Hi again. Well, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Saiyuki world, I only barrow the characters and themes for
My little game of "What if…"
Fate Plays Her Hand.
Ch. 4
Flames of Fate
Hakkai walked slowly through the forest along the same path due north that the small group of travelers had been traveling for several days. It had been over a week since they joined the girls in their journey toward the mountains and once again they were looking for a place to camp for the night. The ground became increasingly rocky since they had entered the foothills the day before last. They had only one more days journeying to do till they reached their destination. Sanzo had been in a very foul mood since the day they joined this little quest. He had been completely against the idea from the beginning, but Hakkai managed to convince him of the necessity of there going. Sephira proved to be a determined secret keeper. She kept the location of the sutra a secret that no body, not even Sanzo's threatening, could drive it from her. Hakkai sighed. He had never seen anyone annoy Sanzo this much without having been shot by now, well, except maybe for Goyjo.
Other than that, the rest of the group seemed to be hitting it off quite nicely. Goyjo was throwing his best moves on Roxanne, who was matching him move for move. Checkmate for this little game of theirs is just a few moves away. Goku and Nara, on the other hand, were practically inseparable. When he wasn't hanging over her shoulder while she was cooking, they were playing like six year olds. Hakkai had a feeling that the separation would be hard on both of them when the time came. As for himself, he found the company of Emma quite enjoyable. They would end up talking and comparing opinions on the growing relationships of their companions. Emma had a very good eye for these things and never missed a beat. She explained told him a little more concerning the events that led up to their master's kidnapping. Everything seemed to fit, but there was something still bothering him. A thought that kept nagging at the back of his mind. He couldn't put his finger on it at the time, but the one thing he did know, this just might turn out to be more than just a simple rescue mission. He shook the thought from his head as the group finally came to a stop. Hakkai smiled amusingly as he surveyed the small patch of grass outside of a cave that would serve as their campsite.
Sephira turned and watched the others as they started dropped their stuff and quickly sat to rest their tired feet. The sun was already halfway down the horizon leaving them only had a good hour of light left. She noticed that Nara already had Goku out collecting fire wood to start the dinner fire. She laughed at this. If they were normal girls with a normal life, she would think these two were courting each other. She smiled slightly at the small joys of "what ifs". She brought herself back to the present with thoughts of the future. Tomorrow they would reach the youkai castle and the end of their journey. She knew tonight was going to be a long night. She observed the small group in the dying light of the sun. Goyjo had taken his position next to Roxanne, continuing their game. Roxanne was still fairing well but it seemed like her tactics were weakening. Goku had returned with the firewood and was organizing it so he and Hakkai could build a proper fire. Emma sat with Nara preparing some of the last provisions they had to make a decent meal for the night. Finally her eyes landed on the stiff form of Sanzo. The blond monk stood leaning against a tree watching her with a suspicious and intense gaze. She averted her eyes and walked to the other side of the clearing to find a place to rest. Tonight was definitely going to be a long night.
The small group enjoyed a simple meal of a makeshift stew that Goyjo and Goku had managed to finish - after a few fights of course. After dinner was put away, the small group moved into the shelter of the quiet cave. The moon was high now, shining her light clear into the forest; her silver beams being mixed enchantingly with the pale golden glow of the fire light shining out of the mouth of the cave. Roxanne stood outside the enjoying the cool night air. Sephira had left a few minute earlier under the guise of collecting more firewood. Rox had followed her outside but only to watch as Sephira disappeared into the night. There was an odd sense hanging in the air of the cave. No one had said it officially, but everyone knew that tomorrow they would reach the youkai's castle and even though no one showed it, the excitement of tomorrow's events plagued their minds. She took a deep breathe, letting the pure air fill her lungs. She slowly let it out, breathing the tension in her body away. Through the noise of the cave, she heard the lazy footsteps of someone coming up behind her. She knew who it was even before they spoke.
"What you doing out her, Rox?" came the cool voice of Goyjo.
'He wants to continue our game I see.' Roxanne thought with a laugh as she gazed into the night. "Nothing, just enjoying the quiet night." She replied in her own cool manner.
"I see. Well, I just can't leave a pretty girl like you out here by herself so I guess I will just have to stay out here with you." Goyjo replied with a smirk.
"If you wish." Roxanne continued to stare lazily at the night. They stood together in silence for a few minutes, the silver light of the moon on their faces as the golden light of the fire covered their backs. Taking a few steps forward, Goyjo turned and looked at Rox. She was still staring off into space. Something about her had been bothering him lately and though that it was about time he figured it out. As slowly and as quietly as he could, he walked around until he had seemingly nonchalantly passed infront of Rox several times, each time making a different face at her, but making no noise. Rox's face didn't move at all, more importantly, neither did her eyes. Finally, he stopped right infront of her and waved his hand across the front of her face. Still nothing. The truth was evident to him now.
A small triumphant smile crossed Roxanne's face. "Satisfied?"
"You're blind." This was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes I am. I was born this way." She replied nonchalantly. A laugh touched her face as she added, "I was wondering how long it would take you to notice."
Goyjo stood silent for a minute, as this new thought played in his mind. This would make their game much more interesting. Soon a very tempting idea came to his mind. "You want to go for a walk?"
Roxanne finally turned to him and smile. "Sure."
Where am I? Sephira had lost herself, or so she thought. After she left, she became lost in thought and allowed her feet to guide her according to their own will. When she finally came to the present, she had wondered farther than she had wanted and was standing in the middle of a small clearing. She was alone with her thoughts at a time when she really didn't need to be. Her mind had been occupied by the same thought ever since the Sanzo party had joined them. Her mind had been in a state of confusion since that day. She racked her brain yet again for some idea of what to do next. Tomorrow was the day of reckoning for her and yet she was at a loss. Master would know what to do… Sephira was yanked from her thoughts as she heard something in the darkness behind her coming closer. As slowly as she could, she reached down and grabbed the small dagger in her boot. Holding it steadily in her hand she took and deep breath and quickly turned to face her unknown pursuer. She froze as her eyes met the only pair of eyes she didn't want to see at that time. The cool purple eyes of Sanzo-Houshi.
Sanzo didn't flinch as she whirled around with a dagger aimed at his heart. He stood facing her with that stoic look she had become used to seeing. Lowering her dagger she stared at him with utter annoyance. "What are you doing here?"
Sanzo made no response but continued to stare, his eyes boring right into her, as if searching for something. His gaze began to unnerve Sephira but she didn't let up. She mustered all her inner strength and stood there. He reached into his pocket a pulled out a cigarette. He quickly lit it and took a long drought before turning his gaze once more upon her. They stood silently like that for several minutes. Finally, Sephira broke the silence. "What? You here to intimidate me because it's not working." She lied.
"You're hiding something." Sephira froze, as if the tone in his voice had turned her to stone. Sanzo continued to stare her down. "You haven't told your companions everything and yet you brought them all this way. How selfish can you be. What are you trying to protect?"
Sephira couldn't answer. Her minded was numb with shock; ashamedly, she dropped her eyes.
"How selfish. Do as you please, but remember this, you can't always protect them." Sanzo watched as the defeated woman's eyes shot back up at him, glaring. He turned and walked away, leaving the shaken woman to her thoughts once more. Little did he know the affect those words would have. As he made his way back toward the camp, he heard two voices a few feet away. He instantly recognized one as Goyjo's and rolled his eyes as he continued on his way. Whatever Goyjo was doing, he didn't want to know.
Goyjo and Roxanne strolled peacefully through the forest with the darkness covering them like a cloak. The two gave no thought to the time or what tomorrow would bring. Tonight, they would only focus on the here and now. Tonight, their game would end.
"I've never met anyone quite like you, Rox." Goyjo stated honestly.
"You've never met a blind woman before? Goyjo, I'm shocked" Rox countered with a laugh.
"No, th…well yes, but that's not it." He stammered. Letting out a sigh of defeat he continued. "How do you do it? I mean, you live naturally and do things without letting it on."
"Like kicking you ass in poker?" Roxanne said with a laugh.
They stopped by a large outcropping of rocks and Goyjo turned toward Rox. "Seriously, Roxs. How do you do it?"
Leaning against the nearest rock she replied, "With the loss of one sense, the other senses compensate for it. So, by not having sight, all my other senses are heightened. Now, this would still be somewhat difficult if I was just a normal human, but since I am part youkai, my senses are heightened even to the point that my eyes would be obsolete, even if I could use them."
Goyjo listened intently to her tale, his mind taking in every point. Soon, an evil glint came to his eye. Time to end this. Stepping closer to her he asked, "Explain what you mean by heightened senses."
Roxanne could feel him getting closer, but she wasn't fazed. "Basically, I can feel, touch, taste, and even smell better than anyone really. Everybody has a different feel, smell, and …taste."
"Really?" he said in a smooth voice. Taking another step closer, he raised his hand and gently touched her face. Her heart began to beat a little faster as his hand rested softly on her cheek
"What do you feel?" He asked innocently. She gasped at his tone, her breath becoming labored..
She closed her eyes as she tried to regain her out of control senses. She somehow managed to breath out, "Heat."
A light chuckle came from his lips as he leaned in closer to her face. His hair fell forward, brushing the side of her pale neck. She took an attempted deep breath, but failed miserable as his sent filled her nostrils, causing a new sensation to race through her body. Her body was trembling slightly with an unknown excitement. "What do you smell?"
Her heart was pounding frantically as she pressed herself hard against the stone behind her, trying to put a little distance between them so she could calm down, but with each passing second, the ground between them lessened. "You…" she whispered as she lowered her gaze, feeling the intense heat in her face. What was he doing to her?
A smile played on his lips as he slowly moved his hand from her flushed cheek to her lowered chin. His fingers barely brushed her lips, but it was enough to send a shiver of delight through her body. He lifter her head up, his heated gaze boring into her sightless eyes. His lips were now hovering right above hers. "What do you taste?" His voice dripped with seduction as he brushed his lips over hers.
She gave a surprised gasp when she felt his heated lips on hers. She let out a moan as he moved away. Her body felt as if it would burst. Her heart raced as she let out a shaky breath. "Spice…"
Goyjo smiled a triumphantly at her answer and finally closed the last little bit of distance between them. Wrapping his arms around her slim frame, he pulled her to him, crushing her body against his. He lowered his lips to her expectant ones, sending a wave of heat through both of them. Checkmate…
Emma sat quietly by the side of the dying fire as Hakkai threw another log in, trying to keep some light in the small cave. It had been several hours since half their party had left and only Sanzo had returned. Goku and Nara were fast asleep, side by side. Having run around for hours, they both finally passed out. Emma didn't want to move them just because she thought they were too adorable to move so she simply put a blanket over them and continued to sit and watch the fire. A few minutes later, Hakkai sat next to her with a tired smile on his face.
"I wonder where the others have gone." He said, though his voice didn't seem too worried.
Emma smiled one of her knowing smiles that Hakkai was growing accustomed too. "I'll bet where ever Roxanne is, Goyjo isn't far behind."
"I'll bet your right." Hakkai said with his ever present amused smirk. "But I do wonder where Sephira went."
"Yeah. I know she said she went to get firewood, but we still have a whole pile left." Emma replied. Her face dropped for a moment, but picked right up a second later as she turned to Hakkai. "Where ever she is, I'm sure she's fine. Sephira is a big girl you know, she can take care of herself."
"So I've seen." Hakkai said, matching her gaze. "She is definitely the leader of your small band."
"Yeah. She's been with master the longest. He found her first, when she was only a baby. You would think he was her real father."
"I agree." He replied, turning back to the fire. "How did you, Roxanne, and Nara come by your master? If you don't mind my asking."
"No, it's quite alright" Emma replied as she turned to the fire, her face pensive as she stared into the small fire. "Let me see, Roxanne was found when she was two years old. Her village thought she was a bad omen so they tried to kill her by leaving her in the desert to die. But master found her on the way back from one of his many journeys and brought her back with him. Nara, we found her when she was five. We were all traveling back from a trip to the ocean. It was raining that day and we found her on the streets. She had been orphaned and was trying to get by as a pick pocket. She was pretty good, but it's very hard to steal from master. He caught her, but instead of having her arrested, he offered a place with us. Sadly, Nara was very sick and had been very weak since. A few years ago, a plague went through our village and she caught it. She almost died, but somehow, she survived. Since that day, she has only gotten stronger. It was a miracle you could say."
"Interesting." Hakkai paused for a second. "What about you?" Hakkai said as he turned to her.
Emma looked down, a little embarrassed under his gaze. "My story isn't as interesting…" Hakkai watched her as she sat in silence watching the flames dance before her eyes, as if the past were playing in those flames. "Master found me about six months after he found Rox. I was two as well. My entire village had been destroyed by two youkai clans who were warring with each other. The battle ravaged our village and no one cared. Both my parents were killed. I don't remember much else. Master found me the next day as he passed by and he took me in. He never told me what really happened until a few years ago. The only thing that bothered me was this one thing he told me. He said it took him almost a whole day to wash the dried blood off my skin. He said I was covered in it from head to toe as if someone had poured it on me. I really don't understand what he meant, but it doesn't matter anyway." She turned and smiled her calm smile, but there was a touch of sadness in it now.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried." Hakkai said, his eyes taking hiding the true thoughts running through her head.
"No, no, it's ok. I wanted to tell you." She said with a smile. At that moment, the sound of footsteps gained their attention. Looking up, she saw Sephira walk in. "Finally." She whispered. She turned back to Hakkai and smiled again. "Looks like those two made it back safely. I don't think we should expect Rox and Goyjo anytime soon though." She said with a smile.
Hakkai smiled "Yes, I do believe you are right."
She finally stood. "I think I'm going to turn in. Good night."
"Good night." He watched her go and soon he turned back to the flame, a pensive expression on his face. A child found covered in blood from a youkai war…
Across the room, Sephira crouched over, trying in vain to make a decent bed for the night. She has realized something as she made her way back to the cave. For the first time since master was kidnapped, her friends seemed somewhat happy. It was confirmed when she returned and saw Nara asleep next to Goku and Emma sitting with Hakkai, plus the fact that Goyjo and Rox were still missing. She couldn't ruin this for her friends. What if something happened to one of them, she couldn't live with herself. Plus, what loomed on the horizon weigh still heavily on her mind. As she lay down, the truth slowly and gloomily dawned on her. Tomorrow, she would have to go alone.
Dawn came slowly the next morning, but Sephira hardly noticed. She had been up for an hour already preparing for what she was about to do. With the sutra safely hidden away, she crept out of the silent cave. She walked carefully around the sleeping forms of her comrades, old and new. The only thing that stood out at the moment was the fact that Roxanne and Goyjo still hadn't returned. She really didn't want to think about that right now, but she made a mental note to have a strong talk with her when this was all over and done with. When she finally made it to the mouth of the cave, she took one last look at her sleeping friends. 'This is for best…' she reminded herself.Then, as quietly as a shadow, she ran into the patient woods.
From his position by the wall, Sanzo watched here as she prepared to leave. He lay silently until she left, then he slowly sat up and watched her retreating form. He had suspected a move like this when he saw the state she was in when she returned the night before. Getting to his feet as quietly as he could, he grabbed his gun and followed the path of this highly stubborn and sometimes stupid woman. A few minutes later, he came to the clearing he recognized as where he found her the night before. He stopped for a moment, listening to the world around him. He knew she was not far.
"You can come out now." He commanded the silence.
Immediately, Sephira moved out from the rocks to face him. "I had a feeling you would be the one to follow me." She said with an unreadable expression.
"So, this is what you weren't telling your comrades. You dragged them all the way out here to go the rest of the way on your own." Sanzo said with such confidence that it was surprising.
Sephira just glared at him. "For once, Sanzo-Houshi, you are wrong. I decided this last night. But you are right on one thing, there is something I didn't tell the girls and I don't intend too either. But sadly for you, you must know for it concerns you."
Sanzo met her glare with one of his own. "What do you mean?"
Sephira didn't move. Her eyes were still fixed on his. "The youkai had another request. They didn't just want the sutra, they wanted the Sanzo that carried it as well. Why they would want you, I do not know. Some nonsense about eternal youth, I think. If they had wanted only the sutra, you would have never known it was gone. I would of have Nara steal it, for she is much craftier than I. But I stole it because I wanted you to follow us. It would have been too much hassle to kidnap you. I'll admit, having you guys joins us was much better than I had planned. But you see, the theft and the fact that you found us was all part of my plan. Not even the girls knew of this."
Sanzo's glare became even more heated. He hated being used, especially by this woman. He reached for his gun but before he even had it drawn, he felt the familiar prick in his shoulder and a haze once again clouded his mind. Damn it…she's fast…'
Sephira caught Sanzo's limp form as he fell forward into her arms. "I'm sorry." She whispered lightly. She laid him down and took his gun, uncurling his limp fingers from the trigger. Stuffing the small gun into her other boot, she picked up the surprising light monk and threw him over her shoulder. Standing again, she found her path and was quickly on her way.
END OF CH. 4
Sai Orlianna: ::coming out of hiding:: hee hee, yeah, I know, I did it again. But no worries, he will be kicking some major but in the chapters to come. So all you Sanzo fans…don't kill me. ;; Hope you liked it. Next chapter will be up a little sooner, if all goes well. Please review! PLEASE!!! Thanks.
