don't move," Sanzo advised her as Goku rushed to Hakkai. "Chasing you, two of us were wounded, not to mention whoever you murdered back at the village."
"I didn't murder anyone," she protested indignantly.
"Then why did you have a knife?" Goku asked, helping Hakkai up, who assured him he was fine and it was only a scratch.
"I was protecting myself against people who would try to molest me," she said frowning.
"Who would only chase you because they wanted to know why you stole their stuff, and to give you back to the village." Goku glared at her, still supporting Hakkai with his arm.
"What?" Hong-san looked at Goku as if he had grown horns. "D-don't bring me back, please!"
They arrived at the other clearing where Gojyo was now sitting comfortably. "Good, you caught her!" He gestured to the ground beside him where the grass was thick enough to sit at ease. "Did you get the food too?"
They looked expectantly at Hong-san, who scowled and pulled the almost full pack out from her sash.
Hakkai opened it and set five places on the grass. Hong-san glared at them, and stood defiantly. Sanzo reached up from his seat on the ground and tugged her down. She snapped her head around at glare at him, dislodging her kerchief; it fell to the ground. She quickly covered her head, but it was too late. They had seen.
"Well," said Gojyo, cheerfully. "So we've got another red-head."
Hong-san stared at him. In the bustle, she hadn't noticed Gojyo without his cap. "Y-you're. I mean." She just gaped at him, her pose slightly fearful.
Hakkai reached over her face and plucked the sunglasses off her face. Crimson eyes watched Gojyo and Sanzo with the gun fearfully. He still hadn't lowered it.
"Things are starting to make sense," Hakkai said slowly.
"Hey!" Goku remembered. "Isn't her town really close? I mean, we just saw them down the road!" In fact, the noise of the approaching men was becoming apparent to even Sanzo and Hong-san.
Hong-san blanched. She quickly stood up and prepared to run, but was stopped short by Sanzo; his gun pointed straight at her chest.
"Please," she begged. Just…just let me go. Do you know what they'll do if they catch me?"
Sanzo nodded. "As I seem to recall," he said casually, "your father personally said they would tie you to that statue, let all the men in town have a go at you, then feed you to the demons outside town." The gun didn't move from its position, keeping her deathly still.
At this, her eyes opened wide and she began to tremble. "No," she whispered. "Please, no." She suddenly dropped to a crouch and rolled to the side; jumping back up she ran two feet, then was stopped by Gojyo.
He grabbed her hair and forced one arm behind her back. Sanzo stepped up again and clicked off the lock on his revolver. "You're too much trouble to haul you back to that stupid town," he snapped.
At this Hong-san eyes closed, then opened; narrowed into a glare. She took her free hand and grabbed her red shirt; faster then anyone could react, she ripped it off her slender frame and let the torn garment flutter to the ground.
All she was wearing now were her black pants, her black sash, her soft brown boots and her black shift; it didn't come far enough up to hide a small triangle of shadow, and it didn't come low enough to cover a thin strip of midriff.
"Does that help, Genjo Sanzo?" she yelled, shaking with rage. "Does that help you find the heart of the child you were about to shoot and murder?!"
"You murdered someone," Goku offered.
"No I didn't! My father hates me because he spawned a hell child; a forbidden child, cursed forever! I didn't kill anyone. My mother is dead because he killed her, then took me in just so he could torture me and 'repent' for the sin he committed. They hate me, but you wouldn't know that feeling, would you?!"
"Sanzo," Hakkai said quietly, looking at Gojyo; the redhead was clenching his fists and his eyes were unfocused, probably looking back on his past. Ha had experienced just what this girl was talking about. "Don't kill her."
Sanzo glared at Hong-san, with her glaring right back at him. After a long moment, with the crashing sounds of the village catching up coming closer and closer, Sanzo lowered the gun slightly and jerked it toward the jeep. "Get in," he told her.
She hesitated for a moment, her rage fading.
"What are you waiting for?" he snapped. "You want them to catch up and find you?"
She hurried over to one of her bags, picked it up and tossed it back in the jeep. Walking over to the other, she found Gojyo with his hand on the strap, ready to pick it up.
"Get in," he told her. "I'll get it."
She strode quickly back to the jeep, eager to get away from the person with the same colored hair and eyes as her. 'It's sort of scary to see him out like that when I've had to hide it my whole life,' she thought. 'He's sort of scary.'
Gojyo grabbed her second pack, heaved it easily up…
And promptly fell over.
Sitting up, he shook his head and glared at Hong-san cowering in Hakuryuu. "What the hell do you have in here," he yelled. "Boulders?"
She shook her head and mumbled something unintelligible. "What?" he asked.
Books," she whispered.
"Oh my god," Gojyo muttered. "Books." Nonetheless, he picked the pack up and dropped it in her lap.
"Hide," Hakkai told her. "Over here." He pushed her against Sanzo's seat and pulled several packs next to her; he draped a cloak over her, then arranged a few more bags over her still form. And not a moment too soon.
About fifteen men burst into the clearing, pitchforks and torches complete. They rushed over to the jeep and surrounded the clearing. Hong-san's father was at the head of the band. He walked over to Sanzo and stuck his pitchfork in the ground.
"So?" he asked. Did you find her?" He looked around the glade, as if she would be standing in plain sight.
"Does it look like it?" Sanzo asked, clearly annoyed. "Don't you think if we caught her she'd be tied up on the ground?"
"Yeah," Goku added. "We don't want a murderer loose near us; she'd kill us."
"If she was tied up over there," Gojyo said lazily, pointing, "I wouldn't be over here. I don't get so many women that I can afford to pass up a chance with one that can't get away."
Hong-san's father glared at them. "I have men one day's walk farther up the road, so if you do find her you can turn her over to my men." Then as an afterthought, he added, "justice must be served."
He beckoned to his men; they walked out of the clearing grinning at the prospect of finding Hong-san. The sound of breaking sticks and rustling leaves had faded into the distance before Hong-san crawled out of her hideout. "Thanks," she said quietly.
Sanzo, Gojyo, Hakkai and Goku climbed into their seats; with Hong-san sitting on the floor, surrounded by all the packs. Hakkai started the jeep and carefully began to drive. He picked his way through the underbrush which has previously been run through, the dragon easily flying between the trees. They reached the road with little difficulty and saw the departing forms of Hong-san's village men.
"Hey," Gojyo suddenly chuckled. "They didn't even notice I was a redhead, even when looking for theirs." The others grinned, realizing he was right.
Hong-san sat quietly, drawing her knees up to her chest. When she saw her village departing down the road, tears welled up in her eyes from the sheer relief of it. She swiped at her face and rubbed her eyes with balled up fists. Hoping no one had seen, she saw Hakkai give her a sympathetic look in the rearview mirror. He had seen; Damn.
A quarter of an hour later, Hong-san looked down the road. They had not seen any of her village's men for a while, and she was sure they hadn't gone that far down their path. She realized she would have to leave soon; surely they didn't want her to hang around them.
She picked up the bag which held her books and placed it beside her. Then she looked for the other bag, the one that had her clothes and money. All the other bags looked the same; brown sackcloth with a thick strap. Hong-san poked one of the bags experimentally; she felt clothes. Poking another, she felt the same. All of the bags had clothes of some sort.
She tried another ploy. Placing one hand on top, she tried to find her book; the special one she could not bare to put with the others. The one her mother had left in their old house. When she was fourteen, she had ventured into the woods to find it. All that was left inside was this old book thrown carelessly on the table.
Two packs had a small, hard, rectangular shaped object placed on top of neatly folded clothing. Poking and prodding, she could find no difference between the two bags. The only thing left to do was to open one and see which one it was.
She closed her eyes and picked one at random. The one on the left. She carefully took the flap and opened it. Peeking inside, her eyes widened and she choked. Blushing bright red, she closed it and looked up to see Gojyo glaring at her.
"That's mine!" he snapped. "What were you doing in there?!"
She cowered against the wall of the jeep and looked up at the other redhead with fearful eyes. "I-I was looking for my bag and I couldn't figure out which one was mine and so I looked and I swear I didn't see anything and I'm so sorry!" She trembled as he scowled and picked up his pack. He tucked it on the seat next to him and crossed his arms.
"Hey Hong-san," Goku said eagerly. "What was in the bag? C'mon; tell me!"
"N-nothing," she stammered, looking at Gojyo's displeased glowering.
"Oh." He looked at her for a moment, then realized something. "Hey, why were you looking for your bags anyway? You aren't going, are you?" He grinned at her.
She looked at him carefully. "Well," she said. "I assumed that since we were pretty far away from the search party, you wouldn't want me along with you guys. And, well, I thought you'd want me to leave."
Hakkai raised an eyebrow. "Now why would you think that?" he asked her.
She shrugged fearfully, shrinking closer to the wall.
"Well you're wrong," he told her with a smile. "We'd love it if you stayed with us, wouldn't we Sanzo." he looked at the blond monk meaningfully, whose only answer was to nod his head once, then take another drag from his cigarette.
"Oh." Hong-san shook her head. "Alright."
Hakkai smiled cheerfully and turned his attention back to the road.
After a few minutes, Gojyo turned his attention back to Hong-san, wondering what she was doing to pass the time. For some reason she was wincing, and rubbing the top of her head. When she saw him watching, she immediately stopped and gave him a nervous smile.
'I'm probably the only other half-breed she's ever seen,' he realized. 'I bet I scare her.'
Looking at her again, he saw her massaging her head again, and grimacing. He decided to watch her and find out what the hell she was doing. All was fine for a few minutes, and she was starting relax, when Hakuryuu went over a small bump in the road. As she was leaning against the wall, she was bumped against the metal side and banged her head on the rim. She shook her head and rubbed it again.
Gojyo decided she should sit on a seat, either his or Goku's. Actually, not his. Hong-san was clearly frightened by him, and would probably be terrified. Goku then.
He nudged Goku, who looked up at him, startled. He glanced at Hong-san and Goku looked over. He saw the dilemma and nodded, grinning.
"Hey, Hong-san," he said casually. "Come sit over here."
She looked up at him, startled. "What? Oh, no thank you." Shaking her head, she looked back down.
He nudged her with his toe. "Come on, look; there's room." She shook her head, but he continued to prod her. Finally she nodded her head and got up. She sat next to him and slid down the seat so she was as far as possible from him with out falling off.
Goku wanted to make her relax, so he decided to just talk to her. "So, Hong-san," he said. "How old are you?"
"I'm seventeen," she told him.
"Oh. I'm eighteen."
"Really?" Gojyo butted in, feigning surprise. "I would have thought you were two by the way you act."
"Hey!"
"Then again…" Gojyo mused on, "even a demon kid couldn't eat that much; I knew it! You are a monkey!"
Thump! "D-demon?!" Hong-san fell off her seat, eyes wide. "Who's a demon?"
"I am," Goku said, shooting a glare at Gojyo for ruining his chance to get Hong-san to relax.
"A-are all of you guys demons?"
"Well, not me," said Gojyo, lifting a hank of his crimson hair. "Kind of obvious I'm not."
"I am," Hakkai looked at her solemnly in the rearview mirror. "I'm a demon. I wasn't always, though. I became one."
"The old geezers don't allow demons to become monks," Sanzo said. "I'm human; the only one in this bunch of idiots."
Hong-san looked up at them from her seat on the floor. "Demons."
Hakkai slowed Hakuryuu to a stop. "We apologize for not telling you," he said. "If this makes you uncomfortable, you may leave. We aren't going to stop you; we don't eat children, contrary to the rumors."
"Why aren't you guys….Well I mean…" Hong-san shook as she tried to ask them something.
"Why aren't we killing, and have pointed ears, and really evil?" Goku smiled at her. "We're trying to fix what's happening. We want to stop the killing that's going on. So we're like you, except we're not. Does this mean you're going to leave after all?"
Hong-san shook her head. "I-I don't think so. If you guys were going to hurt me, I think you'd have done it by now."
They smiled at her and Hakuryuu pulled forward and began driving again. All was silent for a few minutes while everybody sorted out their own private thoughts.
'What the hell am I still doing here?' Hong-san thought. 'How do I know they haven't done this before, and I'll be raped and dead by morning? Why do I trust them; what is it about them that I can't leave behind, like the rest of my life?'
'I do hope she fell safe with us,' Hakkai thought, keeping his eyes on the road. They went over a slight rut and Hakuryuu gave a soft, "Kyuu." 'Hakuryuu trusts her, so we're alright with her. But what about her with us? I suppose she could be one of Kougaiji's assassins; we just met her, there's no way of knowing.'
'It's been a while since anyone took notice of me. Aside from the few ignorant villages; she's the first in along time.' Gojyo sat fingering a long strand of his crimson mane. 'And she should know better then anyone else that I'm not just a monster because I have crimson eyes and hair. If she's civilized enough to sit and read, and I can chase my chicks and drink my booze… Well, everybody does that. I guess it's because of that idiot father of hers. Can't appreciate a good kid. If she's told every day in the first seventeen years of her life, that she's a terrible monster, after a while she'll come to believe it. She died before I got old enough to remember and feel that now, but how'll Hong-san feel in a few years. Will she feel like she belongs, or like a monster that society should put down for the good of Shangri-La?
'Or none of this could be true, and that idiot Kougaiji sent her. She looks too scared to do that, but that girl Hakkai's on, Yaone, was a pretty good actor too. Oh well, we'll find out.'
'I hope she doesn't hate me now,' Goku thought worriedly. 'Maybe she hates demons and she's just using us to get away. Or maybe, she's Kougaiji's assassin. I hope she isn't. I also hope she's a good cook.'
'Stupid kid,' Sanzo thought irately. 'Now I've got two teenagers with me, and I'll have to baby-sit. If she's Kougaiji's assassin, I'll kick her ass. Just one excuse to kick her ass for all this trouble.'
The ride to the next available campsite continued in silence for a few more hours; each person engulfed in their own private musings.
A little later, Goku squirmed in his seat, unable to stay still for so long. "Sanzo," he complained. "I'm really hungry. Can I have some food until dinner? Please!! I feel like my stomach is going to cave in!"
Sanzo furiously turned around and shoved the revolver against Goku's midriff. "If it's going to anyway, how about I help it along and save us some food," he snarled.
Goku turned dejectedly around and came back to his seat. Before he sat down, he noticed a small bag. He picked it up and sat on his seat. Opening the bag, he found a few large meat buns. "Hey Sanzo," he said excitedly. "I found some food! I won't starve!"
"Stupid monkey." Gojyo rolled his eyes and grabbed the bag. "You want to die instead? What're the chances that food just appears from nowhere, and it's safe to eat?" Gojyo flung the bag into the air as they drove on.
As it came down, Hong-san reached her hand out of the back and caught the bag before it hit the ground. She opened it, took one out and put the rest in her pack. She bit into it, not looking at him or Gojyo. "It's not poison," she whispered, swallowing.
Goku glared at Gojyo and settled back down in his seat with a huff. He looked at Hong-san with imploring eyes. "Can I have one?" he asked. "Please?"
Hong-san looked up at Gojyo fearfully, wondering what he would say. "Oh, just give it to him," Sanzo snapped from the front seat. "If we don't, he'll complain for the next two hours until we get there."
Hong-san silently dug into her bag and took out another pasty white meat bun. She mutely handed it to him and finished hers.
Goku, so eager just a moment ago, turned it over in his hands and sniffed it. He poked it cautiously and took wary bite. He chewed and swallowed, watched by Gojyo. Hong-san slumped in her seat and took out a book. Goku licked his lips, smiled, and shoved the whole meat bun in his mouth.
"It's good!" Goku grinned at Hong-san, who allowed herself a small smile and turned the page of her book.
A/N
So sorry it took so long to update. I was just doing stuff for a while, then when I realized how long it had been, I stopped everything in it's tracks and stated typing. I also wanted it to be longer, and I could have been, but like I said, I really needed to update. Note. Hong-san mean 'crimson tower' in Chinese, and Shan means coral. I think after one more chapter, I'll start on the Saiyuki Gaiden. Tell me what you think. Also, tell me how many flames and people who stop reading if later, MUCH, like fifteen chapters or more later, there's a rape scene. I can take it out of the draft easily; I just want to know what you guys would say if any of the characters, main or sub, got treated like that.
Many thanks to:
Kurama13- Yes, I updated. And I just did it again.
Kai/Ray- Not telling you, but no for a looooong while. It's part of the story, but not at all the main part. This is Hong-san's story and that's only part of it. Yes a big part, but I'm making it realistic. It'll take time for them to fall in love; it's not instantaneous like some stories do. I think five chapters at the very least. Though I have the story planned out, I don't know where chapters start or end. So it could be five really long ones or twenty pretty short ones. But it will take a while. This isn't a romance fic even though there's romance in it. If you want, you can E-mail me with any ideas for the relationship, but I have it mostly planned out.