Somewhere I Belong Chapter 02: The Boys’ Locker Room, a saiyuki fanfic

Somewhere I Belong

A Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Saiyuki, but I doubt I'll ever have the money to even consider buying the rights to it. Not that I'd want to take it away from Minekura-sensei, but still…

Beta Readers: Truth to Madness, Orenda and Nek0-chan

Thank you for the reviews. ^^ Review responses can be found on the website in my bio.

Quick note- as far as names go, any name that a character is using currently in the anime (with the exception of Shuuei) is the name that shall be used for the story. For example – Sanzo never had the name Kouryuu in this story and Hakkai was never Gonou.

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Chapter 2: The Boys' Locker Room

Yaone's eyes grew wide with shock as she saw her greatest enemy walking straight towards her. Quickly turning her attention back to her food, the female Hunter did her best to keep her cool. There were so many things that could go wrong if she somehow misspoke – talking back to a police officer was a crime punishable by at least one night in jail.

What she was more worried about was Hakkai. Yaone thanked the Powers That Be that it was her facing their adversary as he approached and not her friend. While both of them had suffered terribly by his hands, Yaone couldn't help but think that he had somehow hurt Hakkai more.

In the background, she could hear the cries of the demonstrators resisting arrest.

"You can't do this to us!" A lady objected as she was dragged away and put in handcuffs. "What they are doing in there is inhuman! What YOU'RE doing is inhuman!"

"We have rights! We are people not animals! How-"

"Shut the fuck up, you bitch!" the officer directing her to a police car slapped her across the face. "You need to be taught a lesson."

Yaone unconsciously tuned the protest out when she saw her friend's face. Hakkai wasn't even pretending to smile at the moment, and the look of total hatred on his face was frightening. From personal experience, she knew that sometimes the quiet people were the most dangerous. Yaone couldn't help but wonder if killing the vampires brought her friend some sort of emotional release.

She looked him in the eye and pleaded with him wordlessly not to do anything. He wasn't stupid, but rage could cloud even the most brilliant man's mind. While she could not stand the idea of talking at that moment, she knew it had to be done.

Yaone cursed her luck of getting a table close to the sidewalk as she heard his footsteps approach. Futilely pretending to have not noticed him, she suddenly became very interested in cutting a large slice of tomato in two. Yaone did her best to will her heart to slow down, but it became impossible to concentrate. Deep breaths didn't help much either.

"My my, if it isn't Sha Yaone-san, the greatest flutist our capital's orchestra ever had." Many people around them started to whisper at the comment.

"Why thank you, officer, but I'm not that good. I simply try my best." She smiled sweetly as she looked up from her plate. "I am honored to even be a member of the city's orchestra."

"I must disagree with you there, Yaone-san." Yaone bristled slightly hearing the monster talk to her in such a familiar manner. He has no right to call me by my first name. Chin then continued. "I heard your solo in the last performance. It was spectacular. You really do deserve the privilege of being the guest of honor at the Awards Ceremony."

"Thank you, officer."

Again, there was more whispering. Yaone did her best to play the part of a humble and proper lady. She stole a glance at Hakkai and her heart skipped a beat. He was smiling again, but it was not a nice smile…

"And, if I'm not mistaken," he continued in a lower tone, "You must be Cho Hakkai, if I remember correctly." Yaone was having a hard time keeping the smile on her face. There was no way this bastard didn't know Hakkai. This whole conversation was just an act, and all three participants knew it.

"You are correct, sir." Hakkai said in a tone that made the flutist want to run and hide. That level of politeness was dangerous. "And isn't it a lovely, sunny day?"

Yaone almost choked on her lettuce. How was Hakkai able to play these kinds of games? She would have never been able confront the Keikan vampire about it and keep an even tone in a million years.

Chin's smile faltered only slightly before he chuckled slightly. "Why, does the sun make you feel safe, Cho Hakkai?" His voice became barely a whisper as he leaned closer. "It is never a given that the sun will shine each day, but the night always comes. There is nothing you can do to change that."

He straightened up and began to walk away. Just when Yaone was about to let out a sigh of relief, the police chief turned back around.

"Please give both of your elder siblings my best regards next time you hear from them. I have it on good word that they are doing well in their new homes outside the capital." And with a final smirk, Chin Yisou went to finish observing the cleanup of the protest.

"Goku?"

It was twenty to one, and class was about to start up again. Young adults were constantly reminded that punctuality was next to godliness – despite the fact that the Diet denied the existence of any supernatural being. Even if there was one class that they could choose to be tardy for, it wouldn't be Math 110.

"You stupid monkey, where did you go?" Lirin was beginning to get annoyed. The two of them were already on bad terms with the professor, and they didn't need to make things worse.

The eerie sensation of something not quite alive pricked at the back of Lirin's mind. Almost immediately following that was the sensation of Goku's ki rising. Reaching into her side bag, she felt her fingers curl around the smooth surface of her weapon. I guess oniisan was right, she admitted, but only an idiot would attack in broad daylight…

Eyes growing wide, the young woman picked up her pace. It would be really dumb for a Keikan to attack in the middle of the day, but who else could? That is, unless he was somehow battling a Weakling in a broom closet… Lirin sweatdropped. The chances of that happening were one in a million. However, she had come to realize over the past year that many things that had previously been impossible were possible.

The sound of objects falling to the ground in quick succession helped steer the Hunter to her final destination. Pulling the spike out and throwing her side bag out of the way, Lirin grabbed the door handle only to jump slightly as something rammed into the wall from inside.

Entering with her weapon at the ready, she was greeted by an alarming sight. The first thing she noticed was that she had somehow found her way into the boy's locker room. The once perfectly aligned rows were now slightly off center – a few were even lying on their side. Almost all of them had some sort of dent and/or a scratch on its surface – marring the former perfection.

Cracks had formed in the tile, making the Hunter wary of the debris as she moved forward. Keeping herself alert, she crept quietly to where the last noise had been heard. Lirin could feel the rage begin to build in her body. Vampires had taken enough away from her as it was – she wasn't going to lose Goku too.

It was very easy to observe how the battle went. Judging by the path of blood, her friend had woven through the maze of lockers to where the one window in the whole room would be. Not needing the trail anymore, Lirin hurried around the only wall of intact lockers and into the corner of the room.

Dust could be seen swirling around in the rays of the midday sun. Lirin mentally corrected herself – there wouldn't be any dust in the room – not the way the janitorial staff took care of the building. Looking up to the window, she saw that the blinds were swaying slightly.

Goku's left hand was still holding the pull string, while his right gripped a bloody spike. He was staring down at a large pile of ashes as he fought to catch his breath. Noticing Lirin, his expression changed to one of feigned annoyance.

"Great timing," he let go of the pull string to wipe the sweat from his face. They both noticed that this did more hurt than help, for there was now even more blood smeared on the man's forehead. Goku grimaced as the result, and wiped his hands on a spot of dry pant leg.

"Well, sorry!" Lirin shot back. "How was I supposed to know that you were off on a last minute kill if you didn't tell me? I want to fight too!"

"What, you couldn't sense it all the way from the courtyard?" Goku asked, surprised. "You're getting rusty."

"No, and you couldn't either! You would have told me! You only felt it when you went to go to the bathroom! You're just getting stupid!" she stuck out her tongue and lowered an eyelid.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

A sharp object pressed lightly against the back of Lirin's neck. "If someone like me could take your back, how did you ever manage to kill Weakling?" a voice said in a quiet and dangerous tone. Knowing better than to flinch, she held her ground.

"Well, I guess that it is a good sign that you two are fighting," the voice continued, "Even if you both are being stupid."

"Shuuei!" Goku exclaimed, "You made it!"

"What, so you tell Shuuei and not me?" Lirin pouted. "Meanie!"

"It's ok." The elder Hunter removed the point of his spike from her neck and stepped over an upturned bench. "Goku found out the Weakling's location moments before he was attacked. He was able to page me, but there would have been no time to contact you."

Half heartily glaring but not really meaning it, she nodded in understanding. They would have needed to contact Shuuei anyways after something like this.

"You need to be a bit more careful," he said. "I know you care about each other's safety, but you left the door wide open. Someone could have been passing by and seen you."

The elder tossed Lirin's bag back to her. "You left that in plain sight. You have no idea how much work it's going to be covering that up."

"I'm sorry," she apologized as she stared down at her feet.

Shuuei gave her a reassuring smile. "It'll be all right. Just be more careful next time." Lirin nodded in response.

Whistling softly, the man continued. "Goku you made quite a mess. We need to get you out of here before someone else comes along."

"But Shuuei, class is going to start up again in a few minutes!" Lirin protested. "Can't he just wash off and stop by later?"

"Yeah, and I have a change of clothes in here…" Goku moved towards his locker when Shuuei held out a hand to block his path.

"What's this, the two of you wanting to go to class? I never thought I'd see the day."

Lirin exchanged a sheepish smile with her best friend and laughed nervously. "Well, we aren't on the greatest terms with our math professor… and that is the class that is split during the lunch break today."

"You hang out with people like Gojyo and your brother and you are afraid of a math professor?" Shuuei mocked gently while making his way to Goku.

"But you don't understand!" Goku protested.

"He controls our grades!" Lirin continued, "and he'd notice if Goku wasn't there!"

The three of them began to make their way through the mess of lockers towards the exit as the younger man continued. "I think he thinks something's up too."

Shuuei didn't have any humorous remark for that statement. It was common knowledge that over half of the professors at the University were known Diet sympathizers. The head of the math department was one of the most adamant of them.

Remembering the advice from earlier, Lirin took care in approaching the door. Under normal circumstances, she would have been their last choice to scope out the situation, but Shuuei was slightly too old for the classes offered today at the University, and Goku was too bloody to even be a consideration. It showed how desperate they really were – to have a girl stick her head out of the boys' locker room.

"How will we get past the cameras?" she could hear Goku whisper in a puzzled tone.

"Hisui's working on it right now. I'll double-check her work later-"

A soft squeak of a heavy object on liquid halted the explanation. Bloody footprints from Goku's shoes led directly to where they stood, making their path of escape easily visible. Shuuei appeared to grow annoyed, but it was not at either of them in particular.

"Take off your shoes, and step onto a dry spot of the floor," he commanded quickly. Goku did as he was told, and watched with confusion as the Hunter picked up the sneakers and wrapped them in his jacket.

"I don't want you tracking blood across the hallway. This room is easily enough hidden while the door is closed, but we don't have time to clean up the hallway."

Sensing the urgency in his voice, Lirin looked from left to right. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary – the hallway was deserted, as should this area be during this time of the day. She instinctively drew out of sight as the surveillance camera slowly pointed in her direction.

"No, let the camera see you," Shuuei said quietly. "She's getting this footage about thirty seconds before Security does, and she need to know when to turn off the camera." Lirin nodded, and poked her head out again, this time letting the lens catch a glimpse of her face. It was disturbing watching the lens refocus as it stopped – making the female Hunter's heart skip a beat. A second later, the little red blinking light atop the machine grew dark.

"Go!" he whispered fiercely, "You only have a few seconds before she has to turn it back on again!" Eyeing the fire exit as the camera remained silent, she ran and opened the door. Closing it quickly, she watched as the light came back on, and made a few more sweeps of the hallway.

The less Hisui-hime needed to hack into the system, the better. A few short periods of time without a picture was much less conspicuous than one larger period of time. As the light faded again, Goku walked as fast as he could across the floor without dripping blood on it. Shuuei soon followed during the third pass.

When they had made it down the stairs and to the actual exit, Shuuei looked apologetically at the female Hunter.

"I'm sorry that you'll have to cover for Goku. Just tell your professor that Goku ate something bad and it made him sick."

"But lunch was great! Houmei's food is really good, she couldn't make anything bad-"

"Goku, that isn't the point!" Shuuei cut him off. "We don't' have time for this." Lirin watched the two men run out of the building as the clock struck one.

Wait a second… one o'clock…

"Oh no, class is starting!"

Sanzo sighed in contempt at the scene around him. The alcohol seemed to almost be flowing freely to the dozens of pathetic humans that were trying to get themselves drunk. At this time of night, it was not uncommon to see such a crowd. There was actually usually more than this on a normal night.

But it wasn't a normal night; it was the middle of the week. These people didn't come out to the bar to loosen up – they were trying to drink their troubles away. From the business suits and skirts, Sanzo assumed that these people had just gotten off work. It was not the crowd they usually brought in.

Looking over at the bartender he noted the solemn expression of the man's face. He seemed to be casually consoling a man who was crying, and already drunk at the bar.

Not wanting to bore himself, his attention slowly moved from conversation to conversation, looking for anything of interest. Over half of the occupants' speech had begun to slur.

"Disgusting," he quietly commented to no one in particular.

It didn't take long for Sanzo to find out that most of the people in the bar had been laid off. Jobs were nearly impossible to find in Oniori. It was almost like giving someone a death sentence if they were fired – the name would be immediately put on a blacklist – making it almost impossible to be hired again.

Glad that he wasn't working at the door, Sanzo slowly made his way around the room, pausing occasionally to lean against the wall. He was about to give up when he finally heard it.

"What did you think about that protest?" A man's voice whispered.

"It is unfortunate – but that policeman should have just kept quiet. Do you know how long it took to find a contact there?" a second man responded.

The first man sighed. "He wasn't thinking clearly. You know how his sister had a "failed operation" awhile back. And anyways, he didn't really know anything. Didn't even report directly to Shuuei."

Sanzo's blood froze. Shuuei? He had not heard that name in ages. What did he have to do with those men? His old friend generally kept to himself from the rest of the world when they were younger for his own safety. Intrigued, Sanzo lit a cigarette and moved slightly closer to where the two men sat.

"Yeah, but who does report to Shuuei? I know you don't, you just go see your apartment manager."

"Of course not. I don't even know where the shrine is." Both men took a sip of their drinks before continuing.

"Still, something worse seems to be going on." The second man looked his companion in the eye. "He was going to observe the protest personally, but it didn't seem like he was there."

"How would you have known?" the first man's eyes darted around again to see if anyone was looking. The vampire shifted his gaze to the glowing embers of his cigarette as he took another drag, feigning disinterest. When the man appeared to be satisfied, he continued.

"If he was actually going to come out in public for this, then it had to be big."

The other man rolled his eyes. "I actually heard that he had to bail that College Basketball player out of trouble. Somehow even convinced that hacker Hisui-hime knock down the security system while he went in."

Sanzo smirked at the statement. These people obviously didn't know that much about Shuuei if they were surprised that he had connections to hackers. The man had been born with the natural ability to manipulate code and break into any computer system. His "practical jokes" as a child never ceased to frustrate their master, who was concerned for their safety. Although it was very hard to take the man seriously when he too was laughing at what had been done.

"College Basketball player? I didn't know we had any contacts in the University. Of whom are you talking about?"

"Who else?" the man snorted. "He's one of the Prodigy Children."

Shuuei's connected to a Prodigy Child? That single thought made him want to storm back to the shrine and demand an explanation. That idiot, Sanzo thought furiously, He should know better than anyone else that being in contact with someone with such high profile would be suicide! Had Sanzo previously not vowed to avenge his Master's death before returning to his childhood home, he would have left at that moment. He could care less about work.

"Wouldn't he blow our cover? He doesn't seem like he could tell a lie to save his life… Why try to get his help?"

"He isn't like us," the other explained, "he didn't choose to help."

Sanzo watched as both men nodded in silent understanding to the unspoken statement that had been insinuated. What it had insinuated Sanzo had no idea.

The Keikan had hoped to listen to more, but the two men rose from their seats, apparently ready to leave. Casually standing up, he moved towards the exit and leaned against the wall.

Sanzo watched as they paid their bill and headed in his direction. As they passed by, he decided to be gracious enough to bless them with his advice.

"You should whisper next time when you're trying to have an important conversation." He smirked as both men stopped dead in their tracks.

"We were whispering-" the protest was cut off by the motion of his friend's hand. The man looked up at the sunglasses that Sanzo wore, and blanched.

"I could hear you from across the room."

For a moment, the three stood there, unmoving. Sanzo calmly continued to smoke, while he watched their scared forms in amusement. It had been a good idea to try to have a private conversation in a crowded place such as this, but they had been careless.

The mood was shattered by the sound of a beer bottle breaking on a table at the far side of the room. Sanzo gave the two men one last superior look before walking over to break up the fight that had started. After all, he was still at work, and he had a job to do.

All the lights in the small apartment had been turned off except for a small desk lamp that was sitting on the kitchen table. Kougaiji had become very frugal with his money over the years, and since he was never exactly sure when his next paycheck would come in, he had to stretch every cent as far as he could. It never hurt to have a little extra money, but he didn't want to get in trouble with his landlord or any of the government-run utility companies, and he wanted to keep it that way. He couldn't always depend on the sales of his books to provide for him, and the money he had inherited from his father was primarily going for Lirin's education and her apartment. Kougaiji didn't want his little sister to have to try to find a job while she was going to college, and especially when she had her duties as a Hunter to think about. Getting a job would simply be too much for her already-busy schedule.

He knew that she wanted to support herself, but the money was as much hers as it was his. Technically Kougaiji was the heir to his father's assets – a woman couldn't inherit anything from their family members after they died unless there were no living male relatives. When Hakkai's parents had died, he had been the one to inherit the pieces of property, not his older sister.

The writer tossed down his mechanical pencil in frustration as it snapped in two. How was he going to make any progress on his manuscript if he couldn't even hold a damn pencil? Kougaiji could have sworn he was barely touching the paper. It wasn't as if he couldn't control his strength, but sometimes his mind unconsciously forgot about it while writing. Because of this, he had given up trying to use the computer. They had gone through four keyboards before deciding that it was a lost cause. He didn't even want to think about the attempts he had made with pens. It was one of the things that he hated about being a vampire – it got in the way of one of his favorite escapes. Kougaiji was never one to shy away from reality or opt to take the easy way out, but life took its toll on everyone. If a person did not have some kind of escape from the terrible reality that they lived in, they would probably go mad.

Rising from his chair, the Keikan vampire walked over to the fridge and opened the door. The bright light stung slightly at his eyes, and he again contemplated turning all of the lights off in the room. He could maneuver perfectly well in pitch-blackness, and he also found an indescribable comfort in the dark. Shaking his head viciously at the thought, he quickly withdrew the bottle of red wine and closed the door.

He filled the wineglass to the three-quarters point and took his seat again at the table. There were many other things his body wanted right now, but he refused to give into them. While he did have some vodka in his private fridge, he hated drinking alone. Kougaiji usually waited to do any heavy drinking until he was Hakkai or Gojyo – they were the only ones who could drink such a large quantity of alcohol and still keep their senses. The other Hunters couldn't afford to loose their wits, and so avoided it completely.

He grimaced as he took a sip of the vintage. While the taste was fine, wines didn't really affect him anymore. He'd have to stop by the Blood Bank soon – his personal supply had run out. The main manager was aware of what was going on, and was the chief supplier of blood to the vampires who refused to directly feed on others. It had taken Kougaiji a long time to break down and finally start feeding in that manner, but he took relief in the fact that he had not yet stooped to the level of actually biting someone.

It wasn't as if he could leave right now anyways, Yaone was coming home soon. Excluding the wine, he did not like to have any of his "meals" in front of her. While they had been living together long before he became a vampire, Kougaiji knew she was still uncomfortable about her best friend's eating habits. She refused to admit it, but it was still easy for him to tell.

He glared down at the paper wishing yet again that the words would simply write themselves and save him the effort of going through yet another package of pencils. When he realized that it would be impossible for him to write any more that night, he gathered his manuscript together and turned off the lamp.

Kougaiji's boredom was getting the better of him, and he went into his bedroom to surf the Internet. It wasn't as if he'd really find anything of interest – the Diet kept a close watch on the websites – but he could at least check some of the news sites. He had been considering giving Tonpu a visit at his office, where he was the evening editor for Oniori Today. He'd be able to get the real facts then, and not the watered down crap that they expected the people to believe.

Instead, he was surprised to see that he had mail when he logged in. The people he talked to on a regular basis rarely used e-mail due to the fact that it could be monitored so easily. Kougaiji's eyebrows rose when he saw the subject of the message. It simply said "from a fan." The Keikan could feel his senses prickling as he looked at the return address.

Bunny-san? What the hell? Even before he opened the message, he could feel that it contained something vile. Not wanting his computer to crash, he quickly scanned it for a virus, but found none. Still slightly wary, he opened it up and began to read. His eyes grew wide and then narrowed as he scrolled down the lengthy message. When he reached the end, he went back to the top and reread it, to make sure that he wasn't just imagining things.

Sir,

First of all, let me comment about your most recent book. I know that

it has been out for several months already, but I just have

been

so busy that I wasn't

able to e-mail you until just recently.

Your work is

absolutely superb – I couldn't put it down. It is obvious

by the Bestseller List that there are others

who agree with me.

I do hope that the

Diet isn't taking too big a cut out

your profits.

However, I was curious about

something, sir. Why do you

use a penname? Are you trying to hide

something from the public?

The whole capital, as well as the Empire would

love to know who you are. Wouldn't

it be nice to

receive

some acknowledgement

your

face

instead of by paper or e-mail?

What is wrong with the name

Daimyo Kougaiji?

People love a "rags to

riches" story. You inherited your

estranged father's fortune,

and yet choose to live in a small apartment in the middle

class area of town. Even if you are

paying for your half-sister's living expenses, there

should be enough for you to even buy a

house.

Didn't your father live

in one?

You could have a life so much better than the one you have now.

Or is it because you are still

grieving over the death

your dear mother? I'm terribly

sorry, that must be a

touchy topic for you. I heard you were quite

the Mama's boy. I am surprised at how dedicated you remain

to her. There were some

disturbing

rumors of what she did in her spare time.

Is that why you hide,

Kougaiji-san? Are you

ashamed

of your mother because it is the truth? And if

not, why do you hide? Do tell.

Oh, and I almost

forgot. How is Sha Yaone-san

doing? I heard that she is going to be the guest of honor at

the Awards Ceremony.

Please offer her my regards, as well as

my congratulations.

You are indeed lucky to have

a woman like that to satisfy

you.

My deepest regards,

Bunny-san

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I decided to structure the e-mail to look like how they sometimes actually appear – so no, it wasn't ff.net being weird (although it has been messing up my formatting in general on almost all of my stories, and has been driving me nuts… -_-;;;)

Again, let me reassure you that everything will eventually be explained.

-Iapetus