--Author's Note-- Good grief! I have to say I'm so very sorry for how incredibly long this story has taken me! -o Well, I'm sorry for how long it's taken this chapter to be posted- but to everyone who has been patiently waiting, thank you! Domo arigatou! Gracias! Merci! (You get the hint, ne?). Anyhow, the wait is now over. Chapter fifteen has arrived for your reading pleasure. Now, I'd originally intended for this to be the last chapter of Part One, however, due to the length of it, I split it ONCE more. So there is going to be a chapter 16, I'm sorry……Ha, ha, but no worries! Chapter 16 is finished! So you know what that means?! "Saiyuki: An Unlikely Story (Part 1)" has been completed! –dances- Don't you fret though, there is a part two to conclude absolutely everything and give closure.
I'll save the rest for the very last chapter :D For now, sit back and enjoy!
-PS- Please forgive any redundancy you might find in this chapter and the one to come. I took a long break between writing and drawing and though I reread everything, mistakes and whatnot aren't lacking, I'm sure. Any critique or help you have to offer, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Disclaimer(s)- You know the drill. Saiyuki does not belong to me, nor am I affiliated with the greatest manga-ka in the world (Kazuya Minekura-sempai/sama). I'm making no profit from this whatsoever, save for the pure enjoyment of myself, my friends, and all lovers of Saiyuki. If you feel like flaming, flame away, it won't do a damn thing to faze me. (Also, if you're one of those deranged people who are so utterly bent on pointing out all original characters as being a Mary Sue or a Marty Stu, I suggest you go to ; the terms on what actually entails a character to be considered an MS can be found there. Then come back and apologize for being a freaking moron. :).
Claimer(s): Original characters such as Tsung Lao, Mandi, Katie, Ashley, and Erin all belong to their respectable owners (and selves) and are not to be stolen by any means or the wrath of the Elementals shall strike upon your hapless pathetic form. :D
Chapter Fifteen
Convention of Sorts: Part Two
Gansu Forest
"Kougaji-sama, have you figured it out yet?" Yaone hardly lifted her chin from the hearth, carefully tending to the dying embers of a breakfast fire.
The youkai prince continuously rolled the Fire Sphere in his palms. It exuded heat at times; he felt its weight and its power within the swirling reds and oranges over the smooth surface.
"Iie…but it feels as though it'd gotten warmer. I'm not completely sure but I think there is something missing."
Laying another piece of tinder across the fire, blowing across to make a small flame catch it, the apothecary tried not to let her words show exhaustion. After all, they had spent nearly two entire weeks hiding away in the sanctity of the forest.
"Perhaps it is time we returned to Houtou? It's been so long, Kougaji-sama, and Lady Ririn and Dokugakuji are bound to be worried about you."
"Absolutely not." Kou snapped so harshly that the female youkai started. "I can't risk this sphere falling into the hands of Koushu's lab tech cronies. I won't lose this chance to free my mother and to free myself from that self-proclaimed queen's claws."
Yaone returned to tending the fire, though breakfast had long since passed. "I understand, my lord…demo, does it bother you that we haven't seen or heard anything from other demons here? Not all of Tsung Lao's group disappeared, right?"
Silence followed. Kougaji had become enthralled with the orb he held, his violet gaze unblinking and reflecting red-orange. He'd already become lost in his mind, swallowed up by the myriad of thoughts swimming and searching for a place to settle. What if staying away this long was a bad idea?
What would become of Dokugakuji? His loyalty to Kougaji stood strong and unshakable and he wouldn't tell the prince's whereabouts if his life depended on it.
What if that were the case?
What if Dokugakuji were harmed or killed or imprisoned?
Was Ririn alright? Did she miss her older brother?
Or had she taken matters into her own hands and decided to sneak away from her newly assigned guardian to seek Kou's whereabouts?
Had Lady Koushu even noticed that Kougaji and Yaone went missing?
More frightening yet; what exactly were the scientists in the laboratory up to now that all their precious data had been stolen?
As her prince sat and pondered what remained unknown to her, Yaone dropped tangerine eyes to the Fire Sphere. Kougaji felt something was missing. Something more was needed to call forth the spirit inside of the orb, but what, exactly? She supposed it had something to do with the element itself.
A ritual?
A spell?
A proper resting place, maybe?
The fire popped, spitting out a red-hot cinder to land casually upon the unmarked surface of the orb. It sizzled, nearly going out completely, but then flared up into a fierce dancing flame.
Kougaji dropped it in surprise, taken from his troubles to stare in befuddlement at the flammable yet non-burning sphere.
"It's on fire but it doesn't burn…" He whispered, amazed by the sight.
Yaone watched until the flame flickered and went out. "I wonder if that is what's missing, my Lord Kougaji? The element of live fire may be the key."
Reaching out to the orb, Kougaji rested the pads of his fingers upon the unmarred surface. The temperature had shot to scorching calibers and the prince drew back, nursing his index finger with his lips.
"Kuso… that's hot. There isn't a mark on it…" He turned his attention to the pharmacist's inquisition. "That's a high possibility, Yaone you may be right…but is that a chance to take?"
They couldn't very well just toss the orb into the fire. What if it ended up burning to a crisp? All would be lost. Everything would've been done in vain and Kou would return to Houtou, tail between his legs, hoping that everything there hadn't changed in his absence. That his little escapade wouldn't issue his imprisonment by orders of Lady Koushu.
Someone that had no true royal status that surpassed Kou's own; who festered over the dismal dream of becoming Gyomaoh's wife rather than just his mistress, didn't strike the prince as one to obey.
Tentatively, Yaone rested two fingers on the prince's forearm. "Without risks, my lord Kougaji, life is not worth living. We won't ever know unless we try, and we've tried almost everything else. Forgive me for an attempt to overtake your authority, Kougaji-sama, but what other choice do we have?"
Knowing that Yaone certainly was not one to undermine his authority, the youkai prince took her words into consideration. Truly, what other choice did they have? Gazing upon the orb in his sinewy hands, Kougaji released a heavy sigh and nodded.
"Hai, I suppose you're right…"
Still noting her leader's reluctance, the apothecary recalled quite an important factor. "Kougaji-sama, remember, the orb survived even through your golem's attack. A little campfire may not cause any damage at all."
Kougaji rounded his eyes. Yes- she was absolutely right in this aspect! The attack had washed out all else, but the Fire Sphere had survived, intact. A surge of renewed hope washed through and he turned quickly to the fire pit.
"Stoke the fire some more, Yaone, we're going to awaken this spirit if it's the last thing I ever do. Mother must be saved…"
Of course the young female youkai obeyed- she always obeyed.
She always listened to her prince.
She'd never go against his wishes.
But still, Yaone worried over Kougaji.
She worried for his mentality above all. He seemed to crumble before her eyes, yet not at once. Pieces of him fell away with each passing day, as a masterpiece gradually tarnishes and crumbles over time, he did so more rapidly. The pharmacist ached to help him, and yet…all she could do was watch, and listen.
Watch…listen…and do as he told her to do. Because she knew no other way; because she owed to him her life and could never defy him, Yaone would always bend to his will.
It pained her, stirring alive a section of her soul long hidden away, which remained nameless, thoughtless, and unknown to her own awareness.
Would her beloved youkai prince fall in miserable defeat if he couldn't free his mother from imprisonment? Yaone chewed her lower lip, daring to raise her attention to the ruby haired Kougaji. She found him once more lost in his own world, enthralled by the power his hands contained.
"I think this is the best I can manage right now, my Lord Kougaji." The words spoken were soft, laced with mild worry and anxiety.
Surprisingly, Kou turned to her immediately and let his hands and their precious cargo hover near the renewed blazing campfire. "Here goes nothing."
With no real way of carefully inserting the orb into the flames and avoiding getting burned, Kougaji gently tossed the sphere and let Yaone prod it to the center with a stick. Two pairs of eyes stayed focused upon the orb, lying in wait of results.
Endless moments passed, hope fading with each brief span of time spent watching for something to happen. Kougaji felt his heart sink to the depths of his stomach, a hand reaching for the stick that Yaone had set onto the ground.
"I guess we were wrong as far as that theory goes."
Though, no sooner did those words tumble from the youkai prince's lips, a sharp whistling emitted from the fire. The sound mimicked something of a tea kettle spouting steam after being heated on the stove for too long.
Both Yaone and Kougaji dared to lean in closer without burning themselves from the outreaching flames. The sphere had begun to rattle in place, shifting the kindling surrounding it, sending ashes spraying skyward. Upon its smooth surface, hues ranging from brightest yellow to deepest burning red swirled madly with and against each other. It appeared to be the cause of the sphere's disturbing shuddering- though quite obviously, something was happening.
"Yaone, get back!" Kougaji shouted in the next instant as he did what he advised. With great force, the sphere was expelled from its heated flickering nest in a skyward path propelled by a flaming geyser. "This might be it!"
A deafening roar shook the forest; the earth shuddered beneath the youkai pair's feet as the whistling smoothly transposed into an eardrum-piercing whirr. Yaone stumbled about their encampment towards Kougaji- her expression mirrored the horrible amazement written on his handsome face.
"Kougaji-sama…is it me or did the smoke change color?"
Indeed the misty grey glittered with golden-orange, crimson, and azure, spiraling to encase the orb with thick film. The shrieking whirr had begun to fade considerably; simultaneous with the calming tremors of earth, creating an illusion that nothing more should be expected.
Kougaji took a tentative step forward. "Is that all? Don't tell me that's all!"
"Demo…look now, Kougaji-sama, it's still in the air. That couldn't be all." Yaone argued yet blanched when her prince shot a wary glance. "Gomen, it's just a feeling, only instinct. Can't you feel it too?"
The pharmacist youkai dared to move closer to her companion with these words as some sort of dreadful apprehension begun to fill her heart. For what reason, she could not seem to place it.
"I don't think…I wish I could say I felt it, but my hopes aren't so high anymore Yaone. I hate to say so, I hate to admit defeat…"
Before his words were through being spoken, Kougaji clapped his palms flatly over his ears. His partner had already done the same- not to discourage him from talking, but to block out that high pitched shrieking whirr resonating from all around. It came from deep within the trees, speeding toward the center, to the fire- to the orb.
This time their feet and balances weren't jeopardized by seismic disturbances, though the sound filling the air had greatly intensified. A voice cried out from beneath the shrillness, barely detectable at first but growing louder from softness, and becoming more urgent to be heard. For any human the noise could have been annoying but bearable, however, for those with the sensitive youkai hearing, it might have rendered paralyzed via narcosis. Having nearly reached such a point, the youkai pair were more than relieved when the orb- or whatever had created the offensive sound- silenced abruptly.
Being so abrupt they wondered if the sphere had sensed their discomfort or realized the effect, though neither said anything of it.
From the fire the smoke had dissipated, leaving only an array of dancing heated fingers reaching along an invisible dais to the suspended object. The sphere spun at a dizzying speed, light emitting from deep in the center and then spreading to engulf the surface and continuing out, casting a glow upon Kougaji and Yaone.
"Awaken…awaken me…"
A dismembered voice whispered yet echoed at once.
"Huo Kumiko…awaken me…hi tamashii…the fire soul…awaken me…"
With that said, instructions quite clear, the Fire Sphere dropped profoundly to the ground, away from the dimming flames of the campfire. The brilliant glow died and the opalescent surface's colors dulled though still swirled languidly about.
"Doko ni arimasu ka?" Kougaji exclaimed, hoping to see something tangible in place of all the smoke and lights that'd been displayed. "Where is it? Where is the fire soul?"
Yaone sensed his growing impatience, his desperation, and her heart lurched. Kneeling beside the fallen sphere, she spoke, bending over to cautiously stroke fingers across the cooling orb. "Evidently there is more that needs to be done, my Lord Kougaji…but what?"
"As if I knew," he replied curtly and then shook his head. "Gomen nasai. This is getting ridiculous…We've been camping here for nearly two weeks and finally something happens, but we're no closer than when we started."
All hope resigned, though all too soon. For no given reason, out of the blue, a glimmering silver circle formed before youkai prince and companion. It shone translucently, displaying people walking back and forth on some other side, acting much like a window that lead to somewhere outside of Shangri La.
"Nani..? What the hell is this?" Making no move to approach the curious sight, Kougaji only allowed his hard violet gaze to assess it. "Do you see people, Yaone?"
Nervously, Yaone nodded. "Hai, Kougaji-sama…though they're very faint. What do you suppose it is? Something like a window? There's nothing behind it, I don't understand where it came from." Shakily, she stood, mindful not to step any closer than she already was. "Maybe it's a result from the Fire Sphere."
None of those who walked on the other side seemed aware of their duel audience despite the silver window's growth. There was no frame, no structure to it, merely an insubstantial ring of transparent liquid silver, as clear and flowing as river water. The expansion refused relinquishment until its size was large enough for a person to step through- and then, it simply ceased growth and glimmered by firelight.
Once again, bursting skyward, the sphere came to hover at eye level, rotating slowly, as though contemplating its next move.
Kougaji could not look away and he grunted, startled, when the orb gradually floated for the open portal. Reluctant to lose sight, the youkai prince forced one advancing step and then another, taking notice that the orb had inched along a bit quicker.
"My Lord, what are you doing? Where are you going?" Yaone cried out, following him. Where he went, she would surely follow.
No matter the risk.
No matter the cost.
No matter what she must give up.
She'd go unless he told her not to.
"I won't lose it. This is my chance, Yaone…I've come so close, I've gotten this far, and if it means freeing my mother, I won't give up." His tone dropped to a lulling whisper, bordering raspy and frighteningly obsessive.
Worried, Yaone gently placed a hand upon the prince's arm. "…and if it goes through there, you'll go after it?"
Relenting, Kougaji turned his gaze to his loyal apothecary and managed something of a half smile. "Of course I'm going after it. It's a battle I can't lose, you have to understand."
"It's risky, Kougaji-sama! What if it takes you somewhere you'll never return from? What would I say to Lady Ririn? What about Dokugakuji?" Her mind reeled in what she didn't speak aloud. 'What about me?'
For a moment this seemed to reach some inner level of sanity within Kougaji and then it passed. "Life is nothing if you don't play on the edge sometimes, Yaone. Come with me if you're so worried, but I'm going."
She watched, speechlessly, as the sphere arced back, looped once and with absolute precision shot through the silver ring-shaped tear. Kougaji shouted, prepared to leap in after it, hesitating only when he felt Yaone's hand clamp onto his wrist. When her grip was firm, they both made a faithful leap into the unknown, never having seen those who had diligently watched the entire scene and witnessed the crossing into an other world.
Rosemont, IL
Donald E. Stephan's Convention Center/ Hyatt Hotel
ACEN
Genjyo Sanzo couldn't possibly come to believe he was satisfied with what time he'd been forced to wake up on Saturday. No, in fact, since he'd hardly been able to sleep at all, he would have found contentment in sleeping in a few extra hours. That hardly seemed possible, considering that the moment everyone else had begun to stir and bustle about the cramped hotel room, sleep had abandoned the monk with only remnants of fatigue.
"What the hell are you doing up so early?" He grumbled, naturally grumpy as his violet eyes glared groggily between the four young women occupying the window space. They were rummaging through their belongings as quietly as they could. Obviously they hadn't been quiet enough. "I finally fell asleep two hours ago. What time is it?"
Equally bleary-minded, Katie turned an unsteady gaze to the blond haired man. "It's eight-thirty in the morning…So it's early. Go back to sleep, nobody's asked you to get up."
"Like it's really that easy," Sanzo snorted, turning over on the bed closest to the door. He couldn't go back to sleep. The aroma of freshly made coffee had already begun to permeate his nostrils.
"Why'd you go to bed so late anyway? That's your own fault, monk." The eldest of the girls retorted, smoothing out her Kanzeon Bosatsou esque costume.
Mandi, Ashley, and Erin exchanged wary glances. Gods, it was far too early for an argument.
"Can this wait until we've all had a chance to really wake up?" Ashley murmured as she stepped over a still slumbering Goku on the floor. "It's not as though you had it hard anyway Sanzo- you got an entire bed to yourself."
She'd hoped that'd be the end of that.
Apparently, Ash couldn't get what she wished for.
Sitting up suddenly, Sanzo scowled. "I would have preferred my own room, thank you, and for your information someone had the gall to continue repeated attempts to share my bed with me."
His eyes settled upon Katie's figure intensely, exuding discontent. She shrugged sheepishly, her cheeks tinged pink and mottled red.
"It wasn't fair that you were the only person who got an entire bed while the rest of us were crammed together on the floor, in a chair, or in the other bed." A slow grin crept along her lips. "Besides, I'm sure you could have done with the extra body warmth since we are short on blankets."
Sanzo growled dangerously, his mouth opening to surely spit out hatefully heated words. However, Hakkai's ever-cheerful voice interrupted from what seemed like no where and in the nick of time.
"Is anyone up for some coffee? Oh and by the way, the shower is free now."
"Mm, coffee…" Mandi ambled towards the bathroom, costume in hand, grinning languidly towards Hakkai. "Have I ever told you I absolutely adore you?"
Hakkai stared in mild shock toward the young brunette at a loss for a response. Erin sniggered, sitting heavily on the unoccupied bed to sort through her book bag for the Dr. Huang costume.
"You made coffee. Mandi's a coffee fanatic, she'll adore anyone who makes a fresh pot. Haven't you figured that out yet?"
"I suppose I haven't." came the embarrassed reply followed by a light shrug of the green eyed youth's shoulders. "I know the bathroom is a strange place to make a pot of coffee, but there were still too many people for me to get anywhere else conventional. I hope that's alright."
Mandi beamed ardently at Hakkai. "It's coffee. I don't care where it was made so long as it's drinkable and non-toxic."
"I think coffee is toxic no matter how ya look at it." Gojyo mumbled, coming from the bathroom as well, hair damp and tousled and a towel wrapped around his hips. He held up a mug and took a sip, winking to the young women who gawked openly at the hanyou man's appearance. "But it's damn good all the same."
Sanzo snorted, feeling the urge to lie back down and pull the covers back over his head despite his craving for a cup of java himself. This was absurd. They couldn't be lounging about on some pleasure trip, mingling with those people dressed like a variety of carnie freaks or loitering in a stuffy hotel room. The group needed to move on. Hadn't he accepted their fate already?
Hadn't he decided that these girls…or three out of four…were the elemental avatars after all?
Perhaps, though he still held qualms of the matter. 'So sue me for being skeptical, I'm not one to do a half-assed job. So if these girls are the elementals, why the hell haven't we gone home yet? I'm tired of this damn circus.'
Erin's voice speaking above the loud silence broke Sanzo's thoughts of Shangri La.
"Wait a minute…"
Katie, Ash, and Mandi slid their gazes toward their blue haired spastic friend curiously. She was going to make a prompt for something, they could just feel it.
"What?" Gojyo took another careful sip of the instant coffee, crimson gaze glittering mischievously. He knew exactly what kind of effect his just-showered half-naked look was having on the girls…and he loved every moment that their faces stayed red-flushed.
"So you were in the shower that whole time?" Erin went on, her voice going up a few octaves at the end of her question. As Gojyo nodded, she elevated an eyebrow. "And Hakkai was in the bathroom making coffee while ya were in there?"
Nobody seemed to notice the small smirk that had curled Sanzo's lips. He had swung out of bed finally and turned his face before anyone could. 'This should be good…'
Ashley shifted her weight to her right foot, peering between Gojyo and Hakkai in amusement.
"No answer? I'm thinking that means yes, Erin."
Katie bit her lower lip to keep from laughing out loud as Hakkai at last admitted that, yes, he had been in the bathroom using the outlet to make coffee while Gojyo was showering. The kappa's face couldn't have looked more livid after such a confirmation.
"Ah…" Erin mused, standing up, bright blue eyes meeting Mandi's almond ones. "So therefore, ergo, both Gojyo and Hakkai were in a small, steamy, locked room together. Hot shower and coffee, hmm, Mandi know what it sounds like to me?"
A smile split the girl's face in two. "Hot yaoi action!!"
Goku woke up at the precise moment that the female foursome broke into giggles, absolutely bewildered as to what could be so hilarious. His bemusement only got worse when he noticed the expressions on Hakkai and Gojyo's faces. They appeared absolutely mortified.
"What happened? Hey, I wanna know what happened!" Goku cried, leaping to his feet, causing his blanket to make a white cotton pool on the floor.
Gojyo's antennae nearly twitched in his horror at the yaoi remark. "Now look here, honey, it ain't like that, got it? You think whatever the hell ya want to, but I don't swing like that. Not now, not before, not ever."
"I'm inclined to agree with Gojyo. While he's got those roguish charms, he's not exactly my cup of tea." Hakkai's cheeks burned a terrible scarlet though his perma-grin never flinched once. "I'd much rather have one of female persuasion to be honest."
"Aw well, way to shoot down all our fantasies, Hakkai." Ashley teased while managing to keep a straight face.
"I'm sure Mandi's got other fantasies, and you probably do too," Katie retorted playfully, picking up an accessories pouch to sift for her jewelry.
"Spare us, please." Sanzo all but snarled. No, he really was not in the best of moods and to make matters worse, he needed something to fill his stomach. Not to compare himself to Goku, but if the he didn't eat soon he'd truly be impossible to talk to.
As always, Goku beat everyone to the punch. His stomach elicited a monstrous roar demanding to be fed as soon as possible. The youth blushed, grinning at everyone else.
"I'm hungry. What's for breakfast?"
Swiping the ACEN program from the rectangular wooden table, Erin flipped it open, skimming through quickly until finding what she searched for.
"Ah, well if ya want to, you four could head down to the left side of the lobby on the bottom floor…they've got a free breakfast buffet going on until ten o'clock this morning."
Goku's golden eyes shone brightly, turning toward Sanzo pleadingly. "Sanzo…don't say no, it's free, come on please?"
The quartet of girls, as well as Gojyo and Hakkai, kept their gazes on the monk in wait to hear his reply. Feeling somewhat pressured, Sanzo shrugged, turning in a slow circle before stooping, picking up his robes that had carelessly fell to the floor during his late night "struggles".
"Fine, we'll go, but all four of us. I don't feel like dealing with you on my own just yet, monkey. My patience isn't at peak performance right now."
At this, Katie lifted her eyebrows, retorting, "What patience?"
"Don't answer that, just…don't." Ashley shook her head at Sanzo, warily stepping toward the closet near the bathroom. "Can we all just do our own things right now and leave the arguing for later? It's too early for this."
Gojyo downed the rest of his coffee before picking up his clothes from the dresser surface. "If ya would all wait a minute so I could get dressed…I'd like to eat too ya know."
Mandi leaned against the doorframe in the washroom, languorously nursing her own mug of fresh…instant coffee. "Why bother getting dressed, Gojyo? You could go down there just like that and create quite a scene I'm sure. Fan girls galore will fall at your feet and weep like so many weak children."
The hanyou stared and then turned toward the remaining three girls. "She's not alright in the head, is she?"
They shook their heads remarking in unison with a resounding, "Never has been."
"Hn, I thought not." Gojyo chortled, aiming to slip back into the bathroom, past the slowly awakening brunette young woman to get dressed.
As soon as the Sanzo-ikkou had finished getting ready, they ventured out into the hallway, seemingly having forgotten just how hectic it'd been to walk around the day before. Glancing between each other, the quartet of girls giggled at the unspoken tribulation that awaited the fellows in the lobby.
"Well who's got the shower first then?" Katie questioned, holding her belongings closely, taking a slow step toward the bathroom.
"If you're ready to go in, then go ahead." The reply came from Erin, who'd resumed sifting through her clothes. "Where the hell is my skirt?"
Mandi sat calmly at the table, setting her coffee mug down, and then picked up a dark blue polyester and cotton knee-length skirt, tossing it in Erin's direction. "Right here; you took it out last night, remember?"
"Oh yeah…"
The eldest young woman posed her question to Ashley and Mandi this time. "I'll wait if either of you want to use the shower first."
"I'm going to finish my coffee, so I can wait a bit." The younger brown haired girl murmured, simply taking utmost pleasure in the fragrance of her beverage.
"Go on ahead," Ashley sighed, eyebrows knitting together as her hazel gaze darted about the floor in uncertainty. "I'm still looking for parts of my costume. Though, it might be a good idea to limit shower time to ten minutes apiece so we all have a chance to get ready before the first event begins."
"That doesn't give us enough time to change, though."
The blond thought a moment but Erin answered without so much as looking up. "We're all girls here; we'll just get ready out here. I'm betting those four are gonna be stuck downstairs for a while yet."
Relenting, Katie nodded her agreement, moved to the bathroom shutting the door, and turned the shower on.
A muffled groan of disgust and muttering pervaded the wall dividing bathroom from bedroom, followed by "Goddamnit, Gojyo didn't anyone teach you to take your damn hair out of the drain?!"
Of course Gojyo couldn't answer because he wasn't there, but it did draw a fit of giggles from Erin and Ashley. Mandi, on the other hand, gave the impression of having lost her head in thoughts no one else could begin to guess of.
Roughly half an hour passed in near silence. With scarcely anyone occupying the same space at any given time, and because of the early hour, nobody really felt like talking. However, it had gotten too quiet for comfort, and so, when she had finished her shower, Ashley switched on the clock radio which rested atop the night table.
"Country anyone? Mandi, the shower is free now."
Having finally finished her coffee, which had become chilled at room temperature after some time passed, Mandi swept her belongings into her arms, advancing to the bathroom. Ashley held her towel tightly around her torso, crossing to where she'd set down her clothing. She swung a glance toward Katie who was still towel-clad and bent over some project or another.
"What are you doing?"
Katie raised her chin slightly but didn't bring her eyes to meet Ashley's. "My costume halfway fell apart so I'm trying to sew it back together, and Erin's trying to find her badge. It got lost in here somehow."
A blue head poked up from behind the window-side bed casting light blue eyes from one girl to the other. "I found it. It was shoved way under the bed for some reason."
"That's good…" Ash murmured absently, re-tucking a corner of her towel so her hands would be free to search for her undergarments. She found them and began to slip them on skillfully without removing the towel, turning an apprehensive eye to the door. "I hope they don't come in any time soon."
"Nah, they won't." Erin assured, standing and straightening, her towel wrapped about her slim waist, and she tossed the badge onto the table. Reaching to her shoulders, she nimbly adjusted the straps of her brassiere. "Goku's probably still scavenging for any food he might have missed, and the other three are more than likely getting attacked by rabid fan girls going 'Oh you look so real!'. I'd say we have at least ten more minutes."
Chuckling, the blond young woman tilted her head thoughtfully. "In that case, Mandi had better finish her shower soon so she can get ready too. Her dress is out here and I'm pretty sure she locked the bathroom door."
As if on cue, a shrill shriek sounded from inside the bathroom. The water immediately cut off and in a few moments the young brunette woman emerged, clutching a thick white cotton towel about her form, eyes wide.
"What's wrong?! Why'd you scream?" Katie had stood to see about the ruckus.
Mandi shuddered, whimpering out, "There was a centipede in the tub. GAH!" She shuddered once more for good measure and jumped from foot to foot rapidly to clearly express her disgust. "Ick…"
Ashley rolled her eyes while Erin and Katie made faces.
"Well I guess you're out now. We need to hurry and finish getting ready before the guys come back up here. Katie, did you fix your costume?" Erin picked up her curling iron that'd been warming up on the dresser, peering into the mirror to start on her hair.
"Yep, I think so—oh! Redneck Woman!" Katie cried out, stepping to the radio to turn up the volume to better listen to the Gretchen Wilson song.
Mandi laughed, forgetting her "traumatizing" shower experience, swinging her metallic green hairbrush up to her lips while the other hand still clung to the towel.
"Well I ain't never
Been the Barbie doll type
No I can't swig that sweet champagne
I'd rather drink beer all night
In a tavern or in a honky tonk
Or on a 4 wheel drive tailgate…"
It seemed the four had forgotten their task at hand, taking interest in singing out the catchy country tune at the top of their lungs. Erin and Katie had resorted to pretending the curling iron was a microphone whilst Mandi had hopped up onto one of the beds, continuing to use her hairbrush. Ashley remained satisfied to sing a bit more quietly than the rest, pacing the floor around the bed, laughing at about every other lyric over how silly they were being.
By the last leg of the chorus, their voices had reached near maximum volume and their giggles had nearly overwhelmed them.
"I'm redneck woman
And I ain't no high class broad
I'm just a product of my raisin'
And I say "hey y'all" and "Yee Haw"
And I keep my Christmas lights on, on my front porch all year long
And I know all the words to every Ol' Bocephus song
So here's to all my sisters out there keeping it country
Let me get a big "Hell Yeah" from the redneck girls like me
Hell Yeah
Hell Yeah
Hell Yeah
Hell Yeah
Hell Yeah
Hell Yeah
I Said Hell Yeah"
"Goddamn right, that's a big hell yeah." A male voice spoke blatantly from the entrance to the hotel room. A male voice that sounded suspiciously- no- exactly like Gojyo's.
Startled, the girls froze in their places, eyes rolling toward the door to find that the Sanzo party had returned from the lobby. The monk's violet gaze had gone cock-eyed, his lips slightly parted as though prepared to say something but was too stunned to figure out what it was he wanted to say. Gojyo's crimson orbs gleamed in absolute lecherous lust, a smirk marking his lips and eyebrows narrowed just so. Goku desperately tried to peek through the cracks of Hakkai's fingers and the green eyed youth appeared quite embarrassed but enthralled all at once by the sight.
"Uh…did we…catch you at a bad time?"
Finding mobility, Mandi stepped down semi-gracefully from the bed she stood on, unblinking, coming close to Ashley as though hoping for some kind of cover. Her blond friend made no means to speak, or move, or do anything but stare in mortified disbelief. Putting down the curling iron, Erin laughed uneasily, glancing first to Katie and then to the young men.
"We were…just getting ready is all."
"Yeah, I can totally see that…" Gojyo mused, his smirk deepening as his eyes wandered over Erin's partially exposed form and then moved on to do the same to each one of the girls. "I can…definitely see that. Need any help?"
"Damn ero-kappa," Sanzo grumbled, thinking he'd had used his harisen on the hanyou if he hadn't felt so uncomfortable himself.
This time Erin smirked, catching a glimpse of a rising problem of Gojyo's. "We don't need any help, but I think the circus hands under Gojyo's 'big top' are gonna need help before he pokes someone's eye out." She quirked an eyebrow indicatively. "I think his pole has gotten too big for the tent."
Judging by Gojyo's shocked visage, Katie figured her friend had been fairly dead on, and so took a peek herself, readjusting her towel a bit. "Why don't you ask Hakkai to help ya out there big guy?" She giggled, making inference back to the yaoi remark made nearly an entire hour prior.
Goku at last freed himself from Hakkai's hand that'd been obscuring his line of vision and golden orbs twinkled brightly…and bemusedly at the girls in their towels.
"How come you don't have your clothes on yet..?" His cheeks flared a vivid red when he looked at Erin, and immediately averted his eyes to the floor.
Finding his voice, Gojyo coughed, noticing Ashley and Mandi huddled together. "You two are kinda quiet back there…there isn't any hot yuri action happenin' that I need to know about is there?"
They blushed something furious, glaring at the same time, and then were motivated to gather their clothing to finish getting ready. Sanzo snorted, pushing past his three companions coming to rest on one of the beds.
"If you'd all stop standing around like morons now, isn't there some whatever you've got going on soon to get ready for? I'd appreciate it if you girls would put some clothes on."
"Um…yeah…" Erin and Katie replied together, turning, giggling quietly as they did as Sanzo asked…just this once.
"Aw, Sanzo," Hakkai quipped teasingly in spite of his own discomfited composure, "you're not afraid that your celibacy will have gone down the drain just by looking are you?"
Gojyo snickered. "Ya know, Hakkai, I think we need to stop bein' friends. You're starting to sound like me."
Emerald eyes dancing, the brunette man smiled broadly. "That's what happens, my friend, when people are together for too long. They begin to pick up the habits of their companions."
Goku sat heavily on the floor cross-legged, digging into a little paper bag he'd brought up with him for a doughnut he saved. "If that's the case I hope this journey's over soon, coz there's no way I wanna end up bein' like that stinky kappa."
An argument ensued between Gojyo and the heretic, Sanzo groaned and grumbled, Hakkai sat casually at a chair near the window, and the girls went on silently laughing as they prepared for the rest of the day.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Oh my god, wait, hey- you…the group of Saiyuki cosplayers! Stop a minute please?"
"Holy- look they've got like the best costumes here!"
"They've got Lirin and Dr. Huang! How awesome!"
"Can you guys pose for us, please?"
Female voices cried out above the din in the Hyatt's lobby, all pleading for a chance to snap a few pictures of the Saiyuki cosplayers amongst them. The four young women dressed as Kanzeon, Kanan, Huang, and Ririn exchanged amused glances, relinquishing a few minutes apiece to pose for the pictures.
"I think Saiyuki just got more popular." Katie chuckled, waltzing up to Sanzo. "This girl wants us to take a picture together- so entertain your favorite old hag and take one with me, come on."
"Do I have a choice?" Sanzo grumbled as his expression remained unchanging from one of utter boredom with the nonsensical goings on. He stood rather woodenly, harisen propped over his shoulder, and sighed as Katie leaned against him.
The group of fan girls taking the picture tittered excitedly as the monk turned to strike the young woman's shoulder with his harisen in time for the camera light to flash. Katie yelped, stepping back, stunned.
"What was that for?!"
"I told you not to touch me, or had you forgotten?"
"It was just for the picture, monk!" The older brunette seethed, rubbing her bare and reddened shoulder. "That hurt."
Shrugging, Sanzo casually turned away without saying any more. He was sorely hoping this would be over soon.
"Goddamnit monkey that was my foot!" Gojyo's voice pierced the chattering and attention was turned toward him and Goku who had commenced an argument.
It appeared to appeal the interest of the fan girls coming and going for pictures, and they snapped several of them, thinking everything to be part of some improvised skit. As the heretic and hanyou bickered over some insignificant matter, Ashley and Erin stood by shaking their heads, trying their hardest not to collapse in laughter. Mandi took refuge in leaning against the ledge of a large marble stone island, trying to regain clear eyesight after seeing so many flashes go off.
Fingers cautiously tapped her shoulder and she squinted through the haze of floating lights in the shape of camera flashbulbs to see Hakkai peering uncertainly at her.
"What's up?"
The green eyed youth smiled, gesturing toward two girls dressed as Birman and Manx from Weiss Kreuz holding up their digital cameras. "They…well they seem to want some pictures of us together. I said I'd ask you if it was alright."
Standing straight, feeling a nervous flutter in her stomach, Mandi nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess that's fine so long as you're up to it…I mean, you realize why they want pictures, right? Beside the fact that they're fans…"
Hakkai tilted his head curiously. "No, I don't…why?"
"Because you're Hakkai and I'm dressed as Kanan." That much said seemed to allow the young man to put the pieces together and he merely smiled faintly, taking her by the elbow to go pose for the pictures.
"Birman" and "Manx" released squeals of delight, inanely muttering about how Kanan and Hakkai was their favorite couple in Saiyuki. Mandi gazed apologetically toward Hakkai; she could see the hurt that had registered on his face yet he quickly covered it with a forced smile. Her heart shattered as it did every time but she grinned too and looked to the girls.
"Alright, how do you want us?"
"Manx" jumped once in her excitement. "Oh! Wouldn't it be cute if they were hugging?!" She inquired to her friend who nodded vigorously. "Could you? We just want a few like, cutesy pictures, if that's cool-you two aren't really brother and sister, are you? That'd be weird, I wouldn't wanna make you uncomfortable."
"Ah, no, no we're not," Mandi laughed uneasily, ready to back out soon. She muffled a surprised squeak as Hakkai wound an arm about her shoulders, drawing her close to him. 'Oh…gods…don't be a fan girl, Mandi, don't be a fan girl…he smells…so good.'
Turning toward the shorter brunette young woman, Hakkai dropped his emerald gaze to her, smiling in soft reassurance. "Just stay in character…you'll be alright." His stomach twisted as he brought her closer, nestling his chin atop the soft dark hair. The same…they felt almost the same. 'Kanan…'
The two cosplaying girls quickly took their pictures, giggling in utter joy at the last one where Hakkai had taken the end of Mandi's braid to brush it over her nose, resulting in a ticklish squirm from the young woman.
"Aww, isn't that just so cute?!" Erin teased, crossing her arms over the white lab coat, blue eyes flashing deviously behind her wire rimmed glasses.
Blushing insanely, Mandi stepped quickly away from Hakkai, who had become rather somber after "Manx" and "Birman" retreated to chase down their own group of cosplayers. She cleared her throat and then in hopes to avert attention, she clapped loudly once.
"Hey! I have an idea!"
Gojyo and Goku halted their verbal insults long enough to listen and Sanzo impatiently tapped the harisen on the marble ledge.
"No."
Ashley quirked an eyebrow, adjusting her Ririn ponytail and retying the bells onto it. "No? She hasn't even said anything yet."
"I'm sick of this," Sanzo grumped, crossing his arms tightly looking quite like a sulking child.
"Shut up," Katie muttered, still peeved at him for smacking her one earlier. "What's your idea, Mandi?"
"Ah, for posterity's sake, why not have someone take a group picture of us all? I mean, just as something to remember this…lovely event by."
Goku was the first to exclaim his concurrence and boisterously so. Gojyo shrugged, not really minding either way while Hakkai pasted on another smile saying it'd be fun.
"It's just a picture Sanzo, c'mon, it's not gonna kill ya!" Goku begged, pouting at his mentor. "Just one!"
Whatever power the golden eyed boy held over him, Sanzo would never be able to explain, but he buckled and sighed.
"Fine. One."
Ashley wrinkled her nose. "Another picture?"
"Last one, Ash, I promise!" Mandi pleaded. "I usually hate taking them but hey- we're here to let loose and have fun, so why not go all out? Come on…"
"Yeah, before Buddha here changes his mind." Gojyo chortled, stepping beside Ashley. He remained still mindful about what he said to her, taking into account their near verbal skirmish only the prior day.
Mandi turned a small circle before plucking out a random passer by dressed as Spike Spiegel to take the picture for the group. The eight assembled themselves as best they could- the Sanzo party lined up in the back and the girls knelt down in front of them. "Spike" waited until everyone appeared ready and shot two pictures before returning the camera and going on his way.
"Happy now?" Sanzo sighed, rolling his eyes and resuming the tapping of his harisen. "What now?"
Erin took the program book from Goku, who'd been holding it for her, and thumbed through, to the back of it.
"We have another hour before the Saiyuki Sanzo-Party Panel with Greg, Illich, David, and Braden, and then two hours after that for the autograph session with Vic, Monica, Hilary, and Greg."
Closing his violet eyes momentarily, Sanzo rubbed the bridge of his nose as though trying to stave off a migraine. "I'm going back up to the room. This is getting tiring."
"You and what key?" Katie asked simply, though a wry smile had already begun to make way to her lips.
"This one." He held up a room key, produced from seemingly nowhere. He glanced toward Ashley. "Thanks, by the way."
Ashley shrugged. "Whatever, just don't lose it."
"Aw, Ash why?" the oldest girl frowned. "He should stay with us."
"I don't feel like listening to everyone fighting. I came here to have a good time. As long as I stay with you, Erin, or Mandi, I can get back into the room- and if Sanzo is going to be there anyway, he can let me in if I lose you all."
"Good thinking honey." The hanyou beamed, resting a palm on her shoulder. He flinched, expecting her to jerk away from him, and when she didn't, he rested easy.
Sanzo turned away from the rest of the group. He seriously needed time to himself before he really did kill someone. Then where would he be if he did that? In some prison, according to the girls. He trusted that much was truth from them.
"I'll find you later." He muttered, stalking away toward the elevators.
"So…what do we do?" Erin asked, rocking precariously in her high heels.
Gojyo took his hand from Ashley, reaching into his pocket to find his cigarettes and lighter. "I'm goin' for a smoke, so whatever the rest of ya decide, that's fine, I guess."
"Then while Red goes to blacken his lungs some more, why don't we check out the Dealer's Room?" Mandi offered, stifling a yawn. She could do for a fourth cup of coffee, even though it was pushing on near ten-thirty. "It'll definitely kill some time."
Katie turned. "I could do for some shopping and some pocky. I haven't had any of that stuff since the last time you and Erin came to visit."
Ash glanced towards Gojyo's figure making way for the lobby doors. "I'll catch up with you all there. I'm going to stay with Gojyo to make sure he doesn't get lost…or attacked by fan girls."
Goku wrinkled his nose, "Let him get attacked, he'd probably like it anyway, the lush that he is."
At that, the girls had to stifle their snickering and Hakkai rubbed the back of his neck.
"Are you offering to be his bodyguard then, Ashley?"
"Hardly," Ashley replied, rolling her gaze between the hanyou and the rest of her group. "More like I'm going to be the fan girls' bodyguard." An impish grin flickered briefly across her lips before she hustled after Gojyo who had just walked outside.
"I guess that just leaves us then," Erin sidled to her left, one arm lifting to point a finger toward the walkway's direction. "So can we go now?"
Mandi made a hurried step after. "We'd better or else we're gonna get stuck doing pictures again. There are new people, ten o'clock."
The others spun to look yet saw nobody in the inferred position so the brunette woman quickly corrected herself. "Your other ten o'clock!"
"So you mean five o'clock?" Katie smirked.
"Eh, whatever- there are people eyeballing us, so let's just go if we want to get anything done today."
Hakkai chuckled; he wouldn't have minded taking more pictures, really. They were kind of fun, not to mention quite innovative as far as poses had gone. However, he followed the girls quietly, lagging a little behind, letting his merry visage falter. It hurt to keep it up all the time.
It hurt his heart…
…and his face, to keep his lips in a permanent smiling fixture.
But smiling falsely proved better than the alternative of unwanted concern and questions he did not want to answer.
Emerald orbs danced ahead, watching what remained of their group. Hakkai observed their interaction as he'd been doing for a hefty portion of the past two weeks, and this time his automatic smile held wistfulness.
The girls got on wonderfully; he imagined they were more like the Sanzo-ikkou than any other they'd come across. Four best friends- (despite what argument the monk liked to raise)- bound together by Fate; they couldn't do each other harm or wrong even if they tried.
His attention soon switched to Goku who had taken the liberty of a bashful attempt to hold Erin's hand. The shorter blue haired cosplaying girl complied, allowed it, and gave a visible squeeze to the hand now wrapped with hers. Hakkai laughed inwardly. The heretic had shyly divulged to him the night before about the kiss shared with Erin earlier the prior day. He also admitted to later trying to kiss her again himself and she had let him. It seemed that the youth was once again experiencing a bout of puppy love. Goku had felt that twice before, as far as Hakkai's knowledge went, with the young human girl, Houmei, and a young youkai named Donghua.
A frown overtook the dark haired man's features quickly, ignoring the flashing camera bulbs from fan girls taking indiscreet pictures in the walkway. Goku had been hurt twice already- he had to leave Houmei, who had shamefully scorned him after discovering his youkai heritage…and Donghua…
…Donghua had been lost to an evil parasitic monster. Her death meant freedom for her and her three sisters. Hakkai recalled just how upset Goku was, how he knelt and wailed and wept…and then the very next day appeared back to normal.
'How can he always bounce back?' Hakkai wondered, 'Not that he'd spent extensive amounts of time with them…so then that was less time for attachment, really. He's just extremely sensitive and emotional. Perhaps that was why.
Yet here there'd been plenty of days for Goku to get attached and this go 'round might prove differently especially…Hakkai had a feeling that remained unshakeable. An ominous sensation of events to come, to happen very soon, but he didn't know just when. He cast a cautious look about.
Where were these warning feelings before, when he needed them the most? When she needed him the most?
Despondence settled deftly within. Hakkai just knew that time was pushed to its limit in this other world. He didn't know if the party he traveled with had failed or succeeded in its mission, but Shangri La patiently awaited the return of her "non" Champions of Justice.
Had they failed? Hakkai gazed ahead once more as his feet carried after the girls' path inside the boisterous Dealer's Room. The frown marring his lips deepened. If so, those who had graciously hosted the four young men all this time would remain behind. How would everyone react to that?
Undoubtedly Goku would throw a fit, say he refused to return home without his new friends, but eventually realize it couldn't be that way and dejected would go back anyhow. His loyalties remained with Sanzo 'til the end of time, as it were.
What of Gojyo?
Gojyo would either stop all his shenanigans with Ashley or really vie for one hell of a goodbye kiss. He'd probably mope for all of a day and get back on the saddle again ready to ride, so to speak.
Of course Sanzo, as Hakkai imagined, would readily voice his opinions on how wasteful this particular sub-mission had been and say he was glad to be free from those meddlesome girls. However, they all knew the monk held some soft spot for the young women in the deepest confines of his mind. It was minute, but it did exist.
'What about the girls? How would they take it?' Hakkai thought, quickly replacing his smile as Goku tugged he and Erin to a booth selling Saiyuki merchandise. He risked a sigh a lingering glance toward Mandi.
The young woman occupied herself by flipping through pages of an art book alongside Katie, emitting an excited squeal over some picture. Hakkai chuckled, shaking his head.
Katie would perhaps be the one to flat-out refuse to be left behind. He figured she'd first argue her point of why the girls ought to go to Shangri La with the Sanzo-ikkou. She'd battle it out and prove in all ways possible that she and her friends were the elementals. No, she'd not go down easily in the least bit.
Hakkai had a notion that Ashley would perhaps take it the best out of the four. She remained the most skeptical, not so much into the supernatural or magic, or phenomena as her friends were. She'd come to accept it quietly, with a nod, and an "I thought so", and let it be left alone. He couldn't say what her mind would read; yet he supposed she'd still be mildly upset.
Looking at how Erin and Goku got on, the young blue haired woman probably would show some disappointment in not going to Shangri La either. She'd more than likely be the sort to make her argument, hear out why she couldn't go along, and dwell briefly over it before accepting the fact. She'd miss Goku, though, that much was clear, and perhaps that would be something that would take far longer to get over.
'How convenient that you left out your own feelings, as well as Mandi's,' A voice in his head chuckled smoothly, wryly. 'Why is that? Or are the thoughts too painful?'
Maybe the thoughts were too painful to bring up, yet all the same they surfaced. Hakkai guessed he shouldn't assume anyone's thoughts, but there was no harm in speculation. He'd purposely avoided his own reaction as well as Mandi's for a reason he deemed good enough. Aside from all the rest, the young man had taken the time to hear out that particular young woman's past. It aroused his curiosity the most, if not for the reason she had shown so much compassion toward him and his own past. The second night they had found themselves in each other's company in the backyard she had relented and told him of her childhood.
The events left him speechless. They shook Hakkai to the core and even now, as he recollected the evening, disturbed him…
-…Hakkai took his hand away from Mandi's after they both found a seat on the bench swing behind the garage in the backyard. They both chose to sit in some silence; eyes upon the ever-setting sun, and after a length, the young woman released a short laugh.
"You know, I bet it's kind of weird to see the sun setting in the west here, and for once not being able to pursue the direction."
Considering the comment, her bench side companion shrugged with a small smile. "I suppose so, but it's also a break from the chaos that's ensued in Shangri La. Are you changing the subject, though, or was that a remark to lead up to your tale?"
Mandi chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "A little of both, maybe?" She allowed her eyes to land upon Hakkai's form momentarily before staring off again. It was easier not to look at the person. "While I can't speak for all of them, my friends and I have not exactly had it easy. I mean, none of us should say one of us has had it any worse than the other, I suppose, because how does a person really measure pain, you know? I won't say anything about what's happened to them, because it's not my place to tell their business- they've entrusted me with their secrets and I with them…but I can tell you about myself, even though…"
"Even though you don't want to?" He offered, resting palms down upon his thighs. "I'm not going to force you, you know. You don't have to say anything you don't want to, I just wanted to make it absolutely clear that I'd lend a listening ear if you needed it."
She nodded. "Yeah, I know, but it is fair…and I don't know…I trust you enough to know you won't say anything about it. I'd feel better anyhow, maybe, I think."
She trusted him? Hakkai took those words to heart- he wasn't so sure he deserved anyone's trust anymore; he found himself constantly working to gain it, never satisfied. He let her continue, paying no mind to the fact that she avoided any eye contact whatsoever.
"When I was younger I lived with only my mother. I was born out of wedlock, but we lived close enough to the rest of our family for them to help her raise me, I guess. My biological father wanted my mom to terminate the pregnancy, or he would leave her, and she seriously considered it but was talked out of doing so by her best friend. Anyhow," Mandi waved a hand, "my mom I guess had it rough, being twenty-three with a kid. She discovered she really couldn't go out as much, and by the time I was about four or five, she resented the fact that I'd taken up a lot of her time."
"That's not your fault, though," Hakkai murmured consolingly.
"I know that," the reply came shortly, a pair of almond tinted eyes taking a side glance to him before returning to stare at the sky. "Apparently she didn't care for the truth. She used to blame my existence on me, as though I'm the one who put myself in her womb and asked to be born. I can understand the struggles of raising a child alone, but she had so many people around willing to help her, she was just so stubborn and preferred to do it without them. Her impatience led to violence, ultimately. She'd take out her frustrations with herself and myself out on me physically."
Mandi paused, quirking her mouth into a shadowed smile. From the corner of her eyes she registered Hakkai's shocked expression. "I was only a little kid, I couldn't ever defend myself, and I always thought I'd done something really wrong to make her angry at me. The cops had even been called a few times by neighbors in the apartment complex we lived in, but by the time they'd arrived, things had calmed down, and they could never prove anything. Not to mention, some of those officers were friends of the family, so they didn't think my mom would do such a thing. I remember one night in particular, though don't recall what I'd done that time. We used to share a bedroom and she had me pinned to her bed, hands wrapped around my throat…"
Absently, the young woman brought a hand to rest at the base of her throat, head tilted just so, eyes unblinking. That strange smile of awful nostalgia still played across her face and it almost sickened Hakkai to think she could even bear to smile about such a thing.
"…she'd told me she wished I was never born. She told me I ruined her life, that I made things so hard for her. I remember she had a few boyfriends in a short time, though none of them cared to stick around. Now that I think on it, I wonder if it's because they didn't want to put up with someone who had a child already. Whatever. In short, she asked if I wanted to die, because she wanted me to die."
Mandi brought her other hand up to rest on the back of the first. "I was crying, and I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't answer her. I didn't know what to say, or what to do, gods, I was only five I couldn't fight back. Obviously she had a change of heart. Anyhow, later she got married, and she and my step-dad argued a lot. Most of it was blamed on me, for reasons I still don't understand. I got two little half-brothers…the abuse continued toward me and some of it was even inflicted on my mom by my step-dad. He had a major anger issue which has pretty much been remedied as of late."
Hakkai gaped. "How can you say this all so nonchalantly? That's terrible that any of that had even happened!" He quieted down, but his insides roiled with absolute anger that a person could take out so much on a harmless, defenseless child.
"Ah…" Mandi gave a one-shouldered shrug. "It's in the past…but it's why I have a hard time dealing with confrontation and arguments. I don't like hearing raised voices, they scare me, even if it's in a playful manner, or just heated discussion. It just reminds me too much of what used to happen, and then if I lose my own temper, it's surely not a pretty thing to witness. The last time my mother hit me I was sixteen. Do you know why she hasn't lay a hand on me since then?"
"No…why?"
"Because I hit her back. Open-handed, a slap across her face, but I refused to take it anymore. I had my attitude problems, but she never came to realize just why I had them. Don't get me wrong- that's not why I live with my grandparents now, that's something completely different…but…anyhow…that's it. There's not much else to tell."
Cautiously, Hakkai rested a hand upon Mandi's shoulder as she had done to him a few nights before. "Look at me a moment, please."
She did so, curiously, still with that mind-bending curl to her lips.
"You weren't looking for sympathy but you have it anyway. I'm very sorry that something like that had to happen to you, Mandi, but from what I can tell, you've turned into a good person and a strong one at that. I'm surprised the recount hasn't made you cry…I think most people would have buckled down."
"Oh…" She stood up, letting his hand fall away from her shoulder, looking down at him. She wished she hadn't moved away. She really just wanted to embrace that comfort he offered. "…But I am crying. I always do when I remember it, or if I'm heartbroken over something. You'll just never see it because I can't show it. I cry on the inside."
Hakkai was rendered speechless as the eerie smile on Mandi's face smoothly transgressed into one of flawless cheer. She was a master at it, just as he was, and he found their roles reversed. It broke his heart…-
Coming out of his flashback, Hakkai blinked a few times. Perhaps then Mandi would take it with some difficulty and cry on the inside at losing her new friends. She had said she trusted him with her secrets. Trust meant attachment and even though she'd smile and say farewell to them all, he knew she'd shed tears and share them with nobody.
'As for me…I'll miss them sorely, I think, but…I'll get over it. I know when things aren't meant to be, and if this is the case, who am I to argue? We don't belong here and they may not belong in Shangri La.'
He'd miss them all the same- he didn't want them left in a place they despised so much, yet…what could he do? Beg the Merciful Goddess to whisk his friends to Shangri La where youkai infested the lands, where the girls would have small chance of survival, and where they'd have no protection from anyone? Hakkai couldn't put their lives in danger like that; he couldn't put her in danger…
His mind reeled, startled, and he gazed once more to Katie and then to Mandi. The second young woman seemed to sense eyes on her back and turned, waving to him. Hakkai returned the motion before averting his form. No, he couldn't risk her getting hurt most of all. There had grown an inexplicable bond that he dared not break. Yes, it'd only been two weeks, yet to him she had somehow become his best friend outside of his usual best friends. He'd perhaps contemplate trusting her the way she claimed to trust him.
Leaving them was for the best, wasn't it?
At last, snapping out of his reverie, Hakkai moved to mingle about the stands littering the Dealer's Room, pretending to at least be partially interested in what the merchants had to offer. He had decided to discuss the notion of leaving later that night with Sanzo and Gojyo. Goku would be excluded…it'd take less time if he were surprised rather than know beforehand.
Nonetheless, when it happened, it would still come as a shock to them all.
After a few hours of meandering the Dealer's Room and attending two more voice actor panels, the group reconvened at the hotel room a little bit at a time. The first to arrive were Ashley and Gojyo, stepping in from another one of the hanyou's cigarette breaks. The half-blood man had ducked out near the end of the second panel in hopes to avoid a crowd and had taken Ashley along to act as his cover.
-…"What are you doing?" The tall honey blond young woman asked perplexed at why Gojyo had taken her by the wrist to drag her out of the ballroom. "I'm going to miss the end of the panel."
"Sorry, honey, but thanks to that Illich guy I've got tons of girls staring at me like a piece of raw meat for the lions." Gojyo retorted, flashing a last glance toward the Greek voice actor still dominating the female audience for the panel.
When the pair reached the outside hall of the three minor ballrooms, Ashley grunted, shaking her head, absently making the bells jingle at her ponytail. "You say it like it's a bad thing. Isn't that usually what you want? Girls fawning over your every move, Red?"
Humbled for a moment, the hanyou man used his own silence as opportunity to take out his pack of cigarettes and a lighter, not stopping his steps until they'd both reached the revolving doors.
"Y'know, usually that'd be true, but those aren't the kinda girls I want all over me. For one thing, they're under aged, and for another…" He paused, searching for his next point, ignoring the one that'd first come to mind. "…For another, they're just not my type. I don't do well with the squeaky, squealing airheads."
Ducking outside after him, Ashley rolled her eyes, a faint smile toying at her mouth. She'd just been teasing him, though it was a little amusing to see him become a bit riled up over the matter. Crossing her arms, the young blond woman squinted into the Chicago sunlight and sighed, sobering from her humor.
"I'm starting to get this weird feeling something is going to happen today."
After taking a drag on his cigarette, Gojyo glanced quizzically to his female friend. "What makes ya say that?"
Ashley's expression flattened. "The fact that I have a weird feeling, or weren't you listening the first time?" She wrung her hands once. "I don't know what's going to happen, it just feels like something will."
Taking a couple of passing seconds to nurse the tobacco stick in his mouth, the man gave in. "Alright. So let's say this 'something' does happen. What are ya thinking it's going to be? Something bad, something good, or something that'll leave us all indifferent?"
"No idea," she muttered, bringing her squinted hazel gaze to him, the effect causing Gojyo's figure to be bathed in a hazy blur of sun filtering through eyelashes. "If I had to say, though, I guess I'm leaning towards not so good. It's just a feeling. It might not mean anything at all."
"Yeah…maybe not." Gojyo murmured, looking skyward to see dark clouds lining the horizon. It looked like rain. Wonderful. He couldn't imagine that Hakkai or Sanzo would be in a good mood later on. "I'm done now. Why don't we just got back to the hotel room then and meet the others there?"
"Might as well." Ashley conceded, moving ahead to return inside toward the elevators and to their room. The elevator ride remained awkwardly silent until it jolted and stopped between floors.
"What the hell, why isn't this damn thing moving?"
"Because it got stuck, apparently."
Gojyo smirked slyly, "There's somethin' no woman ever wants to hear…so, how do we make it unstuck?"
Turning, Ashley studied the buttons on the metallic panel near the double sliding doors. "I'm trying to figure that out now. I can't say I've gotten stuck in an elevator too many times before. I hope you're not claustrophobic."
"Not really." Gojyo shrugged, pacing the small confines. He slid his attention over the young woman casually and smiled to himself when she said she'd found the button to make the elevator move again. "So…if ya push that the thing will just get going again?"
"It should, that's what it's there for. Why?" Ash's thumb rested lightly upon the round plastic red button below the others, elevating her eyebrows as Gojyo's form closed in on her.
Smoothly his hands came to rest on the girl's sides and in a low, suggestive tone, he spoke. "So why not hold off on it for a couple minutes?" He ducked his head, lowering it toward hers. "What do ya say?"
Ashley felt her breath hitch in her throat, hindering her words as she lifted her hands to cover the backs of Gojyo's. Tilting her chin up, a teasing lilt crossed her pink lips. "If it only takes you a couple of minutes, then I'm not interested, Red."
Taken aback, the hanyou stepped away, which allotted Ash enough time to press the button. A grinding sounded from above and the elevator resumed movement to their floor, doors opening to a few cosplayers waiting patiently for their turn.
When the two had reached their room, they knocked, and Sanzo replied from within to 'hang on a minute' laced with a rather gruff sigh. Gojyo lowered his lips to ear level on his female companion and chortled.
"Just for future reference, honey, it takes a hell of a lot longer than just a couple of minutes. I could go all night."
Cheeks flushing red, Ashley quickly stepped inside the room, pushing past a dressed down Sanzo and promptly sat at the window to wait for the others to come back…-
Not long after Gojyo and Ashley had arrived, obviously pestering Sanzo just by their mere presence- (he'd taken advantage of his time alone and gotten some more sleep)- did Mandi, Katie, and Hakkai return from stopping by the autograph lines. The trio had lost Erin and Goku in the line running parallel to their own, which led up to Braden Hunt and David Matranga. The second group led up to Greg Ayres and Hilary Haag, both of whom Erin desperately wanted Goku to finally meet.
Ashley read the excited looks on her friends' faces and pouted playfully. "I didn't get any autographs!"
"Not true!" Katie laughed, holding up a picture of both Braden Hunt and Matranga. "We took the liberty of getting you these- they were really nice about it."
Hakkai chuckled, "Yes, they both were happy to do so, though said next time you ought to deck to guy who dragged you away because they're more important."
Gojyo's jaw dropped at the inference and shied away from the staged glare coming from Ashley. "I needed a scary fan girl shield, so sue me."
"Gee thanks Red," the blond chuckled and motioned toward Mandi. "What's with her?"
Mandi waved a hand weakly and plopped down on the edge of the bed Sanzo still occupied. He glowered at her but said nothing.
Katie grinned deviously. "Braden hugged her because I told him she's his biggest fan, and then he said some line to her all 'Gonou' like because he noticed she's dressed as Kanan. I don't think we'll be hearing any words from her for some time."
Ashley made a face, gesturing toward Hakkai who stood leaning against the wall. "And who does she think he is, standing right there?"
He grinned in reply. "Apparently not this Braden fellow she's fawning over. I think I might be jealous, considering the character was her favorite, and here I stand in the flesh. Nobody loves me."
At this, the brunette young woman leapt up from the bed. "That's so not true, it's just that I really like the characters he's portrayed and…well…you wouldn't be my favorite if not for him." Her cheeks flared red immediately and she turned around. "So, are we done meandering downstairs? Are we ready to chill out for a while before getting ready for the Rave?"
"I'm not going to that," Sanzo voiced in such a way to dissuade anyone from thinking about trying to change his mind. "I know what it is, it's been explained, and I'm not going to even think about attending it, so just forget it." He brought his eyes sharply upon Katie who indeed had her lips parted in preparation to counter.
She clamped her mouth shut and shrugged as though to say 'suit yourself' before flinging into the armchair. It seemed then there was nothing more to do but wait for Erin and Goku to return.
--IMPORTANT NOTICE—
I guess I need to do more disclaimers for the simple face that I completely forgot about ALL of the other anime crap I used in here simply for the sake of ACEN.
So we'll start there. ACEN (Meaning Anime Central) is the fifth largest anime convention in the nation which takes place generally in Chicago, but to be more specific, in Rosemont, IL at the Donald E. Stephen's Convention Center. I'm not any member of the ACEN staff, nor am I gaining anything on behalf of using their name- this is only for the sake of the story being as realistic as possible. Some aspects of how ACEN is run have been changed, so don't be a conventioneer and believe that you can really sneak in eight people in one room and get away with it, or that the breakfast buffet is free (because it's not) OR that it's possible to pre-register three days beforehand. Sorry!
I'm also not a staff member of the Donald E. Stephen's Convention Center or a worker at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare; again, I'm making no profit from using these places in my fiction, and neither are they. This is purely for fan-fiction purposes!!
Onto the fun stuff-Other anime, as well as Voice Actors and song(s) mentioned in this chapter (as well as in Chapter 14, which I can't recall whether I put a disclaimer there or not.). I'll make a list of ALL the ones I can find/remember, and say this for all of them: I don't own them, I don't have an affiliation, don't sue me, I have no money, and am making NO profits.
Ah! My Goddess
Cowboy BeBop
Weiss Kreuz © Project Weiss/ Takehito Koyasu
Trigun © Yasuhiro Nightow
Voice Actors
Greg Ayres (ADV Films, voice actor for Son Goku "Saiyuki")
Vic Mignogna (ADV Films, voice actor of Kougaji "Saiyuki")
Illich Guardiola (ADV Films, voice of Sha Gojyo "Saiyuki")
David Matranga (ADV Films, voice of Genjyo Sanzo "Saiyuki")
Braden Hunt (ADV Films, voice of Cho Hakkai "Saiyuki")
Hilary Haag (ADV Films, voice of Lirin/Ririn "Saiyuki")
Chris Patton (ADV Films, voice of Koumyou Sanzo "Saiyuki")
Shin'ichiro Miko (Japanese seiyuu of Yohji Kudou "Weiss Kreuz")
Music
"Redneck Woman" –Gretchen Wilson (Off the album ™ "Here for the Party")