**A/N** YAY! It's finally done- well, chapter 6 is finally done. I thought it'd never end to be honest XD. Anyhow, I really hope you enjoy it! ^_^
Disclaimers: I do not own any characters, ideas, or nor am I affiliated in any way with Saiyuki or Kazuya Minekura. (Even though I wish I were XD). This fic is meant solely for my reading pleasure, as well as for my friends, and then you, my reviewers. Flame if you want- I really don't care ^_^. Thank you and have a nice day.
Megumi Watanabe- Yup, new chapter! LOL you'd let Gojyo hit on you, eh? Well, I guess I really can't blame you, but just remember that he isn't exactly as shallow as he comes off…As for Sanzo calling the girls floozies…well, ^_^, he'll get his, just you wait and see.
Dragoncat- Your feeling is more than likely right my friend. I'm rather glad I've gotten you interested in the anime. A good site to check out is www. Saiyuki.com ^_^ I recommend buying the manga if you can find it- it's excellent.
Silver on the Tree- Envy away, lol, but it won't do you too much good. However, I do hope you enjoy the next chapter XD
Chapter Six
~The Sleepover ~
Some minutes later, the black Jeep slowly made its way down the street of the next block, Hakkai keeping vigilant watch for the girls. The smile on his face became strained as his thoughts began to pester him. The Sanzo party was meant to find the three female avatars supposed to help them in saving Shangri La, and they did indeed come across three females. Sanzo may have blatantly refused to believe that the girls were the elementals, but an annoying tingle told Hakkai otherwise.
Perhaps their first clue might have been the girls knew who the Sanzo party was- or at least one of them seemed to know. Hakkai took a minute to remember what the Merciful Goddess had told the four before she exported them to modern America. She said the Sanzo party would be known by quite a few, but their fame would be much different than that in Togenkyo. She had also mentioned that the avatars may not appear to be what they really were, but once found the truth would become evident.
"Hakkai, is there something wrong?" Sanzo questioned, breaking the driver's thoughts.
"No, there isn't." Hakkai replied with a smile.
"If there isn't, then why did you just pass those girls waiting in front of that house?"
Embarrassed, the emerald eyed man slammed his foot on the brakes, turning the wheel hard to turn around. Hakuryuu let out a squawk of protest and Hakkai immediately apologized.
"Sorry, Hakuryuu, I suppose I wasn't keeping such a close eye after all."
As Goku straightened up in his seat, Gojyo cursed and rubbed the side of his head, having hit it on the window.
"Goddamnit Hakkai- I'd like to be in prime shape for the cuties you know. I can't do much romancing with a concussion."
"I'll give you a concussion," Sanzo snarled, giving a sidelong glare to the red head.
Goku pressed his face to the window as the Jeep pulled into the driveway behind Ashley's truck.
"I can still smell those pot stickers…I'm so hungry."
Landing a fist on top of Goku's head, Gojyo chortled. "Your brain is a pot sticker, stupid monkey."
"I'm not a monkey, you H2O asshole!" the golden eyed boy retorted, smacking Gojyo's arm away.
"Now, now…" Hakkai chuckled at the antics of the backseat duo. "Do you think you can try to behave for this one night? It was awfully nice of those girls to give us a place to stay; I'd hate to get kicked out because you two can't keep your hands off each other."
The monk huffed as her stepped out of the Jeep. "I doubt either of them will behave unless Goku is constantly eating and Gojyo is preoccupied by some tart."
"This is probably very true," a female voice agreed as the rest of the part filed from the vehicle. "Although we have plenty to eat, I don't think Gojyo will find a healthy supply of tart in my house."
The brunette girl smiled, tossing her ponytail back, her two friends standing beside her. Sanzo let on the smallest of smirks as Gojyo scoffed in complaint.
"Don't expect too much peace and quiet, then." The monk stated simply.
Hakkai raised his hands, "Oh, no…we promise you won't even know we're here."
Ashley snorted, muttering to Katie. "That sounds familiar…"
Snickering, Katie turned a steady blue gaze to the party of four. "Actually, we'd love to know that you're here- it's one of the reasons we invited you for the night."
Almost as soon as the last word was spoken, Katie found the barrel of a pistol aimed at her forehead. If the girls hadn't been convinced before that this was the Sanzo party, they were sure convinced now. Or…they were at least convinced that Sanzo was a complete lunatic.
"And just what is that supposed to mean?"
Katie stared down the barrel of the holy gun before lifting her eyes to the violet scrutiny of the monk's gaze.
"Wow…that didn't take long at all. I was hoping to last a few hours before this," she muttered.
"Yeah, no shit." Mandi gaped, looking to Ashley who just nodded her agreement.
"It means that we are glad for your company, Genjyo Sanzo;" the blue-eyed young woman began softly, "you see, we know exactly who you are, where you're from, and what you do…however, we're not at all sure why you're here. In fact, as much as we might have wished it, we never really thought you were real."
"They're real enough in our dreams," Ashley quipped dryly, causing Mandi to stifle a giggle.
The monk kept his gun raised as Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai looked wearily one. They were tired, hungry, and by the smell of things in dire need of a shower- and here Sanzo was, threatening to shoot the head off of their link to those things.
"Don't you ever get tired to threatening to kill people, Sanzo?" Katie mused. Somehow she knew he wouldn't follow through. "Give us a chance, huh? We're hospitable, and we don't bite…hard."
As the usual voice of reason, Hakkai spoke up, though quite nervous.
"Sanzo, you have to remember that demons do not exist here. I know you aren't one to listen to the gods, but I think the Merciful Goddess was right when she let us know that much. Shooting her and her friends isn't going to do anything but get us all in trouble, and I've got a feeling that they are…"
"…you shut up," Sanzo snapped, lowering the pistol. He supposed Hakkai was right, but he didn't want to say it, and he knew what was going to follow, but he refused to believe it. "Fine, we'll stay for one night, and that is it, but if any of you…"
"…try anything stupid, you'll kill us. We know. We've heard it tons of times before, though never aimed at us." Mandi finished with a grin. "You're so severe, jeez."
Ashley chortled, turning to go inside of the house. "Glad that's settled. I'm going inside to eat before the food gets too cold."
"Wait for me!" Goku cried, suddenly springing to life. He darted past Sanzo's outstretched hand after the tall girl, his cape fluttering behind him.
"Well, shall we go inside as well, or did you plan on taking your fan out on me next?" Katie prompted the blond monk, smirking.
Wordlessly, Sanzo simply moved past her and continued on up the back steps of the house.
"Jerk," Katie muttered but kept her smirk all the same.
Gojyo lit a cigarette as he started walking, only to be stopped by a hand on his arm.
"What the..? Hey honey, how can I help you?" he winked a crimson eye at Mandi who withdrew her hand at once.
"Just so you know there's no smoking inside- I plan on telling Sanzo the same thing. Oh and another thing- our names are not 'honey', 'sweetheart', 'cutie', or anything of that caliber- we all have real names, so when you know them, use them, ok?"
Gojyo gazed at her, cock-eyed, and then looked to Katie and finally to Hakkai. "Uh…alright, whatever you say then, honey…err, sorry."
"I'm Katie, this is Mandi, and our friend inside is Ashley- think you can remember that, red?" the older girl chuckled, clearly teasing him.
Hakkai beamed, "He isn't as simple minded as he seems- it shouldn't be too difficult for him."
Snorting in laughter, the girls shook their heads and replied in unison. "We know."
Before anymore could be said, a loud crash sounded from the kitchen. Katie saw Mandi's smile turn into a grimace as shouting and smacking followed the initial noise.
"Sounds like the monkey is in trouble again," Gojyo sighed, snubbing out the cigarette on the driveway.
Hakkai began to walk to the house, and the other three followed suit. Once they were inside, Goku could be found cowering in the corner by the fridge and under the kitchen window, Sanzo glowering over him, fan in hand.
"Baka saru, can't you be patient long enough for your food without breaking something?!"
Ashley stood by the sink, hazel eyes cast to the broken plate of rice and Chow Mien on the floor. "It was an accident, Mandi- it slipped when he tried to take it."
"Oh my, what a mess," Hakkai murmured, following the girl's gaze.
"It's not too bad," Katie conceded, "but a mess all the same. Mandi, do you have a broom?"
Mandi opened the basement door beside her, grabbed the broom and dustpan from the wall, and handed them to Katie all while refraining to give Sanzo a good smack with the end of it. She hated how uncaring he came off- the girls knew just how he really felt about his companions but refused to admit it to anyone. Of course, they weren't going to let that on just yet.
Goku turned apologetic eyes to each girl, "I'm sorry, I'm just so hungry."
"It's fine, just be more careful next time," Ashley stated with a small smile, crouching down to help Katie pick up the mess.
"What a waste," Gojyo clicked his tongue, "there goes your share, monkey."
"What-no fair!!" Goku cried, leaping to his feet to lunge at the red head.
Sanzo raised his fan to strike again, but Mandi shouted out, already fed up with the number of times the young man had been struck.
"That is quite enough, please! Accidents happen, and I don't care how unorthodox of a monk you are, you should at least have an understanding of that. He didn't mean for it to happen- Ashley said so herself, and there's no harm done, really."
Katie and Ashley glanced up from the floor at their friend. She didn't usually speak up like this, which meant her well of patience had to be wearing thin already. Mandi wasn't mean, but her temper could flare up if the right buttons were pushed, and nobody really wanted to be on her bad side when that happened. It seemed, however, that Sanzo had already begun the trek to the wrong side of the tracks and that their friend was quite annoyed by his antics.
"I swear," Mandi continued, obviously trying to tone down the anger wanting to burst out, "you hit him a lot more than we've ever witnessed. Now…I think it was pretty nice of us to invite the four of you here for the night, especially since you've nowhere else to go. Not to mention, I'm not even asking for anything in return for giving food and shelter. I think it's only fair then to lay down two rules, and only two. You smoke outside, and you stop beating up on Goku for every stupid little thing. If you don't think you can handle that…" she glanced pointedly to Sanzo and then to Gojyo, knowing full well how often he beat up on the boy. "…then you can just sleep out in the Jeep."
"You go," Katie laughed under her breath, resuming the clean-up with Ashley.
Sanzo stared at the pony tailed girl, his expression shifting to one of mild bewilderment. Surprisingly he did not strike Goku with his fan, nor did he strike Gojyo for starting the argument. However, he did lash it out rather harshly atop Mandi's head before slipping it into his robes.
"You are annoying," he scowled at her, "but fine, have it your way. Don't complain to me when the chimp starts driving you crazy though."
Ashley and Katie stood to throw out the broken plate and wasted food, their eyes watching Mandi's reaction. They were stunned, completely stunned- she did not retaliate in any way- she simply laughed, and this in turn caused them both to laugh as well. The expression on the young men's faces only made their laughter heighten- apparently they weren't used to anyone standing up to a Sanzo priest- especially this Sanzo priest. The guys would learn soon enough that these three girls weren't ones to take things lying down- they would speak up, if not for themselves, then for their friends.
Mandi stopped laughing suddenly and frowned. "Wait…I'm annoying?"
Chuckling softly, Hakkai reassured her that Sanzo found most everyone annoying.
"You're annoying too," Sanzo muttered.
This only caused the girls to resume laughing, harder yet, leaving the guys to wonder what the hell was wrong with their heads. And then, as though it only just dawned on him, Sanzo pointed a finger at the girls.
"What did you mean, I hit him more than you've ever witnessed? If I am not mistaken, and I am sure I'm not, we have only just met today."
Gojyo arched a brow, "Ya know I hate to say it, but he is right."
The girls ceased their laughing, feeling quite like a trio of thieves, even though they really hadn't done anything wrong. Katie smiled faintly.
"Well, you see…as I said before, we know all about you. In fact…we probably know more about you than…you do. Although, it is a bit difficult to explain it because…well, you shouldn't even be here."
Goku reached for a serving of Crab Rangoon, "Can we talk over dinner? My stomach is eating me, here, I'm so hungry."
"That is up to those three," Sanzo replied flatly, all but spitting out the reference to the girls.
Mandi nodded and began moving the food out to the dining room, Katie and Hakkai helping out as Goku and Sanzo followed. As the five sat down at the table to load their plates, Ashley stuck the plate she'd made before Goku's incident into the microwave. Her hazel eyes flickered to the red headed kappa, who now stood beside her, staring at the buttons near the microwave door.
Risking a longer look, Ashley tried to determine the color of the young man's eyes. Indeed, they were a deep crimson- the color of blood, really, matching his hair. His eyes showed no proof of contacts and his hair appeared to be in its natural hue, showing no darker or lighter roots or streaks of other color at all. Even the eyelashes on the corners of his lids were elongated, evidence of that taboo joining of human and youkai.
"Wow…" she murmured, suddenly very aware that Gojyo was…Gojyo.
While Gojyo had kept his gaze intensely upon the humming contraption, he was not oblivious to Ashley's roaming eyes. He knew just what she was looking at as well- it was what everyone first looked at when they saw him. His expression fell into darkness.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't stare."
Taken aback, Ashley glanced away. Between the girls, each had an absolute favorite character from the Saiyuki anime, and Ashley's just happened to be Sha Gojyo. She never expected to find herself standing beside him in person, let alone in Mandi's kitchen in front of the microwave. On top of thinking that the anime character was attractive, Ashley realized that he was far better looking in person- his hair and eyes truly were the most wonderful shade of crimson. They almost appeared to be on fire.
"I didn't mean to," Ash stated, taking the plate from the microwave. She turned to him to look at him momentarily, "I'm sorry. I think I know now, though, that you are the real thing."
Gojyo was left puzzled by her words, but followed to join the rest of the group in the dining room, sliding beside a happily chow downing Goku.
"So what's the deal with you chicks- how do you know so much about us?"
"You chicks…" Katie repeated, shaking her head. "Would you look at that, Mandi? He's forgotten our names already."
"Tch," Gojyo scoffed, pointing to each girl. "Katie, Mandi, and Ashley- I didn't forget. Goku's the one who'd have forgotten by now, anyway."
"Is that so?" Mandi challenged. "He seems to remember Hakkai's name just fine, especially after it was changed…oops."
She trailed off and stared down at her plate, her ears beginning to turn bright red. Hakkai frowned in the brunette's direction, but was interrupted by Goku before he could say anything.
"Well…the Merciful Goddess said we would be well known, but…that was just weird."
Sanzo gave a curt nod. "I'd like an explanation, if you would." His violet eyes focused on the three girls.
When Katie and Mandi looked to Ashley, the blond girl shook her head.
"I'm not saying a damn word- I don't feel like jumping into the hole you're about to dig, thanks, nor do I want to get shot at or hit."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ash." Katie laughed shortly before averting her blue eyes. "So Mandi, where do we start?"
Mandi arched a brow. "I'm not sure. I suppose wherever it would make the most sense to start?"
Growing impatient, Sanzo tapped his fingers on the table. "You can begin now, please."
"I think that please was sarcastic," Katie speculated, ignoring the glare from the monk.
Glancing amongst each other, the girls tried to figure out just how to break it to the four guys. It wasn't an easy task- telling someone that they weren't supposed to exist, when it was quite obvious that they did. Up until this point, however, these fellows were no more than prettily made up pixels on computer and television screens.
"Now," the monk repeated, strained, the corner of his eye twitching.
"Oh my," Mandi chuckled. "I can almost see the little animated tic mark on his face. Alright, don't get your holy knickers in a twist; we're trying to figure out how to start…"
Goku snickered at the remark, stuffing an egg roll into his mouth to stifle it. He didn't understand what it was Sanzo didn't like about these girls- they were pretty nice and funny too. Then again, most of the Sanzo party's enemies had first appeared kind and later ended up trying to kill them. Goku supposed that was reason enough for Sanzo to have his guard up, but this wasn't Shangri La, and these girls didn't seem to have any evil intentions.
"Well, we have to ask you all to keep a very open mind," Katie began, waiting to see the slight nods from the four before continuing. "Good. As you can see, we live in a world much different from yours, despite the few similarities. Sure- we have vehicles, ATMs, electricity, and such…but one thing that we're sure you don't have that we do…is Television."
"Tele-what?" Goku inquired, confused.
"It's a box with a screen that shows moving pictures of…well, just about anything, really. We call what we see a commercial or episode…well, let me show you." Mandi stood up and moved to the living room. Rather than explain the concept with words, she'd just let them see for themselves.
Slowly, the rest of the group shuffled into the next room as Mandi picked up the remote and switched the TV on. Katie and Ashley sniggered as the young men stared in complete awe of the colorful images on the screen. After a few minutes of channel surfing, Mandi turned around, feeling very much like a teacher in a classroom.
"This is a TV, and what you see on the screen right now is an episode for a show that airs every week. You can't touch the people that are on it because they're not actually inside the set…I've never really had to explain this before, so I feel kind of stupid, but- these shows are all pre-recorded on sets and then they are transmitted to Televisions all over the place. It's a huge electrical deal, hard to really describe it clearly."
Gojyo pointed at the TV. "So what does that have to do with us?"
Katie laughed, "It actually has a lot to do with you. This is part of the reason why we know so much about you four." She paused a moment to think of the right words. "There are a lot of kinds of these shows- some are animated, meaning not recorded with real people. They're just a bunch of drawings slapped together to form moving pictures. These shows can also be recorded onto…capsules, if you will, that allow the viewer to be able to watch the same episode whenever they want to."
By the looks of things, the guys appeared just as confused as before. They weren't too sure what some of these words were supposed to mean, but the pictures on the screen sure were captivating. Sanzo gestured towards the screen.
"You say this is not something that is happening right now?"
Ashley sighed. "No- most of these shows aren't even real, they're fictitious. There are shows that are non-fiction based, though, and some actually are live. Like the news broadcasts."
Mandi and Katie smirked at the tall girl- despite not wanting to get into this; it seemed Ashley couldn't stay away from the proverbial hole in the ground.
The monk nodded a bit. "News broadcasts?"
Katie smiled, "Yes. Like you read a newspaper nearly every day to update you on current events- well with a television, you're updated every few hours. And, on some channels, you can get updates every minute."
This seemed to intrigue Sanzo, though he only displayed it with a lift of an eyebrow.
"What this has to do with you," Mandi prompted, "is that on those capsules…these discs we have, are recorded images of…you four. They're animated, which is why we thought you to be nothing more than just another TV show. These discs show us everything you've been through including your pasts and the present, as well as information you four probably know nothing about."
Goku's golden eyes rounded. "That's a little freaky."
Hakkai shifted, slightly uneasy. "So the chance of others having seen these…"
"Is pretty big," Katie finished.
"Ah…thus explaining the popularity here that the Merciful Goddess spoke of." Hakkai murmured thoughtfully.
Ashley continued. "Those discs can be bought in certain shops and can be watched by anyone. There's a whole spiel of animated shows that are separated by genre, so whoever is interested in action and comedy might pick up the discs about you. Mandi- maybe we should just show them?"
Hesitantly, Mandi obliged and ran upstairs to her room to fetch the DVDs. When she came back down, she handed a DVD to each of the young men. There came a collectively surprised sound from them all when they saw themselves drawn on four of the cases.
"S-Sanzo! This is me!" Goku cried, waving a volume in the air, gaping at the monk. "And that's you! And Hakkai! And Gojyo!"
Sanzo didn't let on the surprise he had from all of this. He handed the DVD back to Mandi, his violet eyes turning to glance at the TV set. The gods were crafty, to have thought of this, and he was rather displeased at strangers being able to look in on their affairs. He might not completely understand the concept of it all, but Sanzo knew that there had to be quite a bit of information on these discs that revealed their mission.
"I'd like to see them," he more ordered than asked it of the girls. "I'm curious to know just what you have been seeing."
Gojyo shuddered, "Man, so am I. How much of me have you three seen, anyway?"
Ugh," Ashley snorted, shaking her head, "don't flatter yourself, Red."
Mandi seemed reluctant. "Ah...well I suppose we could watch it, but the device that plays them is up in my room."
Sanzo began moving for the stairs. "Fine- then we're going upstairs."
Katie glanced to the pony tailed girl. "Uh, Mandi- your room...?"
Wide-eyed, Mandi blocked the entrance to the steps, arms stretched out. "NO! No, don't go up there- I mean, I can just bring it down here and...We can watch it down...here."
Gojyo, Goku, and Hakkai exchanged puzzled expressions as Sanzo became suspicious.
"I want to watch them...upstairs."
Laughing nervously, Mandi shook her head. "Let me save you the trip, really- there isn't enough room up there anyway. Please don't go in my room, really, you won't feel comfortable at all."
Ashley and Katie began to snigger, covering their mouths. Of course, Mandi didn't want them to go up there simply because of all the Saiyuki pictures she had plastered on her walls- to the guys she would definitely seem to have stalker tendencies.
Hakkai laughed lightly, "Sanzo, if there isn't room then why not let her just bring it down here?"
The monk snorted, "Because I'm interested to know what she's hiding."
"Hiding?" Mandi chuckled, still nervous, "there's nothing to hide, really."
"Then move aside and let me go up, please." Sanzo repeated dryly.
"No."
Katie bit her lip to keep from laughing, but to no avail. She was forced to lean on Ashley just to keep standing.
The monk huffed, "Why not?"
"Because it's my house and you're a guest here, and I said so." Mandi crossed her arms in her refusal.
Without so much as another word, Sanzo promptly smacked her head with his fan and eased past her to the staircase. "You're not being a very good hostess- that's ten points. We're going upstairs- all of us."
Stunned, Mandi simply stood by as the violet eyed monk disobeyed her wishes and climbed the steps. Katie stopped sniggering long enough to suggest that somebody go after Sanzo before he was scared to death by the content of Mandi's room. While Hakkai apologized profusely for his comrade's behavior, the girls turned and bolted up after the monk.
They were too late, however, because Sanzo had already pushed the bedroom door open. Ashley turned rounded hazel eyes to her friends as the other three guys ascended the staircase. They were trapped now; the girls had to face whatever Sanzo's reaction might be.
While the explanation of a television set or their pictures on DVD cases didn't get much out of him, it appeared that the décor of the bedroom did. As the girls cautiously entered the room, Sanzo called for his companions, his intense indigo eyes wide as he stared at the window scroll depicting their faces.
Katie put a hand on Mandi's shoulder as the girl tried to hide in the corner of her room. Ashley frowned, unable to decide how funny, yet awkward, the situation was.
"Holy hell- that's…just…scary." Gojyo stammered as soon as he saw what Sanzo looked at.
Goku wrinkled his nose at the Saiyuki mini-posters on the door, but his own gaze appeared as stunned as Sanzo's once he saw the wall scroll.
"Whoa! How awesome is that?!"
Hakkai laughed nervously. "To be honest, my friend, I find it a little creepy."
"I suppose it would be," Ashley murmured, "to walk into a room and see pictures of your self all over the place."
"Yeah, that's certainly true. I bet a feeling like you're being stalked overcomes you." Katie added teasingly.
Of course, the teasing was directed towards Mandi, who was hiding her reddening face with her hands. She was above and beyond embarrassed- these guys were going to think she was completely psychotic!
Sanzo turned to face the others, unable to shake his shocked state.
"Who…wants to explain this one?"
Ashley spoke very matter-of-factly. "When a show is popular, the company that owns it begins to put out merchandise that usually shows pictures of the characters from it. They can be printed on just about anything, and shown in almost anyway. Most of the time they're sold as books, stationary, stickers, key chains, clothing, wall scrolls, and posters."
Lifting his golden eyes to Ash, Goku made an inquiry. "So then…people buy all this stuff? We're really popular here then, just like that woman said."
"Yep, you really are." Ashley nodded her agreement.
Gojyo moved to the wall scroll, his fingertips moving over the fabric of it.
"So are characters ever printed by themselves on these things?"
"Yeah, they can be. This is to appeal to those fans that only have one favorite character," Katie clarified.
"I guess that brings a whole new meaning to selling my self, eh? Not that I do that, but you get the picture."
The girls stared at him blankly for a minute before Gojyo turned around and continued with a smug grin.
"So tell me, just how popular am I, ladies?"
"Don't be so full of yourself, hentai baka." Goku rolled his eyes.
Katie grinned, "Actually, online polls have usually shown Goku to be the most popular of the group, and after him Sanzo."
Goku beamed, "I'm more popular than Gojyo?! Wait…online? What does that mean?"
"That is a whole other ballpark," Mandi chuckled. "Why don't we save that lesson for later? It probably isn't a good idea to push too much information on you four at one time."
"We can handle it," Gojyo began, "but the monkey's mini brain might explode."
Hakkai smiled, "Now, now…I think insinuating that Goku isn't as smart as the rest of us goes along with the rule of beating on him, Gojyo. Mandi is probably right, though- that is quite a bit to take in at once…Sanzo?"
The blond monk stared past the group, his gaze locked onto one of the small posters on the door. In the picture there was a young man of lean stature with flowing blond hair and violet eyes. His forehead was marked with a crimson chakra and he wore loose fitting garments nearly lilac in color which were held in place by silver bands at the neck and wrists. The poster portrayed the young man staring forlornly at his blood stained hands, and the same crimson color was splotched on his clothing.
"Sanzo, what is it?" Hakkai called, suddenly concerned by the monk's concentrated gaze.
All three girls turned their own eyes to the poster and right away a frown set each of their mouths. Goku's fingers traced the illustration as his eyes shined.
"He looks like Sanzo…but not."
Sanzo now wore a rather deep scowl, but he could not bring himself to tear his eyes from the poster. The picture held much intrigue- it pulled him to it and gave him a sense of vague familiarity.
"Konzen Douji," Katie said quietly with an affirming nod.
Hakkai's green gaze darted to the shorter girl. He knew that name- he'd heard it at least twice already. As if she expected him to say something of it, Ashley responded to his expression.
"You've all heard the name before, Hakkai. The Merciful Goddess was the first to use it, and the second was Homura."
At once the attention of the four young men was brought to Ashley, all staring at her rather suspiciously. Of course mentioning the name of the half-god War Prince would be reason to raise suspicion, however, with the knowledge from the DVD episodes, why wouldn't the girls know about him?
"We have watched almost everything, you know." Katie murmured with an underlying tone of sadness in her voice. "Rather than explain it all to you, though, maybe you should just watch it yourselves? Mandi…?"
With a nod, the pony tailed girl dropped to her knees on the carpet and began setting up the TV and DVD player. She inserted the first volume disc then glanced over her shoulder to Ashley and Katie.
"Do you suppose we should let them watch it without us in here?"
"What, and miss out on the Saiyuki marathon? Hell no!" Katie laughed, sitting on the edge of the bed to punctuate her statement.
Ashley snorted, shaking her head as she sat beside Katie. "Whatever you want to do is fine, but…I'm staying in here."
Goku seated himself directly in front of the television set, which was an action quickly reprimanded.
"Is your head a window?" Sanzo glowered as he made himself comfy on the very edge of the left corner of the mattress
"Huh? Of course it isn't, what are you talking about?" Goku asked, bewildered.
"Move back, baka." Sanzo scoffed.
Gojyo situated himself on the floor, reclining against the bed, and then tilted his head back to find he was beside Ashley.
"Hey there," he grinned to her, seeming to forget that he'd felt insulted by her stares not too long ago.
"Hi," Ash replied stiffly, nodding towards the screen, which now played the introduction to ADV films. "You'll learn a lot more by watching the screen, you know." She didn't mean to sound so snippy with him, but she wasn't entirely sure how to react. Despite knowing what characteristics Gojyo had beneath his cocky exterior, she couldn't help but feel annoyed by his constant conceitedness.
With a shrug, he turned his crimson eyes to the TV, pulling Goku back by the collar.
"I think Sanzo asked you to move because we can't see through your thick head, monkey."
Groaning, Goku rested his hands on his stomach and looked to his right where Mandi knelt, placing the DVDs back in order.
"Hey…"
Mandi stood up and smiled knowingly. "You can have whatever food you want, Goku. Five hundred years without eating is quite a long time. I'll go downstairs and get a bunch of stuff for us all to snack on, ok?"
Golden eyes shimmering with excitement, Goku all but hugged her. "You're so kick ass! I mean it, thanks a lot!"
Laughing, Mandi moved quietly out of the room as the first episode began, and was halfway down the steps when she became aware of someone behind her. Letting out a startled yelp, she missed the next step and nearly sent herself careening down the rest of the way. Luckily, a hand clamped down on her shoulder and prevented the fall.
"That's twice I've almost killed you today," Hakkai spoke nervously. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that- you're awfully sensitive."
Mandi glanced up at the smiling youth and felt her ears begin to burn red.
"It's alright…Aren't you going to watch with the others? You'll miss the beginning."
Hakkai followed her down the rest of the stairs towards the dining room. "Well, like the beginning of any story, I'm supposing it'll be a bit slow. I thought you might like some help bringing the food upstairs. You'll need quite a stash- if you haven't noticed; Goku can eat a lot, so you'll also need an extra pair of arms."
She only laughed in response and began to gather the leftover cartons of Chinese left on the dining room table. Nobody had really gotten much of a chance to finish their dinners- in fact most of it was still on the plates. Given the circumstances, though, Mandi guessed everyone just forgot about the food.
"I'm shocked that Goku let all of this sit down here," she chuckled, talking more to herself than to anyone.
Hakkai took some of the cartons in hand, "You don't know just how shocking that is."
"Sure I do," she retorted, "believe me, you'll see how Katie, Ashley, and I know so much about you when we join the others upstairs. It might be weird to watch yourself on the screen, but…it does prove entertaining."
"Oh?" Hakkai let out a soft laugh, "Now I'm interested to know just what kinds of things you three have seen…"
He trailed off as they entered the kitchen. Mandi stretched to pick up a small basket on top of the microwave and began placing the Chinese food cartons into it neatly, packing in some napkins on the side. She looked around for anything else the others might like before stacking seven glasses, going into the fridge to take out the iced tea and a jug of water, and then leaning against the counter in thought.
Her chestnut gaze flickered to Hakkai, who stood in front of the refrigerator, void of any expression.
"Hakkai? Are you alright?"
"You said you saw our pasts…" He spoke just above a whisper, not turning to face her. "…you slipped, earlier in the conversation over dinner, saying Goku remembered my name after it changed. They had all that information on those discs?"
Mandi didn't much want him to see the DVDs anymore. It must have slipped the girls' minds, how painful it might be for any of the guys to witness their childhoods all over again, or to relive the pain of losing those very dear to them. With a heavy sigh, she could only nod to him, and picked up the basket in her arms.
Hakkai turned his emerald eyes to the kitchen window, now frowning. "As much as I don't want to see it…perhaps I should." And then, out of the blue, his mood changed, and a smile returned to his face as he picked up the glasses and held the jugs of tea and water. "Well then, shall we return?"
His change of mood came unexpectedly, though Mandi understood completely why it had. She could relate to not wanting people to know what hurts lie beneath a smile. So, not pressing the matter, she nodded and led the way back up the stairs.
The group seemed enthralled by the episode playing on the screen. Katie and Ashley were mouthing out the lines, while Gojyo, Goku, and Sanzo stared in utter disbelief. How could this be? How could every move they made, every word they ever spoke to each other, every thought that crossed their minds be at the fingertips of anyone who wanted to witness them? It was both annoying and mind-numbingly awesome.
Hakkai moved to an empty place on the floor beside Goku and began to pour drinks for everyone, just having a feeling of what each person would like. When he passed out the glasses everyone took it without so much as a glance his way. He had to laugh silently- was their journey really that interesting?
Mandi nudged Goku, waving a pot sticker under his nose. "Hey, Goku…I brought you your snacks. Goku?"
The chestnut haired boy continued to stare unblinkingly at the screen, but his mouth opened as though he expected the pot sticker to voluntarily hop in. Shaking her head, Mandi broke the pastry like food in half and placed half of it into his mouth, finding amusement that he chewed and swallowed it despite his trance-like state. He truly had animal instincts…
…As the night wore on into early morning, and each disc was changed to the next volume, the girls began to wonder just how long they could go on without sleep. They were quite afraid that if they did go to bed that they'd wake up to find this had all been a dream. However, Katie was concerned about not getting any sleep, as she was known to have epileptic seizures and lack of sleep could trigger one. And so, quite reluctantly, the girls decided to let the young men have the larger room, and made their way to the living room to sleep…
* * *
Togenkyo
From the translucent seeing sphere, Kanzeon Bosatsu watched as the Sanzo party first encountered the three girls on the streets of modern day America. Her red painted lips curled into a smile, for those three were exactly who the young men needed to come across.
She had no surprise in finding that Sanzo refused to believe the girls were the elemental avatars, but Kanzeon could see through his act. He knew in his heart that the ones named Katie, Mandi, and Ashley were in fact the very girls he and his comrades were sent to find.
"Hard headed fool," the goddess muttered. "You were one then and you are one now, my dear Konzen…"
She couldn't blame him for being wary of strangers, however, especially given the pasts the four companions experienced. Kanzeon tapped her fingers against the sphere and continued to watch and be hopeful, knowing full well that from where she was she could do nothing but.
Her expectations of the meeting between the young men and the avatars being entertaining, however, were more than fulfilled. The goddess had a feeling that even the surpassing of fulfillment would be exceeded. She found the attempts of a definition of television quite amusing, but perhaps thought the funniest moment was the refusal of entry to the upstairs bedroom.
Kanzeon also held great admiration for the girls. They might not realize just yet what they were capable of, but it appeared that their wills were rather strong. All on the first day of meeting they were able to allow their personalities to shine through by laying down ground rules for being on their turf. They took control of an impossible situation. Kanzeon applauded them for it and only hoped what she saw was but a glimpse of things to come.
"Be strong, my elementals…you'll soon come to realize just how important you are…"