Chapter Four
~ Into the Far West ~
The sunlight filtering between the green blinds cast prismatic shadows across the white ceiling of the sleeping girl's anime themed bedroom. It would only be another hour before the rays would stretch to touch her eyelids and the birds' songs would meet her ears. Miraculously, or so it seemed, there were nothing but cloudless blue skies and the warmth of a gentle wind outside. The chance of it happening after the previous night's showers seemed slim to none, however, the day was filled with possibilities…
…It was neither daylight nor the sound of harmonious twittering that at last roused the slumbering girl. Instead the fleeting sound of a familiar whisper spoke to her.
"…Yu Michiko…"
Mandi sat up straight, brown eyes unusually alert, dark hair askew due to her sleeping slanted on the pillows.
"Yes?" she replied to absolutely nothing and nobody.
Her room was empty- she'd half expected there to be someone standing there. She wondered if her grandmother had called up to her, and so, moved from bed and walked out into the hallway.
"Gram- did you say something?"
There came no answer and it was then that Mandi remembered her grandparents had left. She'd nearly forgotten they were going out of state early to Arizona for baseball spring training. They were going to watch the Chicago Cubs for two whole weeks. Any other time, she'd have been envious, but this week would be fun-filled. The thought caused her to smile faintly as she turned to trudge back into her room, bare feet sinking into the thick hunter green carpet.
She was still puzzled, however, as to who the voice had belonged to. If there was nobody in her house, then the only thing she could think of was she had to have been dreaming.
"I've got some weird dreams," she muttered aloud, glancing to the unmade bed littered with stuffed animals. "You guys aren't doing what you're supposed to be doing! Stuffed animals are supposed to help make weird and bad dreams go away!"
Naturally the stuffed animals had no answer and only stared back at her with glassy colored eyes.
"Tch, you're useless…and I'm crazy- I'm talking to stuffed animals!"
Mandi rolled her eyes at her own actions before taking another gander about the semi-spacious room. It was pretty unusual that she felt so lively this early in the morning- most of the time she shunned the sunlight, pulling the covers over her head before finally forcing herself from bed to get ready for work. However, she had no work- she was on vacation for an entire week- so what was she doing up when she could be sleeping in?
'I must be nuts,' Mandi thought, then decided she didn't much like the silence. Rather than argue with herself over how much sanity she did have by talking to air, she strode to the silver stereo on the dresser and turned it on.
After tuning the radio and finding nothing satisfying playing on it, she grabbed up a CD and popped it into the disc turnstile, turning the volume up. When the CD track number display faded to show the time, her eyebrows quirked- it was only ten after eight AM.
"Holy cripes, maybe I'm sick."
Nevertheless, Mandi was awake, and so she decided to do some tidying and make preparations for Katie and Ashley before their arrival that night…
* * *
Bryan, Ohio
"Shina Lian…"
Katie awoke with a start, blue eyes flying wide open. Someone had called out to her.
"Mom- is that you?" She inquired, unsure and thinking maybe her mother was standing outside of her closed bedroom door.
When there came no reply, the young woman rose from the bed and opened the door. Nobody stood there.
"What in the hell..?"
Closing the door, Katie glanced at the time. The clock read five after nine in the morning. After staying up until half past four, she was surprised she could wake up so easily. On top of that she did feel rather energetic.
She then deduced two things: that the voice she'd heard had been in her dreams- (which she couldn't quite recall when she tried) - and that her energy may very well be the excitement of the trip she and Ash were taking.
Whatever the case, she was awake now, and there were things that needed to be done. Sitting back down on the bed, Katie sighed, trying to mentally organize the stray thoughts moving through her head. Though, as she tried to make her to-do list, she kept thinking about the occurrences from the prior day, and about the voice she had heard. Even if that voice had been in her dreams, it still seemed pretty real. It did wake her up, after all.
Katie shook her head, pushing her fingers through her hair and moved her gaze about the small room. She chuckled- it was so cluttered- though rightly so. The collectable equestrienne statuettes Katie owned filled the shelves above her computer, there sat a good sized fish tank in one corner, her bed in the other, and in between those was a dresser which had even more little knick-knacks upon it. Her computer desk took up a deal of room as well, and having the chair there also created a fairly small space to remain open.
She shrugged a bit- it was small, but at least it was not bare. Everything that decorated the walls and floor had a bit of her personality put into it. It was her room- any one person could easily figure that out simply by entering.
Stretching, Katie tried to get back on track. Ashley was supposed to come over at about two-thirty, and they were going to pack up her truck and try to hit the road by three that afternoon. Granted there was a bit of time beforehand, but Katie wanted to be absolutely sure nothing was forgotten.
Her fingers toyed with the fabric of her night gown and she chuckled. Showering and changing would be a good start, she thought, though as she stood up a loud mewing came from outside her door. Knowing all too well what that meant, Katie opened the door, blue gaze settling upon a rather proud looking grey and white feline.
"Yes, can I help you?" Katie mused, smirking.
The cat meowed loudly twice more, causing the young woman to laugh.
"Alright, Tig dear, I'm coming, I'm coming…" Katie followed the feline out, supposing before taking care of herself she ought to take care of the animals…but after that, it was straight to work…
* * *
Montpelier, Ohio
The rain that had fallen during the night and early morning faded by sunrise, leaving only remnants of the downpour clinging to the windows. A cloudless sky shone over the patch of land, the quietness only just beginning to stir into alertness.
Outside, animals that usually awaken at the crack of dawn were too just being roused. They'd slept most unnaturally late, almost as though a spell had been cast and their wakening was upon the breaking of it.
From across the plains the wind blew and a whisper rode upon it, meeting the ears of Ashley's still slumbering form.
"Jiang Miyoko…"
Ashley was suddenly riveted into a sitting position on her bed, hazel gaze searching for the disembodied speaker. Of course there was nobody there. She narrowed her eyes, skeptical that she'd even heard anything to begin with.
"I must be imagining things," Ashley muttered as she glanced at the clock. It was only five after nine- she'd not been sleeping that long at all.
"So I'm delirious," she added with a shake of her head. "Not enough sleep will do that to a person…"
Whatever the case, though, she realized as she lay back down that she wasn't in the least bit tired. Her body felt completely refreshed, completely alert and raring to go. It didn't seem that Ashley would go back to sleep anytime soon, so she supposed she could just stay up.
Her belongings had already been packed the prior day, so at least there was no need to worry about that. However, she could get a jump start on her chores- the last she'd have to do for an entire week. Somehow this made her quite enthusiastic to do them, and she stood up from her bed, stretching.
As she wondered what task to pounce on first, Ashley felt a strange niggling in the back of her mind. It felt as though something important needed to be done, something that she was forgetting, but she just couldn't place it. The young woman stood there, thinking upon it until the niggling simply vanished. Whatever it was, she guessed if it were that important, it would come back to her.
For now she would just go about her day normally until it was time to head over to Katie's house. A grin broke out over Ashley's face and excitement coursed through her- it was going to be an interesting trip, and an interesting week she was sure. Mandi had promised to take them both to downtown Chicago to see a place called Navy Pier, down by Lake Michigan, and if they could manage their way, they'd also go to Chinatown.
After a few minutes of standing there, thinking about the upcoming events, Ashley heard a whining from the floor, emitting from a red merle Border collie. She looked down to see her dog, Shania, thumping her tail against the floor and gazing up at her owner with hopeful, hungry eyes. Ashley chuckled, reaching down to pat the canine gently.
"Alright, 'Nia, let's get you and the others fed."
The Border collie stood up and circled Ashley, letting out one short bark before they both left the room. The niggling had returned to the girl's mind, and while she didn't think it had anything to do with her chores, Ashley figured there wasn't much she could do about whatever it was until she knew what it entailed…
Togenkyo
Kanzeon Bosatsu watched the images of a translucent orb before her unfolding into hazy daily events of an average American's life. She sighed- these girls' lives were rather boring- they could use a little pep. Luckily for them they'd soon get more than just a little excitement.
The goddess continued watching as each female figure filled the sphere, slowly being enveloped by a fine mist of elemental stature. First there was white for the fair winds and sky, and then there was pale, spring green for the nurturing earth, and finally there came the oceanic blue for calming waters. This did please the Merciful Goddess that at last the spirits were being awakened- it perhaps pleased her more that the angry red of destructive fire was not among these colors. However, she was still a tic annoyed.
"Just how stubborn are they?" she muttered, placing a finger on her chin. While the elemental souls had awaken, rousing the very beings of these three hosts, none of them seemed able to become aware of what had happened.
Perhaps it was the era and the place that the hosts lived in- from her observations, Kanzeon realized that as time went on, people had grown more closed-minded to magic and to their gods. She had long been watching the world's future through this orb, for it allowed her to do so without corrupting the natural flow of events. She had witnessed war, famine, death, and poverty that never should have come. All over the world, no matter what era or what country, it seemed that those four aspects would always be inevitable.
It saddened the goddess especially to see the world a mere ten years from the time of her three chosen hosts. There would be nothing worthy left. The forests would completely vanish; the air would become so thick with pollution that a task as simple as breathing would become nearly impossible. The population would decrease drastically as disease swept across the nation, and eventually across the sea to reach all else. Animals would no longer exist because of the destruction of their natural habitats, and eventually there would be absolutely no more beauty in their world…only a shell of decaying corpses and black smog…
With a heavy sigh, Kanzeon turned from the Seeing sphere. That would be the fate of their world as long as the greed continued to spread like a deadly infection. She did not wish for her chosen three to have to live and suffer through it, but in the end the choice would be theirs.
She had visited only one of the three hosts, the one who would be the elemental avatar for fair winds and sky. The journey had actually drained Kanzeon greatly- goddess or no, her powers had some limit to them. Stretching herself to make a transition between eras as well as countries caused her great strain. She could only hope that this girl would mention something to the other two about the strange woman she'd met in the rain.
It had been so long since the elementals had awakened, since they were truly needed for the sake of both worlds' survival. This made Kanzeon a little nervous- though she'd never let that on- for the sole reason of 'What if they can't do it?' Nevertheless, she could not do too much more but watch and from time to time help where it was possible. She dared not reach her powers that far into the future again, not unless it was absolutely necessary. Her part had been done- she had wakened the souls of the elements and had sent a very reluctant Sanzo party to the chosen three.
There the ground was not to be treaded lightly. If Kanzeon knew Genjyo Sanzo- her reincarnated form of the beloved Konzen Douji, he would be very wary of the elemental hosts. He would likely keep a guard like a concrete wall until he knew for sure they could be trusted. The goddess smirked- whether the two parties succeeded or not, it would be a rather wild ride…
Berkeley, Illinois
"Sanzo, where the heck are we, and why does Hakuryuu have windows now?! Why does everyone outside look so weird?"
The youthful voice of a chestnut haired boy complained loudly, his round golden hued eyes glancing about at his surroundings through a slightly tinted window. He pressed his forehead against the cool glass plate and frowned as there was no connection with the metal headband that was supposed to be on his head. Suddenly he freaked out again.
"Sanzo! My limiter! It's gone!"
"You stupid monkey, shut up or I'll kill you!" A blond young man turned suddenly from the front passenger seat, delivering a hard smack with a paper fan across the youth's cheek. A bright red mark shone where he struck.
From beside the boy, a lean young man with fiery hair and deep wine colored eyes chuckled, lighting a cigarette.
"You don't pay much attention, do you monkey? You were probably too busy thinking about your next meal…"
The youth growled, "Stop calling' me a monkey, you stupid kappa! I was hungry, alright?!" he rubbed his cheek where he'd been hit with the fan.
The red head turned his eyes on him. "Tell us something we didn't already know. You're a bottomless pit."
As though to prove a point, the youth's stomach growled loudly, betraying what might've been a retort from his open mouth. He sat back heavily, groaning.
"Sanzo, I'm hungry! Can't we stop somewhere?"
"No." the blond replied without batting an eyelash. His violet eyes were intensely scoping the paved roads and sidewalks, studying the mannerisms of those driving past them and walking about. He grunted lightly. "Hakkai- please tell me you know where you're going."
The driver, a dark haired young man with emeralds for eyes, smiled nervously. "To be honest, Sanzo, I really can't say that. We don't have a map, and I'm not exactly sure what we're supposed to be looking for. I'm a little surprised too- as Goku was- that my power limiter is gone as well. I wonder if the goddess wasn't lying after all."
Goku leaned forward. "See?! I told you there was something weird going on!"
The redhead pulled the youth back by the collar of his shirt. "Shut up- that hot air coming from your mouth is steaming up the windows- and I don't want anyone to think we're doing something back here that we shouldn't be."
"Gojyo- you stupid pervy water sprite! That's disgusting!" Goku wrenched away from the young man's hold, cowering in the corner of his seat.
Gojyo only laughed, finishing his cigarette before tossing it out the window. "Hey Hakkai- I'm taking it that the lack of power limiters means you and Goku can't transform into youkai, huh?"
Sanzo turned around to deliver a fan-beating to Gojyo. "Baka- none of you listen, do you?" he scowled, facing forward.
Risking one hand from the wheel to brush a lock of dark hair from his eyes, Hakkai tried his best to explain what he remembered. "She said here is where our gifts are nullified. I can sense that much is actually true- there is little magic here, and very little belief of spiritualism. There is religion- we've passed *temples several times since arriving, but I feel there is no true belief in it. Here the people are corrupt. They do not believe in such things as youkai, they do not believe in Shangri-la, and so coming here makes us as normal as the rest of them."
"Oh…" Goku murmured, intrigued by all of this. "But what are we doing here anyway? Where are we supposed to find the three elemental avatars if we don't know where we're going?"
"I don't know my friend," Hakkai replied rather optimistically. "You know, when we were told we had to take a journey to the West, I never thought we would go this far in that direction. At least everything was modernized so we could fit in- it might have looked very strange for us to drive with no top to Hakuryuu in the rain last night."
Gojyo snorted, "It's not like people don't look at us like we're crazy anyway, Hakkai…I wonder though…that girl yesterday, the one who gave us found our pack and gave it back to us…Sanzo, how cute was she?"
The comment's reply was a swift throw of the paper fan, knocking Gojyo right in the forehead.
"Goddamnit, Sanzo, that thing is for hitting, not throwing!" The redhead rubbed the sore spot gingerly, tossing the fan back up front.
Goku cracked up with laughter as Sanzo spoke flatly.
"We've got more important things to worry about than you getting laid, Gojyo. I suggest you shut up or next time I'll use my gun."
Hakkai laughed nervously, smiling still. "Now, now…I'm sure something will come our way soon. I guess we just have to be patient…"
A loud grumbling came from behind Hakkai's seat and Goku moaned, clutching his stomach. "I'm starving! Come on, Sanzo, can't we stop to get something?"
"No- and if you don't stop complaining, Hakkai, Gojyo, and I are going to be feasting on monkey beef tonight."
This stunned the youth and immediately he clamped his mouth shut, turning his eyes back out the window. He only hoped that something would happen soon- sitting still for so long on an empty stomach just might make him grumpy…
**A/N** ^_^ Well, even if there is just one or two reviewers for this story, it's no bother to me. I'm aware that people might be rather wary of Mary Sue like characters, but to be honest, I don't really care what they think. (If you're one of them, I don't mean to insult you, but I write these stories for my enjoyment first and foremost, then for my fellow Saiyuki fan friends, and then for my readers. Fan-fiction for me is only a way to exercise my brain while waiting for inspiration to write another chapter to one of my original stories. I suggest taking a gander at my library at www.fictionpress.com if you want original stories…). Anyhow, any review I do get is fine by me- even if you are a flamer. However, I do suggest that you don't waste your breath if you're only trying to get a rise out of me. ^_^ like my friend Cho Hakkai, I have an enormous amount of patience…so long as the buttons that make my temper flare are avoided ;).
Megumi- ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing. I'm glad that there's another Saiyuki fan out there- please do stick with the story- it might take a bit for each update, but I promise that there are interesting things to come o.o If you'd like (and if you're a fan of them ^_^) try reading my Trigun fiction, as well as my cross over fiction for Trigun and Cowboy BeBop, to help pass the time. ^_^