Disclaimers: No character from Saiyuki or Monkey is mine. They all belong to talented people like Kazuya Minekura in the case of Saiyuki. King Slaard, Slintha and her brother do belong to me though.
Summary: Monkey and Saiyuki are based on the same legend. What happens when the Sanzo-ikkou meet a group somehow so familiar and yet so different? Not shounen ai. Please Read & Review :)
Warnings: Um… Don't run with scissors? Don't mix water and electricity? Not a good combination…Seriously, not much other than violence.
Pairings: Only hints, no actual yaoi or shonen ai in this fic, sorry.
Distorted Mirror
Pt 11
Hakkai helped Monkey upstairs. Just as they were entering the room that Sandy and Pigsy were sharing, a small whining and somewhat sleepy voice spoke up from behind Hakkai. "Haraheta... Hakkai? How did we get back here? I'm reallyhungry…"
Hakkai turned around happily and cried out, "Goku! You're finally awake. How are you feeling?"
"Hungry!"
Hakkai chuckled, "Besides being hungry, Goku, how do you feel."
"Confused. I don't remember anything about what happened when we were fighting Kougaiji. I remember that we were attacked by someone else but after that…" the teenage boy was silent for a moment, "it's just like that last time when I took off my limiter so we could get past Kougaiji when Sanzo was dying from that scorpion you…"
Hakkai winced inwardly as Goku's expression changed from confusion to fear. "Hakkai? I didn't, did I? Please tell me I didn't." The teen begged, close to tears.
"Goku," Hakkai said softly, "I wish I could tell you what you want to hear, but…" His voice trailed off as Goku began to look terrified.
"Sanzo? SANZO!" Goku yelled, the fear strongly evident within his voice. "Hakkai? Where's Sanzo? Is he all right? Please tell me?" The teen cried desperately. "The last thing I remember is Sanzo and Lirin being hit by that youkai's attack." Goku was shifting his weight up and down in impatience and looking around desperately as he spoke. Without waiting for an answer, Goku turned and ran, throwing open every door on the floor, starting with the door to Sanzo's room and calling his name again and again before running desperately for the ground floor.
Hakkai sighed again, turning to Monkey, "I have to go talk to Goku and let him know what has happened." He smiled softly, "Goku needs me right now. He may technically be older than the rest of us but he never had a chance to grow up."
Monkey responded with an understanding nod, "Go on, I'll be fine." He then turned and limped painfully into the room Sandy and Pigsy were in.
Hakkai smiled with relief and followed Goku downstairs. Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, Goku appeared in front of him, his face soaked with tears and fear filling his eyes. "Ha… Hakkai? I can't find Sanzo, where is he? Is he dead? Please Hakkai?" Goku asked, his voice full of heartbreak.
Hakkai hunkered down a little till he was eye level with Goku, placing his hands reassuringly on the youth's shoulders. With a sad smile he spoke gently, "Goku, Sanzo didn't die. He did get hurt but he did notdie."
Goku's golden eyes widened with hope, "Then, where is he Hakkai?" he asked looking all around again. "Is he angry at me? Did… did he go away cause he hates me for losing control again?" he asked in a small voice.
Hakkai smiled gently, "No, I don't think he is angry at you. Though I do believe he is probably very angry with himself right now."
"Then… where is he?" Goku asked sounding choked up with emotion. "I'm, scared to face him but… I really need to see him."
"Well," Hakkai said softly, " I am afraid that I don't know where he is. While you were recovering from the last battle, we were attacked again, by the same youkai that interrupted our battle with Kougaiji and the others. They took both him and Tripitaka. By the look of it, they may have even taken Gojyo too. No one knows where any of them are."
"What?" Goku asked suddenly, sounding a little more normal, if extremely worried. "Well, let's go! We need to find them fast." Goku spun around and made to go off in search of Sanzo but Hakkai reached out and stopped him.
"Why are you stopping me Hakkai? They're in trouble?" Goku asked in frustration.
"Goku, wait! I know you are worried, so am I and we are not the only ones. Monkey and his friends are worried also but we can't just rush off without knowing anything. Please wait just a little while." Goku didn't look very happy at the idea so Hakkai continued trying hard to convince the youth to listen. "You've been asleep for the last day and a half. Get some food into yourself so that you can fight well. We will need all the strength we can get. Also, we need to give Pigsy, Sandy and Monkey a little more time to recover as well. We are not going to be able to do this without them. Besides, even if we can handle the rescue on our own, Monkey and his friends have a stake in this as well, we cannot shut them out. We need to all work together."
"But…" Goku said plaintively.
"But nothing," Hakkai interjected firmly with a reassuring smile, "you know you can't fight on an empty stomach and considering neither of us are at our best right now, we need the backup that Monkey and the others can provide."
Goku looked away from his friend's eyes and to the ground, "I'm not very hungry any more…" Goku said in a small voice.
Hakkai laughed softly, "The day you are not hungry Goku, is the day that the world will end. Go and eat, whether you believe it or not, you will feel better afterwards and while you are doing that, maybe I will be able to find out some information on whereabouts Sanzo has been taken. Ok?"
"Ok…" Goku said miserably as he went and placed an order for food.
While they had been attacked inside the inn, it had been so fast and sudden that there hadn't been a great deal of damage done to the building itself. Sure there was some damage, that of course was unavoidable but it wasn't anything that couldn't be worked around or enough to cause the place to need to be evacuated. Hakkai watched Goku for a moment before heading to the kitchen. 'Poor Goku,' The healer thought, his expression now full of worry since Goku could no longer see it. 'I just hope that Sanzo is alright, for Goku's sake if nothing else. Gojyo… where are you?'
He walked into the kitchen and got permission from the staff to take a few pieces of fruit, which he then took back upstairs with him.
As Hakkai walked into the room that the three from the other world were currently in, he heard Sandy's fearful voice, "Ok, so maybe I am being a coward but those monsters are eels! I've always said how hateful eels are. You should realise for yourself by now Monkey at how hateful they are. Look at what just one of those horrible…" he shuddered at the thought, "eels did to you!"
Monkey growled, "That sissy demon took me by surprise, that's all."
"And I thought youwere the one who was meant to take himby surprise!" Sandy countered, trying to make his point.
The monkey king ignored the fish spirit and continued, "He also used cheap tricks to make sure I couldn't fight back. Anyway what about the master? We have a responsibility to him! We need to get him safely to India and back to China again. You can't turn yellow just because you don't like eels. Eels are a type of water spirit too, just like you!"
"Notjust like me! I'm a generic fish spirit who was once Commander of the Host of Heaven. I'm nota horrible, slimy eel! Just… just leave me alone Monkey. I'll help out any other time but I just can't face eels!"
"Fine then, coward! I hope you can live with yourself if we can't save Tripitaka in time." Monkey made a disgusted sound and was about to say more when Hakkai stepped between Monkey and Sandy, blocking their view of each other.
"Maa, maa, you two!" He said with a smile, "Look, lets not worry about whether or not Sandy is going to come on the rescue mission. You can't force him if he doesn't want to go." Hakkai handed around the fruit he had taken from the kitchen and both Monkey and Sandy nodded their thanks. Pigsy practically snatched it, nearly swallowing it whole.
"I wont be able to do a lot Monkey as I have been overextending my chi in the last day and a half but let me see what I can do to help you."
Monkey grinned gratefully with an almost mocking half bow, "Thanks."
Hakkai returned the smile before turning to Sandy, "Could you please help me out Sandy?"
Sandy sniffed indignantly, "What? To help that ungrateful, ingrate, ape? I don't think so!" Sandy turned his head away in annoyance.
Monkey was about to verbally retaliate but Hakkai held him back and shook his head. "No, I don't need help here. I would like for you to go stay with Goku for awhile. He is down in the restaurant but I don't like leaving him on his own while Sanzo is missing, Goku is liable to do something stupid when he is this worried."
Sandy faced Hakkai with a worried look, "You think so?"
"Hai, because he is blaming himself. He sees it as bad enough that he became Seiten Taisei again and worse, because of that, he wasn't able to be there when we needed him. He hasn't said it but I know that is how he is thinking right now." Hakkai said softly.
"Alright, I'll go down then." Sandy answered quietly as he got up and walked out of the room. He paused at the door, hesitant to leave the relative safety of the room but seemed to shrug off the fear and left.
Hakkai turned back to Monkey and gave a slightly embarrassed smile as he began to attempt to heal the stone monkey king. His chi continually became weaker as he healed the burns caused by the electrical attacks and the bruises caused by the physical parts of the attack. Monkey's convulsing had been becoming less and less as time went on, even before Hakkai had began to work his healing chi. The healing was taking longer than it normally would but that was due to his being so low on chi and after about half an hour, Hakkai knew that he had to give it up or he would be risking himself too much. Not only that but who knew what the state of the others would be when they found them and they still had to search yet. It would do nobody any good if Hakkai completely wiped out his reserves before the rescue.
Apologising to Monkey for not being able to finish the job, Hakkai then went downstairs to leave the inn. He passed by the dining area on his way out and was pleased to see Goku eating, even if it was only half-heartedly. The healer shook his head in amazement, wondering, not for the first time, where the small teenager managed to put it all. Goku didn't notice Hakkai at all but Sandy did and gave Hakkai a brief nod of acknowledgement as he went by.
Once he had left the building, Hakkai wandered about the town asking anyone and everyone he came across if they had seen anything, even going so far as to knock on people's doors. He didn't get any information that really helped, either people didn't know anything or they were too scared and wouldn't say anything. The only discernible piece of information that he was able to get, was a confirmation of the fact that the attackers had two people with them. Two priests from what the one person who was willing to talk had said. Unfortunately, as that person admitted, they were far too concerned with staying alive and running away from the inn to take notice of anything else. Hakkai thanked them and headed back towards the inn frustrated and dejected, worrying over Gojyo and the other's fate.
'Surely he can't be dead.' Hakkai thought desperately to himself. 'Nothing would be the same without Gojyo. Where is he?'
There was a slight flickering of light in the sky and an uncharacteristic scowl crossed Hakkai's features 'Just great, just as we need to go looking for our friends, a storm is on its way.' He turned towards where the frequent flashing was coming from and between the buildings, he could just make out the horizon. The lightning was fierce and he thought something seemed a little odd. Hakkai looked more closely and then realised. The night sky was cloudless, even where the lightning was coming from and he smiled in satisfaction before running the rest of the way back to the inn.
Hakkai walked into the dining area and looked for Goku. He and Sandy were where he had last seen them, the only difference being that now Monkey and Pigsy had joined them for the remainder of the meal. Goku had stopped eating for a moment and it was obvious he hadn't eaten as much as he normally would. He was too antsy to continue, though he still had a plate of chicken in front of him.
The healer smiled and reached over the teen's shoulder, taking a leg, the way Gojyo normally would and Goku's reaction was instantaneous in his protests. Hakkai smiled in relief at seeing Goku react in a normal manner even as Goku realised that Gojyo was still missing as well and that it couldn't have possibly been him. The healer gave a small chuckle and waved almost cheekily to Goku, as the youth's eyes grew wide with hope at the sight of him.
"Well?" he asked impatiently, bouncing in his seat a little.
"Well, what?" Hakkai laughed.
"Did you find out where Sanzo and the others were taken?" Goku asked eagerly with a hint of annoyance at the way Hakkai was holding back.
"Sorry Goku but no one would tell me anything. Only one person saw anything and they were too busy running the other way. All they could tell me was that those youkai had only two people with them, two priests." Hakkai saw Goku's face fall in disappointment so he quickly continued." However, I did see something interesting on the horizon that might be what we are looking for."
Both Goku and Monkey became excited at that piece of news and Goku jumped to his feet enthusiastically, "Well? What are we waiting for?" Goku was already out the door and stamping his feet in frustration at the others for taking so long. "Hurry up!" he yelled.
Everyone rushed for the exit, eager to be on their way and Hakkai asked Hakuryu to transform into his Jeep form so they could leave. He then drove off, leaving only Sandy and Yuu-Loong behind. Goku had refused to let anybody else sit in Sanzo's normal seat and had taken it himself. That left Monkey and Pigsy in the back seat, not that they complained much. Both were happy just to be finally doing something constructive and actually starting the search.
"Come on Hakuryu," Goku said impatiently, "I know you can go faster than this."
In a slightly disapproving tone, Hakkai said, "We are going as fast as I am willing to take Hakuryu through this area. It is dark and we don't know the terrain very well." As it was, they were bouncing all over the place as there was no road so to speak of and there were bushes and rocks everywhere. But Hakkai was worried also and he understood how Goku felt. A couple of minutes after they had started in this direction, the lightning had stopped. Hakkai didn't know why but he had a bad feeling and he hoped it wasn't too late but just in case, he did speed up a little more.
Goku turned in his seat to face Monkey and Pigsy, "Why wouldn't Sandy come?" he asked while fidgeting, unable to sit still in his anxiety.
"That cowardly fish spirit is afraid of eels, that's why." Monkey answered in disgust.
"Oh… but… isn't he more worried about Tripitaka than some stupid eels? I know I would be more worried about Sanzo than my worst fear if I was in his place." Goku asked, a little confused. 'I would rather know Sanzo is safe over avoiding being trapped alone again. If those were the only choices, I knowI would… though I wouldn't like it.'
Monkey shrugged as they continued the drive in silence.
- . - . -
Meanwhile, about half an hour previously, just before Hakkai had first spotted the electrical activity on the horizon, Gojyo was crouched just behind some bushes. There was a cave ahead, a short couple of hundred meters away and he was trying to work his way there unseen. Somehow, he had managed to trail the youkai from the other world almost all the way from town before losing them somewhere in the thick woods. He hadn't given up though and he had continued his search, finally stumbling across the cave after a couple of hours search.
'This mustbe it.' Gojyo surmised correctly. 'They can't have taken Sanzo and Tripitaka too much further otherwise there would be too much trouble with them when they woke up.'
The kappa grinned to himself, 'Well, at least they would have too much trouble with Sanzo waking up, dunno so much about Tripitaka though. For the most part, that guy is pretty placid, even if there is a hidden temper in him.'
Gojyo let his eyes wander the immediate area in his quest to find the best approach to the cave entrance when there was a sudden flash of light and a loud crack that hit less than half a meter away from where he hid. The kappa rolled away from the blast, even as he was hit with debris and muttered while spitting out dirt, "Good thing these guys have terrible aim. I just hope they don't decide to take target lessons from Sanzo any time soon. They might become deadly." He then rolled up to his feet, summoning shakujou at the same time and launching the crescent blade towards his attacker.
The light wasn't good enough to make out which one of the youkai was attacking him and even when the area was lit up with bright, electrical energy, it was too bright to see clearly and Gojyo was left with spots dancing in his vision, making his survival all the more difficult. He did notice however that the youkai was able to easily dodge his attack and so Gojyo swung shakujou again, making the blade zigzag all over the place in an attempt to both take his enemy down or failing that, to at least disorient the aggressor into hopefully making a mistake.
Gojyo wasn't able to kill his enemy but the other youkai did manage to get tangled within shakujou's chain as the kappa aimed the weapon around behind the eel. As shakujou wrapped around the youkai, he struggled violently, trying in vain to break free. After a few seconds, he stopped struggling, causing Gojyo to wonder why he had supposedly given up. 'He's up to something,' Gojyo thought suspiciously 'but what?'
His enemy turned to face Gojyo straight on and even in the darkness, the kappa could make out the vicious, sharp toothed grin sent in his direction. For a moment, he felt cold but that moment passed quickly.
Gojyo screamed in sudden pain, he couldn't help it. He tried desperately to let go of shakujou but found he couldn't, he wasn't even able to muster the concentration to contract the chain or send the weapon to wherever it usually resided before summoning it. He discovered he couldn't even move as the electrical counter attack coursed through him, maintaining its grip on the hanyou.
The eel youkai was sending a continuous charge of electricity straight down the metal chain and directing it into Gojyo's body. The youkai started laughing maliciously at the predicament his foe was in, 'Serves him right for thinking someone such as himcould trap me.' He smirked as his laughter died down and he maintained the current for several minutes. It wasn't enough of a charge to kill his enemy but he knew it was certainly wouldn't be a picnic for his hapless victim.
After what felt like an eternity to the pained, helpless Gojyo, the eel finally stopped his attack. The hanyou flopped to the ground, twitching and unable to move no matter how much he desperately tried and the eel laughed again at Gojyo's predicament before going into the cave.
A few minutes later, he came back out having gone inside to get both his sister and his king. They walked to where Gojyo had lain but while they had been inside, somehow, the kappa had managed to call forth the strength from within to send out the crescent blade, looping it around a branch in the tree above and contracting the chain, effectively drawing him into the tree and hiding there, trying desperately to gain the time to recover enough to go on the offence again.
King Slaard turned to his subordinate, "The intruder has obviously escaped so I suggestyou two find him and be fast about it. I'm going back inside to look after our guests."
Slintha licked her lips hungrily, "I do hope you save some of them for us." She said with a ravenous look on her face.
"Just findthe damnintruder! Do what you like with him, kill him, bring him in for torture, I don'tcare! Just deal with him you idiots!" Slaard rampaged, relishing in the fact that the twins were scared of his fury. He whirled as majestically as he was able and stormed back into the cave as the brother and sister began searching desperately, firing off electrical bolts to light their way.
After several fruitless minutes of searching, Slintha saw her brother fire off a huge bolt of electricity at a nearby tree in obvious frustration. The tree fell, the large branches coming dangerously close to hitting her brother as they hit the ground. "Careful brother," she said dismissively, barely paying him any attention, he tended to let loose his frustration at a frequently occurring rate, "you might exhaust your strength if you aren't careful."
He grinned at Slintha, "Maybe I will but it did get us results. Just take a look at the prize I found wrapped within the branches and guess what, it's our favourite, water monster."
It was true, that tree had been the one Gojyo had been hiding within and as the tree fell, he was trapped and pinned by the branches and the battered hanyou was still too weak to break free from their hold.
Slintha grinned back at her twin after taking a look at the powerless Gojyo. She then fired a small, single bolt of electricity straight at their victim's head, knocking the semi-conscious kappa out completely. Slintha walked casually over to Gojyo, lifting him by his hair as her brother removed the branches holding him in place and she dragged him inside, her twin close behind.
"We got him, your highness!" Slintha called excitedly as she dragged the kappa behind her. She licked her lips again. "We'll have a nice meal tomorrow night." Slintha added as she dropped Gojyo's head roughly to the ground.
Her king looked to her with a smirk, "I will look forward to it with eager anticipation my dear Slintha."
Her brother shackled Gojyo against the cave wall, next to Tripitaka and Sanzo, the latter of whom was beginning to wake and looking none too pleased while he was at it. He turned to his sister, puzzled. "It's strange though sister." He said in slight confusion.
"What is?" She asked in return as she wondered if it was even worth her time asking the question.
"Any other kappa would have succumbed to my electrical attacks much sooner," he poked his foot into the unconscious Gojyo's side, none too gently, "I wonder why this one was able to withstand my attack for so long without quite losing consciousness. It's just not normal."
Slintha stared down at Gojyo for a moment, "You're right, that is unusual." She said as she bent down and slowly licked Gojyo's cheek, savouring the taste. Suddenly she looked up at her brother, eyes wide with a delighted surprise. Slintha then grinned. "He isn't a full blooded kappa, I also taste human within his skin. A most unusual combination that should prove to be an interesting meal."
To be continued.
Thankyou to those who reviewed
Diva Urd: Thanks. Yup, they took Sanzo and he's not the only one in trouble now :-)
Me-Nuriko: Yeah, I remember giggling over Hakkai and Gojyo making bets at Sanzo's expense when I wrote the original draft. It wasn't in there at first but while I was working the thought crossed my mind and it called for it to be added :-) As you can see in this chapter, the monsters have returned. This time, they're putting up the fight for real.