A Stranger Within Me
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Saiyuki characters. The proper credits for those boys go to Kazuya Minekura. Any characters not in the anime, however, are all mine.
Chapter 1
"Hold on, kid! Whatever you do, don't give out on me." Hakkai panted as he ran with the boy in his arms. Some temporary healing was done thanks to his powers but he didn't want to take any chances. The boy was sweating cold sweat and shivering badly in his arms and Hakkai did what he could to keep his body warm. He managed to find a clinic and banged on the door urgently. "Hello? Is there anyone there! I need help!" A moment and an elderly man answered in a nightgown. "Yes, what can I do for you, sir?" he yawned. After seeing the boy, he immediately aroused from his half asleep state and took him in.
After some close examinations, the doctor concluded, "There are no broken bones, amazingly, but he has a slight case of a fever. I'd advise you keep his body warm at all times and feed him lots of liquids. He should sweat it out by morning. Other than that he should be fine. But..." He paused a moment, almost as if finding a way to put thoughts into words. "Yes, doctor?" Hakkai inquired. "I've never seen anything quite like this. His wounds..." He trailed off again. "Uh...never mind you. It's probably nothing. Please take better care of the boy. It would be best if he didn't suffer like this again." Hakkai was about to ask the doctor a question when he yawned, letting Hakkai know that it was late into the night and that he should leave. "Thank you for your help, doctor." he bowed respectfully. "Well, it's my job, sir. I enjoy doing what I do!" he replied in a cheerful manner.
A few minutes later, Hakkai laid the boy on his cot gently, and tucked the sheets over him. As he did this, he heard the boy muttering some words incoherently. Probably just delusional. He thought to himself. Before putting the boy to bed, he had made some hot soup for him as the doctor had directed. He was awake enough to drink it but had the look of unconsiousness in his eyes. He had muttered some nonsense quietly then too.
After tucking the boy in, he found a corner facing opposite him and sat there for a moment, then fell fast asleep. Funny how the hard wall seemed more comfortable than the mattress. Or was he just too tired to care?
Next morning...
Hakkai stirred a bit, sleepily opened his eyes. He noticed he was sleeping on the floor. He saw the empty bed and climbed into it. I must've rolled off the bed... ... The boy! He jumped up from bed and searched the room inside out and found him nowhere. Only that a note was laying on the paper.
Ossan, (a greeting for a middle aged man)
Thanks for taking care of me and
feeding me. I hope to pay you back
someday. But it would be best I not stay.
Again, thank you so much for your
hospitality. Oh I forgot to introduce
myself. My name is Kai-Shin or Kai for
short. Maybe we'll meet again someday,
then I'll be able to pay you back
properly.
Sincerly,
Kai
"Ossan, huh?" Hakkai chuckled as he put the note in his pocket. He ruffled his chestnut hair as he sat down. "Have I gotten that old? Haha! Time sure flies fast." He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Be safe, boy." Goku barged in just then. "Oi! Hakkai! It's time for breakfast!" Hakkai got up, "I'm coming, Goku." "Hey, Hakkai, who were you talking to just now? I heard your voice in there." Hakkai kept walking. "It's nothing." he replied simply. "Come, Goku. We're going to be late." "Oh, right! That jerk Gojyo better have not eaten my food!" Hakkai laughed a rich laugh.
After breakfast, Hakkai was looking around some shops for supplies for their next trip. As he was looking around he overheard some townspeople spreading the morning rumors and gossips. "Hey, did you hear about the 4 houses being completely demolished? Many people were killed. Some say it was the work of a demon." "You serious? No way!" Another villager replied doubtfully. A demon? But I scouted this entire place last night. There weren't any demons! What's going on here? And if several buildings collapsed, I would've heard it for sure. It's probably just some silly joke or a prank being pulled. Hakkai thought to himself reassuringly. It's just not possible.
That afternoon, the gang was set to leave. "Let's go! Let's go!" cheered Goku. "Shut the hell up you crap monkey!" Gojyo bellowed. "Both of you damn idiots shut up!" Sanji roared threatening with his gun. Hakkai chuckled. Things were back to the way they were again. And it's been awhile since they've been to a village that wasn't in utter despair and nothing much eventful had happened other than that boy last night. I hope he's okay. "Are you ready, Hakuryuu?" Hakkai gently patted his jeep. It chirpped happily in response. "Let's go."
It was beginning to get dark. "Shall we camp here, Sanzo?" Hakkai asked. "It doesn't seem like we have much of a choice" Sanzo grumbled. "Whaaaat? Out here?" Goku complained. "Shut up, you jabbering chimp!" Sanzo wacked him a good one with his newspaper. "Ow! That hurt!" Suddenly the jeep came to an abrupt halt, sending Gojyo and Goku flying. They landed in front of a pair of feet. Feet belonging to a woman. Gojyo rubbed his head painfully, "Oi, Hakkai? What the hell did you do that for?" As he lifted his head, he got his answer. She was a tall alluring woman. Her figure was perfect and her long flowing flaming pink hair hang idly at her waist. Her eyes burned of emerald fire, a very proud feature to her face. Beautiful Gojyo thought. Without warning, an energy blast came hurling towards the mysterious woman, barely grazing Gojyo and Goku's ears. She dodged it effortlessly, summersaulted backwards and landed like a cat. Gojyo whipped his head back, "Hey Hakkai! What'd you do that for?" Hakkai had stern eyes. "Look at her closely" Gojyo turned to see pointed ears. She was a demon, and because of the minus wave, was nothing more than a killing menace. "Damn! How come all the hot babes have to be like this?" Gojyo got out his jakujou (a staff with a crescent blade attached by a chain) and readied himself. As did Goku with his bo staff and Sanzo with his gun.
Gojyo made the first move and sprinted forward, jumped and appeared right in front his adversary. "I really don't want to do this!" She ignored his plea and striked at his face with her sharp nails. He ducked and swiped the floor with his jakujou. She jumped out of the way. A bullet grazed her face, leaving a trail of blood in its place. She shrieked and landed on the hot sand. Goku jumped from behind Gojyo with his staff and slammed it downwards. She blocked it with her wrist. "No wa..." Goku was shocked, but reacted quickly as she flung him away with his staff. He landed and pounced immediately. Gojyo jumped at the same time. This was indeed an impressive demon taking on two at the same time as Hakkai charged another shot and Sanzo readied to shoot again. Gojyo swung his jakujou at her face and she ducked and lifted her feet off the floor in time to dodge a bo staff rushing below her. She kicked Goku which he blocked with his staff and swiped at Gojyo. He jumped back in time to barely miss her claws. He smiled. "This game is over." He looked past her and she did the same. His jakujou had extended past her and was returning rapidly. "Goku! Move!" The monkey obeyed with amazing agility. Soon the chain had wrapped around her to the point that she couldn't move any part of her body from her neck down.
Sanzo walked up with a solemn face and aimed at her forehead. "Die..." She bowed her head, then chuckled. She was laughing! She looked up at him with daring, mocking eyes. She laughed almost hysterically. "Seriously, Sanzo priest. Do you honestly think these chains would bind me? You must be more naive than I thought! Haha!" Suddenly the sand around them began moving. "What?" Sanzo reared back. "An earthquake?" Hakkai wondered. Then suddenly a behemothic sand beast arose from under them. It reared back its snake-like body and growled ferociously, glaring with its blood-red eyes. "What the hell!" Gojyo exclaimed. "Wow! That thing's huge!" Gaped Goku. Its monsterous jaws clamped on the chain holding the woman which snapped like twigs.
She then mounted the beast and waved at the group. "I had fun, Sanzo! You've definitely entertained me. Maybe next time, you could get yourself strong enough to make me worry, possibly!" She laughed as the sand beast jumped up then dived into the sand and disappeared. "Damn, bitch! Where do you think you're going!" Sanzo cried with full fury blasting his gun away at the vanishing figure. He ran to where she disappeared into and fired away until he ran out of ammo. Gojyo wrapped his arm around Sanzo's neck and his other arm forced his gun up. "Calm down, Sanzo! The fight's over. She fled. The only thing left to do now is either wait or keep going, and hope to meet her again. It's best to go with the latter." Sanzo struggled with all his might. "Let me go, you damned water sprite!" "That's enough, Sanzo" Hakkai stepped in calmly. "You're wasting ammo. Save your energy to when we do meet her again. Try to contain yourself until then." The furious priest lowered his gun hesitantly. "Oi, Hakkai, who was that?" Goku inquired. "I don't know, Goku. But whoever she is, we seemed to have underestimated her true powers. Next time we see her, we cannot hold back. That's for certain. For the time being, we will camp out here for the night, and in the morning, we'll continue into the next village. I have a feeling this isn't the last time we've seen her."
That night, Gojyo prepared the fire while Hakkai prepared the food. Goku sat quietly next to Sanzo, who was still brooding over the demon they had fought earlier. Who was that girl? He thought to himself. And just how far can she carry her powers? If we don't stop her soon, it could get troublesome. "Dinner's ready!" Hakkai announced. "Yay!" Goku quickly forgot everything at the mention of food. Secretly, Hakkai pondered about the demon himself. Dinner for the most part was quiet that night.
End
Next Chapter:
Kai returns! Slowly the story unwinds for the unprepared Sanzo party.
Okay. The end of the first real chapter of my story. What do you think? Feedback's important, yall. I hope to bring a deeper richer storyline as I go. And I also hope that everyone will enjoy reading this. Stay tuned for the upcoming chapter!