Disclaimer: I don't own anybody in Saiyuki! They all belong to the praise worthy Kazuya Minekura!

Author's note: Hey! I'm back with chapter 16! What did you guys think of chapter 15? Anyway, thanks for all those who reviewed! It means a lot to me… Well, hope you like this chapter too. Read and review… please!

Chapter 16: The meaning of dreams

After eating their dinner, Sanzo and the others went to bed. Sanzo went to his room and enjoyed his time alone. Gojyo and Goku were in their room, complaining about how why they had to share a room. And Hakkai and Shiey were in the room they were sharing together. "No, really, I'll go get a mattress." Hakkai insisted. "It's okay! The bed is queen sized. We can both fit in it. And besides, I wouldn't want you sleeping on the floor. Your wounds are still fresh. It might hurt more if you sleep on the floor." Shiey explained. "But really—" Hakkai insisted. "It's really okay with me…" she said. Hakkai smiled and knew that he couldn't win over her 'convincing powers'. "Okay…" he complied. Shiey smiled. Suddenly, they heard Goku and Gojyo's argument through the wall. "I said I want the bed, so scoot over!" Goku yelled. "No way! You take the mattress, I was hurt more, so you sleep on the mattress." Gojyo quarreled. "No freakin' way!" Goku yelled. Hakkai and Shiey smiled at each other, "I guess we have to go help them sort this out…" they both said in unison, walking out of the room and into Goku and Gojyo's.

"Look, why don't you two just share the bed?" Shiey asked. Gojyo and Goku looked at each other. "Share a bed with this monkey! I might catch his fleas!" Gojyo yelled. "Oh yeah? Well, who would want to sleep with a pervy water sprite!" Goku yelled back. "Why you little monkey…" Gojyo said, knocking Goku one on the head. "Well, that's what Hakkai and I are going to do." Shiey slipped. She was just thinking that, but she was surprised when she said it aloud. Gojyo and Goku looked at Hakkai, then Shiey, then each other. "Woah, Hakkai! Score!" Gojyo said, raising an arm up in the air. Shiey felt a tinge of pink come to her cheeks. "I-I didn't mean it that way!" Shiey said, blushing violently. "Really?" Gojyo said, a sly look on his face. "You better tell me the details tomorrow, Hakkai. I don't want to miss out on anything." Gojyo remarked. Now, Hakkai as well had a light blush on his cheeks. And when they thought that things wouldn't get any worse… well, it did.

"Be sure not to hurt my sister, Hakkai. Be careful with her." Sanzo said from the doorway. Shiey and Hakkai both faced the door and saw Sanzo standing there, a cigarette between his lips. "We're you listening all this time!" Shiey asked. Sanzo smirked. "Sanzo! I didn't mean it that way! I just don't want him to sleep on the floor!" Shiey convinced, blushing violently. "Still, that's pretty much the same…Well, I'll be… the monk does have 'that' kind of side to him…" remarked Gojyo. "Do you have a death wish?" Sanzo asked, his gun pointed in Gojyo's direction. "No… not really…don't get so worked up about it…" he replied, both his hands up in the air. Goku laughed, seeing that Gojyo got into trouble. "You too, Goku. If you two don't stop whining and arguing… I swear I'll kill you." Sanzo said, returning to his room once more. Shiey and Hakkai turned to return to their room as well, but froze in their tracks when Gojyo remarked, "Have a GOOD night…" Shiey turned to face him, her face almost as red as a tomato. "I said… SHUT UP!" Shiey said, slapping Gojyo one in the face. "That felt better…" she whispered to herself as she walked with Hakkai back to their room.

Shiey and Hakkai entered their room and Hakkai closed the door behind them. For a while, both of them had nothing to say to each other. A slight breeze entered their room through the window. Shiey smiled and walked over to the window and sat on the windowpane. The stars were at their brightest and there sure were a lot of them tonight. The moon was there as well. The night sky was brilliant. Hakkai couldn't help but stare at her. The moon was creating a halo around her golden hair, while the wind was blowing it gently. Her eyes seemed full of happiness… and it had been such a long time since he last saw her eyes like that. She looked like an angel.

Suddenly, Shiey turned to his direction, and their eyes met. Shiey was the first to look away since she didn't want Hakkai to see that a faint blush was coming to her cheeks. "I really didn't mean it like that… It just slipped out…" Shiey apologized. Hakkai smiled and sat down on the chair near the window. "Forget about it." He remarked. Shiey looked at him and smiled.

/I miss you/

Shiey looked behind her and saw nobody. "Shiey, what is it?" Hakkai asked. "Didn't you hear it?" she asked. "Hear what?" Hakkai asked again. "A voice of a boy. It was calling out saying, 'I miss you'." Shiey explained. "I didn't hear anything. Are you sure you heard something?" Hakkai confirmed. "Just… forget about it." Shiey said, swearing to herself that she did hear somebody.

Hakkai looked at her and pulled her into an embrace. Shiey's eyes widened, then her lips curled up to form a smile. They looked at each other, melting into each other's gazes. Hakkai leaned forward to kiss Shiey and Shiey accepted it. After a matter of seconds, Shiey pulled away and hugged Hakkai, her head leaning on his chest. "I love you, Hakkai." She said. "Me too, Shiey. I love you too." He remarked, hugging her tighter. After a while, they decided to go to bed. Shiey was on the right side of the bed while Hakkai was on the left. Hey were both facing each other. "Good night, Shiey." Hakkai said. "Good night, Hakkai." She replied as she closed her eyes and smiled.

Reija walked through the halls of heaven, bored out of her brain. There was nothing to do up here. Konzen was right; it was so damn boring up here. She sneaked out from an important meeting and, sad to say, she still had nothing to do. She figured she'd go to one of the gardens she'd been to earlier that day.

She sat on the foot of the beautiful cherry blossom tree and hummed a tune she'd like to play on her flute. She forgot her flute in her room and was too lazy to go back for it. She was interrupted when a man jumped from the tree beside her. "Aaahhh!" she yelled, surprised by the sudden movement. "Does my face look that bad?" a guy with short red hair asked. "N-no. I was surprised, that's all." Reija explained. The guy sat beside her and introduced himself. "Hey, I'm General Kenren. Call me Kenren. You must be the girl Tenpo was talking to me about. Where's your flute?" Kenren said. "Um, I left it in my room. Tenpo told you about me?" Reija asked. "Yeah." Kenren replied. Just then, when Reija moved her hair to one side, Kenren noticed a scar on the back of her neck. "What happened to that?" he asked, pointing to the scar. Reija's eyes widened and answered, "Oh, it's nothing. Don't mind it." Kenren shrugged and stood up. "I'm going to Tenpo's. Wanna come?" he asked. "Um, come to think of it, I have to head back." Reija replied, standing up as well. "See ya around." Kenren said as he waved. "Yeah." Reija waved back. When he was out of hearing range, Reija sighed. "That was close…" she whispered. She lied about going back, it was just… well, it was just like that. She hadn't seen Goku around for that whole day. Nataku was summoned to subdue Gyumao, so he went down to the lower world. Sometimes, she wished she could see what it was like down there. But, she couldn't.

She stopped when she saw a field full of flowers. It was beautiful. She walked toward it and stood there for a while, just thinking about things. "You must be Reija." A voice disturbed her thoughts. She turned around to see Homura. "I'm so sorry for your loss." She said. Homura looked away and turned back, leaving Reija alone once more. Reija, on the other hand, had a puzzled expression on her face. She really pitied Homura. When the jade emperor found out that he had a relationship with Rinrei, well, let's just leave it at that. She never liked the jade emperor. Ever since she was a kid, all he ever did was order people around, just to know if they were still loyal to him. But meanwhile, her father was a total suck up to the jade emperor. "Stupid old people…" she thought. "Ms. Reija, your father is calling for you. Your brother, prince Nataku has returned." A woman in a pink robe said. "Ah, yes." Reija said, knowing that her father had to tell her something, and she wouldn't like a bit of it. Then again, she wanted to welcome her brother home.

She went to join her father meet Nataku. And when they got there, she was too shocked that words couldn't even describe it. Her brother was injured pretty badly, he was bleeding as well, but what surprised her was that the army that went with him didn't even had one single scratch. She looked at her father and saw that he had no reaction whatsoever to this. She was surprised when Goku ran up to meet Nataku, but Nataku on the other hand, collapsed in his arms. Reija ran to her brother and helped Goku. She was shocked when no on even bothered to help her. "What is wrong with all of you! Can't you see he's badly hurt!" she yelled.

No reply.

She was so pissed; she looked at the jade emperor and said, "You worthless old man! Nataku did your dirty work for you; the least you could do is treat him with respect. But, in the end what do you do! You sit there as if he's just your killing puppet!" she exclaimed. She stopped at the thought. "That's right, isn't it? He's nothing more than a killing puppet to you…" she said, quite shocked. She took Nataku and carried him back to his room. "Thanks for the concern, Goku. I appreciate it." She said before she left. "Don't let her get away! Seize her!" the jade emperor yelled. "My lord, I shall make sure that Reija receives a corresponding punishment for her actions. I will be the one to deal with her," Li Touten assured.

"Stupid, arrogant bastards. I wish you would all rot in hell!" she said as she placed Nataku carefully on his bed. She took a warm towel and began treating his wounds. Nataku grimaced in pain, then he opened his eyes. "Reija?" he asked, his eyes half open. Reija smiled, "It's okay… you have to rest now." She said as she watched him close his eyes once again. She knew that she was going to get it from her father again, but she didn't care. This time, he's gone too far. They've gone too far. She was kind of used to it anyway. She knew she had no right o meddle with military affairs, but that didn't matter now. This was her brother… her little brother that used to smile and have fun a lot. And now… he was nothing more that a mere killing puppet? They must be joking. After finishing treating Nataku's wounds, she fixed up his room and was about to go outside when the door opened and in walked her father. "You must know what is to be done with someone like you." Her father said. "I don't care what you do to me. You've gone too far this time! He's your son! For goodness sake!" Reija said, although she knew that to her father, it made no difference. Li Touten grabbed her by her collar and threw her out the door. He pulled her from the floor and they walked, (well, Reija walked by force) to Li Touten's room and there… her punishment was going to be held.

She couldn't hold it back anymore. The tears escaped from her eyes as Li Touten slashed her once again… Her clothes were torn in some places when he whipped her. And now, he proceeded to rape her. He took off her clothes and entered her. She yelled in pain. The scars of the whip were raw and bleeding. After he made sure that he had suffered enough, he got off of her from the floor, put his robes back on and walked outside. Reija struggled to stand up from the floor and put her torn clothes back on. It would be hard to explain if anyone would see her like this. She stood up from the floor and walked out the door and back to Nataku's room. She was quite surprised when she saw Goku there with him. She smiled and closed the door and proceeded to go to her room. "Reija, what happened to you?" Tenpo asked. Reija looked behind her and saw Tenpo standing there. Her eyes were wide in shock and she started crying as she ran inside her room, which happened to be just beside Nataku's room. She locked the door and broke down on the floor, crying. How would she explain this to Tenpo later on? It was going to be hard.

"Konzen, are you sure I should've just left Nataku like that?" Goku asked. "Don't worry, Goku. I said someone is already assigned to take care of him. Not to mention his sister." Konzen replied. "That reminds me, I haven't seen Reija since Nataku's arrival, have you seen her, Konzen?" Goku asked. "What do I care? She must be in one of the gardens, playing her flute again." Konzen assured. "Maybe." Goku answered. When they arrived, they were surprised to see Tenpo and Kenren sitting on one of the chairs in Konzen's office. "What are you doing here?" Konzen asked. "Konzen, don't you find it troubling that Nataku was the only one with deep wounds and the army with him had none at all?" Tenpo asked. "It does get me thinking…" Konzen replied. "Yeah, I pity the poor little kid." Kenren remarked. "And his sister." He added. Tenpo, Konzen and Goku looked in his direction. "Reija?" Goku asked. "Yeah, didn't you see how she acted in front of the jade emperor earlier today? And Li Touten interjected that he would be the one to deal with her. I bet she didn't like even one bit of it." Kenren explained. "So that must be why Reija's clothes were torn when I saw her a while ago." Tenpo thought, not knowing that he also said it aloud. "You saw Reija?" Goku asked. "With torn clothes?" Konzen added. "Uh—yeah. I saw her a while ago, she just came from Nataku's room, and she seemed so shocked to see me that she ran into her room, crying." Tenpo narrated. Konzen thought for a while, then finally said, there's something else going on here."

Shiey sat up in bed, panting. What were these dreams she was having? Why were they, as if, showing itself to her? "Shiey, is everything alright?" Hakkai asked, sitting up in bed as well. "Um, I-I'm fine." Shiey replied. "Another nightmare?" Hakkai asked. Startled at the remark, Shiey looked at Hakkai. He smiled, "That's the fifth time this week. Can you please tell me what the matter is?" Hakkai asked, his eyes showing a hint of worry. "Everything's okay. I promise. I'm sorry I waked you up. I just want to go back to bed. I just had a flashback, that's all." Shiey covered up, then showed Hakkai a fake smile. "All right." Hakkai gave in and slept once more. Shiey sank into bed as well and slept. Thus, taking her back to the land of dreams.

Evening came, Reija was in no mood to eat supper. She was sitting on her bed, her legs near her chest. She was still crying until now… it was the tears… they just wouldn't stop. She didn't want to face the world. Not this time. The other times, when her father beat her up for no reason, she would be able to take it. But, this time was different. He even raped her. Her long, golden locks were a little tangled along the end and her blue and brown eyes were bloodshot from tears. Her mind was blank. She felt like dying that very minute. And she didn't want to explain to Tenpo about what happened earlier that day. At this, she cried more. She finally gathered the courage to go out of her room after a few minutes, she figured she'd go to Nataku's room.

She entered as quietly as she could. Then, she kneeled down beside his bed and held his hands. Nataku stirred for a moment, then opened his eyes. "Reija…" he said, sitting up in bed. Realizing what happened to his sister's eyes, he remarked, "Reija, what happened to your eyes? Did you cry?" Nataku asked, his big, golden eyes full of concern. Reija smiled and replied, "No. Nataku. Nothing's wrong." She lied. Nataku smiled. "Are you hungry?" Reija asked. Nataku shook his head, "But I am still a little sleepy." He said. "Okay, go on then. I'll stay here until you fall asleep." She reassured. Nataku sank back into his bed, "Thanks, Reija." He murmured as he closed his eyes and retreated to silence.

Reija left Nataku's room when she was sure that he was already asleep. She crept to the door quietly and walked outside. When she stepped outside, a hand clamped over her mouth and led her to one of the gardens. She tried to scream, but she couldn't. When they finally reached the garden, the hand let go of her mouth. "What the?" she said. "Sorry." The voice apologized. She turned around and saw Tenpo. "T-tenpo." She said. "Look, I just wanna talk." Tenpo replied. Knowing that he wouldn't take no for an answer, she complied and they went to her room and there, she explained everything.

"He beat you up?" Tenpo asked. Reija nodded. "And raped you as well?" Tenpo clarified. "Yeah." Reija replied. "What a cruel thing to do. And to his own daughter as well." Tenpo said, pity in his green eyes. "My father doesn't know the meaning of mercy." Reija declared. "I'm so sorry." Tenpo apologized. "Please promise me you won't tell anyone. Not a single soul." Reija said. "I promise." Tenpo smiled. Then, he looked at Reija and saw that the whole time that evening, he hadn't seen her smile. Well, he couldn't blame her though. Who would smile after what she went through? But, a sudden urge deep inside him wanted to see her smile so bad. But instead of seeing her smile, he said the exact opposite. "Reija… you can cry if you want to. Crying makes you feel better." Tenpo said. Reija did exactly what he said. She hugged him and cried into his chest. She let it all out… Her pain and suffering. And Tenpo was there to hold her until she was done. "How do you feel now?" Tenpo asked. Reija smiled, "Much better." And for the first time that evening, Reija was able to give out a small, but real smile. "It's nice to see you smile again…" Tenpo remarked. Reija smiled again and hugged him, "Tenpo… thank you." She said, as she sat up straight on her bed so that her face was parallel to his. Then, she did the unthinkable. She planted a kiss on Tenpo's right cheek. Tenpo's eyes widened in shock. "I-I'm sorry…" Reija apologized as she blushed. But the response she got from Tenpo was different… One if his hands lifted her chin up and he kissed her on the lips. Reija closed her eyes as she responded to him. After a while, Tenpo pulled away. They smiled at each other and Tenpo got off the bed and walked towards the door. "Everything will be okay now… Just go get some sleep." He advised. Reija smiled, "Good night, Tenpo." She remarked. Tenpo smiled before closing the door "Good night, Reija."

And as the weeks passed, Tenpo and Reija got to know each other more. But they vowed not to let anyone know that they were having a relationship. And for a while, everything seemed to turn out fine. No one knew about their feelings for each other. Every night, as long as he could, Tenpo would come and visit Reija in one of the gardens, and they would talk there for hours… sometimes until dawn. But, as things were turning out good for Reija and Tenpo, it was the exact opposite for Nataku. He would always get called on to fight demons from the world below to bring peace that never existed. His wounds would not heal… whatever they did. Reija tried over and over to convince her father to stop this and allow her to fight in the place of Nataku. She was answered by a strong slap on the face and then that evening, another beating. Konzen was starting to get suspicious, seeing that every time he saw Reija, she either had a whip marks or black and blue bruises. So, he decided to confront Tenpo about it.

"Tenpo, do you have a minute?" he asked one day when Tenpo visited him in his office. "Sure, what is it?" Tenpo asked. "I'm going to go straight to the point, do you know what's been happening to Reija this past couple of weeks?" he asked. Tenpo glanced at the floor and answered, "I know I won't be able to hide anything from you, but please swear that what I am about to tell you will only be between us." Tenpo declared. "Sure, whatever." Konzen replied, coolly. "Whenever Reija tries to stand up to Li Touten for what he does to Nataku, that's when she gets it." He said. "Gets what?" Konzen asked. "Li Touten beats her up. Whips, swords… and one time even a gun. Mercy is not in his vocabulary." Tenpo explained. Konzen had no response to this. "Reija? Stand up to her father? It was simply impossible. But, she would know better than to stand up to Li Touten. After all, he is vindictive." Konzen thought. Tenpo smiled, seeing that his friend had no reaction to this. "Well, I'll be going now." Tenpo said, walking out of the office.

And so, they went about their boring life in heaven… Everything stayed the same… Until one day, Li Touten heard about Reija and Tenpo's relationship. And being his spiteful and malicious self, he ordered Tenpo, along with his friends, Konzen, Kenre and Goku to be killed. How you ask? By beheading them. Reija could not stand this anymore, she had asked her father many times to not continue with this. That this was not Tenpo, or Konzen or Goku, or Kenren's fault. It was hers. But knowing Li Touten, he went on with it. After beheading Tenpo and the others, Reija felt lifeless. What was this life for anyway? She felt like they died because of her. They died at her hands. She had tried so many times to play her flute and make illusions of a happy world. Make illusions that Tenpo and the others were still alive. But, no matter how hard she tried, the illusions that would always come out of her flute were the scene of Konzen and the others being beheaded. She would take no more. One day, she finally made a decision. While Nataku was asleep, she would sneak into his room, take his sword and kill herself. Who would know the difference? Who would notice that she had died? So when the chance came, she took it and ended her life with much joy.

Morning finally came and ended Shiey's series of nightmares. She woke up and went down to join the others for breakfast. She hadn't said a word, let alone smile for the whole morning. She didn't even eat breakfast. "Shiey, is everything alright?" Hakkai asked. No reply. It was like she was not there. Like her mind was wandering somewhere else. And now, even Sanzo was worried. They left the inn and traveled to the west once more.

In Tenkai…

"Well, I can see that she's getting her memories from five hundred years ago back. Isn't that right, Nataku? The goddess of mercy said, looking at the lifeless puppet. "Well, she'll have to determine what her dreams really mean. If it's telling her what's going to happen in the future… or what happened in the past." She said, sitting on her throne once more.

Author's note: Hey people! Hope you liked this chapter! Watch out for chapter 17, okay? I'll promise I'll do I as soon as I can! Aw! Poor Reija! Well, please review!