A Squirrelly Situation

By: YunCynImaginator

A/N: Well, as part of the our official breaking into the Saiyuki fandom we've included our favourite scene. *grins* Hope you enjoy it as much as we did writing it.

YunCyn: *snickers* I like B-MMPH!

Imaginator: *clamped hand over YunCyn's mouth* Baka! Don't spoil it for the readers!

YunCyn: *shoves Imaginator's hand away* Gomen! And hope you review!

Disclaimer: Disclaimer? We have a disclaimer?

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Sigh…not again.

"OI! Prince! Don't you EVER get tired of trying to steal the sutra?!"

"Don't YOU get tired of defending the pathetic monk who carries it?"

Twitch. Pathetic? "You're going to die for that comment."

"Ooh, I'm shaking."

"Well…you usually aren't this sarcastic, Kou."

"I was in the middle of sleeping when some idiotic servant wakes me and I have to come and face THIS bunch of misfits! In the middle of the night too! I think I'm entitled to a little sarcasm."

"Aw, does baby princey need a nappy?"

Sweat drop. "Gojyo…"

"Will you quit doing that baby talk!? It sounds scary coming from you."

"And I was having so much fun doing it too."

"Will you quit talking and start fighting!?"

"My, how impatient, Dokugakuji."

"I got it from you, Gojyo."

"Heh."

"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!!"

*SLAM!*

"Itai…"

"Goku…Lirin, even if she is charging at Sanzo, is still a girl. You didn't have to hit her that hard…"

"Really? I didn't notice."

"That you hit her that hard?"

"That she was a girl."

Sweat drop. BIG sweat drop.

"Lirin-sama! Daijoubu ka?"

"Grrr…! You're gonna pay for that!!"

The scuffle began. Doku and Gojyo leapt at each other, all the while exchanging comments.

"You've improved, Gojyo!" *swing* *slice*

"Cut the bull, oniichan. I was better than you from the beginning and you know it!" *dodge* *swing*

Yaone and Hakkai exchanged weary looks.

"Well, let's begin. Ready, Yaone-san?"

Flash. The spear appeared. "Always, Hakkai-san." And with that, she dodged a flying ki ball and tried her best to scar Hakkai.

*Pow! Punch! Kick! Slam!* "Quit moving about, you dumbass monkey!!" Lirin still deeply wanted to throw Goku into a mouth of a volcano after that 'she's a girl?' crack. Preferably after she'd used to a poker and a fork to disembowel him.

Goku dodged the blind kicks and punches with the greatest of ease. *Whack! Whack! Whack!* "I AM NOT A SARU!"

This left Kougaiji and Sanzo. They gave each other steely-eyed glares amidst the background of their fighting companions.

"Too scared to make a move?"

"Not on your life."

Kougaiji held up his hands to throw a fireball. Sanzo raised his Smith & Wessons, ready to shoot a hole in the prince's head. It was a moment so tense; you could see electrical sparks go off between the monk and the youkai.

Chatter.

The fireball fizzled.

The gun remained silent.

And two pairs of eyeballs traveled to Sanzo's shoulder.

A fuzzy brown squirrel with an equally furry tail sat on the monk's shoulder. It also had a pair of innocent almond shaped brown eyes. It's tiny paws held a bit of the sutra as the squirrel peered at it. It continued to chatter.

Genjo Sanzo with the power to seal up a created world and Prince Kougaiji with the ability to blast ordinary men to bits, continued to stare at the defenseless brown squirrel who just chattered on and on. The cute button nose twitched and the squirrel came to a decision.

This shiny, nice, soft material would be perfect for a nest.

The fuzzy brown forest creature then looked up at the purple eyes man with golden hair who was staring at it. It cocked its head. Sanzo could swear he saw it smile.

Hey, that looked shiny too!

The squirrel got onto its rear legs and with its buck teeth, pulled out some strands of golden hair from Sanzo's scalp. Sanzo went cross-eyed following the squirrel's motions. Kougaiji also just stared, struck dumb.

With a chatter that was probably squirrel for "Thanks", it jumped off and scurried into the forest, the sutra held tightly between its paws. It fluttered behind it like a bizarre paper cape. Gold hair was also in its mouth.

Sanzo and Kougaiji slowly looked at each other. Then at Sanzo's head. Then at the forest.

And a sharp twinge of pain shot at the place where the squirrel had so gingerly plucked some hair. Sanzo flinched.

"Did that squirrel just take off with the sutra?"

"…hai."

Lirin, Goku, Doku, Gojyo, Yaone and Hakkai, all of whom were busy fighting, face faulted at the blended mix of blood curdling yells that suddenly resounded. They swiftly snapped their heads around to see their normally cool, calm, collected and mostly silent leaders crashing through the shrubs and deep into the forest.

And none too silently too.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU FLEA INFESTED RODENT!!"

"YOU'LL BE MADE INTO SQUIRREL MINCED MEAT IF YOU DON'T!!"

Six youkai sweat dropped.

"Ano…what happened?"

"…do you want to know?"

"…no."

"Good. Coz' I have no idea either."

"How long do we have to wait?"

*BLAM! BLAM!*

A roar that sounded like a fireball flying reverberated. The sound of a falling tree followed almost immediately. Several more gun shots followed. Flocks and flocks of several different species of birds flew out of the trees. Hakkai saw a stag, doe and two fawns run out of the forest as well.

"For quite a while, I'd say."

"…I'm hungry!"

"Me too!"

"We've got some bento boxes in Jeep. Care to join us?"

Doku shrugged. "Why not?"

"Arigato, Hakkai-san." Yaone bowed and Hakkai gave her a smile.

The six youkai walked over to Hakuryu who was still in Jeep form, deciding that a midnight snack was worth putting their fighting on hold for. As they ate, shouts, crashes and booms became normal to them.

"So, how long do you really think they'll take?"

*BOOM!*

"Till dawn?"

"MISERABLE FLEABAG!!"

"Care to bet on that?"

"I bet two coins on dawn."

"GIVE BACK THAT SUTRA, DUMB SQUIRREL!"

"Two coins on an hour before that."

*BLAM!* A tree fell. *Crash!*

"I wanna bet too!"

"Lirin-sama, you're too young."

"Goku can play poker!"

Sigh. "Alright…"

"HEY, NO CLIMBING, YOU IDIOTIC PEST!"

Everyone had no idea whether Sanzo was cursing Kougaiji or that…thing they were chasing.

"One coin on eight in the morning!"

"Ch'! One coin only?"

*BOOOM!*

"Gojyo…"

"!@#$%&!" came from the forest. Yaone quickly covered Lirin's ears. Hakkai did the same with Goku. Doku and Gojyo snickered.

"Fine. Since she's only a kid…."

*BLAM! BLAM!* *Crash!*

"I still say dawn…"

The End.

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(A/N: We leave it to your imaginations as to the fate of the squirrel. Btw, Alexandra (a good friend of ours) actually owns the little furry brown guy and has fondly dubbed him 'Bucky'. Please handle with care. ^_^ And also, Kougaiji's only after the squirrel for the sutra.)