A/N: I really can't believe that it has been two weeks since I have last updated this. Real life just got in the way, and I haven't had time to write. But it is out now. I will warn you, however, that this is the Blood and Gore sort of chapter. Quite a bit of fighting in it (though Saiyuki is an action manga...).
And also thanks to all of the readers. Hope you are all liking the story. If you catch an error, or something is really bugging you, please tell me, and I will take you opinion into consideration.
Round 7: Hope and Trust
Trust. That was what she had to have. She had to ignore the yells and screams of the youkai behind her, the sound of cracking timber and of bodies being thrown against walls. She had to ignore all of this as best she could, putting her life in the hands of a man she had just met, so that she could find an herb to save a man she had only seen once.
She really was stupid.
There was little that she could do about it now that she was in this position. She'd had an opportunity to turn back and she hadn't taken it. Albeit she hadn't known that they were going to be attacked at the time, but still, she had chosen not to help. To turn tail and run now would be cowardly, not to mention would probably end up with her being dead, as Hakkai was the only thing keeping her alive at them moment.
Her eyes kept darting back to him as she riffled through the contents of the cabinets. She wasn't entirely sure what he was using to fight the youkai; some sort of energy, she supposed. Despite the fact that there were far more youkai, Hakkai had the advantage of using a weapon—she supposed that it could be called a weapon, at least—that had a far greater range than knifes or clubs or any of the other weapons that they were using.
Or not. She jumped to the side with a stifled shriek as a knife came flying through the air, hitting the glass door of the cabinet that she was currently going through and causing it to shatter. Shards rained down upon the counter, and it was only her quick movement that kept several of them from embedding in her shoe.
This was not good. Not good at all. The knife had also disrupted the bottles and vials inside the cabinet; several of them now lay broken, their contents mixing. Eshana's breath caught and she bit her bottom lip. Please, please don't let any of them be dangerous when combined. She knew what could happen if they were—
There were a few bottles in the far back, behind those that were broken. She swallowed, hard, and reached back, trying to avoid touching any of the substances with her hand. She pulled out three vials and began to hurriedly look at the labels.
There! There it was, and in liquid form, which was exactly what she needed. Lilu, which should work. She hoped. She really did. She set the other two bottles on the counter, tucking the one that contained what she wanted into her belt.
"I have it!" she called out, turning fully around for the first time. "Hakkai-san, I have it!" She saw him nod, though that was the only thing that indicated that he heard her. She saw one of his hands move, saw one of the youkai thrown backward into the wall, his neck snapping from the impact. Eshana glanced at Hakkai's face, and what she saw made her stomach flip. He looked entirely too…too calm. As though he had done this a thousand times before and killing no longer had an impact on him.
She didn't have long to ponder this, as she soon found herself otherwise occupied. Turned out that there was more then one entrance to the kitchen, and Hakkai was concentrating on the one they had come in through.
Eshana barely had time to move when one came through the backdoor. At taller, burlier one, that saw her as an easy target. She found herself backed up against the counter, trapped in a corner. Her eyes went wide as she pulled open drawers, hoping to find something that she could use to defend herself. Knives. There had to be knives somewhere—
She jerked a drawer open, so quickly that she nearly pulled it out entirely. The contents rattle, almost jumping out of the container, but she had found what she was looking for. Her hand closed on the handle of a knife just as she felt the youkai's hand close around her throat. She drew in a breath, only to have it cut off by the tightening hand.
"Such a pretty little thing," she heard the youkai say, laughter lacing his voice. His breath was rancid, his face inches from hers. "I don't think I'll kill you yet."
It was almost a reflex, what she did next. The hand with the knife moved forward and upward, burying itself in the youkai's chest. There was a spurt of blood as she drove the knife through his ribcage, covering her white dress and staining it crimson. The youkai gave a gasp, blood bubbling in his throat, spilling out of his mouth as he tried—and failed—to continue breathing. She had hit his lung, puncturing it, and now it had filled with blood.
He wasn't dead yet, though, and he tightened his grip on her throat. Eshana's vision began to blur, and she struggled to breathe. Her own hand shook as she withdrew the knife from his body, then stabbing for the center of his chest. She only hoped that she had hit his heart.
It was likely that she had, as his eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped forward, all of his weight on her. His hand fell from her throat, allowing her to draw in a small breath. But his body carried her to the ground, driving all the air from her lungs. She was not strong enough to lift him from her.
For several seconds she thought that she would suffocate. She could only draw in small breaths, not enough for her to survive for long. The blurring before her eyes became worse and her sight greyed over. Then she felt the youkai's corpse being pulled from her and fresh air hit her face. She breathed in slowing, filling her lungs with the life giving substance.
"We need to get out of here." Hakkai's voice created a focus point for her. She concentrated on his voice, allowing the greyness to vanish from her sight. Eshana blinked, realizing that there weren't any youkai left alive in the room. There were corpses strewn around, blood smearing the walls and floor. She noted that Hakkai had blood smudged on his face, as well as a few stains on the sleeves of his shirt, but he didn't appear to be injured.
She pulled herself to her feet, using the counter to keep her balance. She looked down at the corpse of the youkai, then reached for the knife, withdrawing it from his body. It could be useful, in case anything else happened. She inhaled deeply, calming her fast-beating heart. Hopefully, nothing else would. Hopefully, she could get out of this house, help Hakkai-san's friend, and then just…rest. And get rid of the blood that was now covering her.
Hakkai touched her arm, half to reassure her, and half to get her to move. "You all right, Miss Eshana?" She nodded, stepping over the body. "And you have what you were looking for?"
She nodded again. "Yes, I do. I only hope that it will work. I-I cannot guarantee that it will save your friend, Hakkai-san. But…the fast that we get this to him—if it does work—the better." Luckily, her fall had not shattered the glass vial. She took it out of her belt, wrapping her hand around it. It would be safer that way. At least, she thought so.
Hakkai gave a curt nod of his head. "The coast is clear, for now. Come on." She noticed that he had not relaxed his guard. He was still ready—still expecting—to be attacked. Her right hand tightened around the handle of the knife. She would try to be ready, next time. She was no warrior, and a knife that had been meant for cutting meat was not the ideal weapon for killing youkai and other creatures, but she would try to defend herself.
…
"Fucking youkai. Just had to go and ruin my day." Gojyo jerked the shaft of his shakujou so that the chain and crescent blade were brought it. Blood dripped from that blade, and Gojyo idly ran his fingers over the metal. He stared at his hand for a moment, then shook his head. "And it wasn't even a good fight. Shit, you just get worse every time."
He kicked one of the heads that lay on the ground. Stupid youkai. It really hadn't been much of a fight. Not technique, and most of them probably had no motive of any sort. Well, maybe the glory of having killed him would have been their reward. But Gojyo knew that having no technique and no motive made for pretty lousy fights.
"Waste of my time," he repeated under his breath, allowing his weapon to disappear. "Though I do thank you for giving me extra time away from a certain priest."
Gojyo had only acquired one real injury—aside from a few small cuts and places where he was sure he would have a bruise within the day—and that was his foot. He hadn't let his guard down again after that. It wasn't anything life threatening, but his boot was filled with blood, though he thought that it had stopped bleeding. As he began to walk, he found that he was limping, though only slightly.
He had thought that they had learned that sending mindless creatures after them was completely pointless. It didn't matter how many attacked; they always lost. Okay, sure, there had been a few that had been able to actually fight. Kami-sama, for example. Now that had been a bit of a challenge. These others…it was pathetic, really.
He began to head back to the inn. Not that he wanted to go. The stupid priest would probably have something to say about him being out all night. And then he would make some comment back, and then the monkey would complain about being hungry. Hakkai would just laugh quietly behind his hand. Nothing to hurry back to.
No one was out, everyone having been scared back inside by the youkai. So he just walked down the street, leaving splashes of blood behind him. Maybe his foot was in bad shape; he'd have to check when he got back to the inn.
There was a flash of movement to his right and he turned his head, half expecting to see more youkai. Instead, he saw one familiar figure, and one not-so familiar person that he was sure he had seen before.
"Hakkai, you picked up a girl for the night?"
All right, it probably would have been smart to have actually looked at them, rather than just having glanced at them. A second look showed him that Hakkai, as always, was looking mildly amused, though he did seem a bit…annoyed? He guessed that was what he saw. And the girl was glaring at him. Then he noticed that they were both covered in a fair amount of blood.
"Youkai?" he asked, and saw Hakkai nod.
"Yes," said the dark haired man, continuing to walk. Gojyo fell into step beside him.
"Yeah, me too." He glanced over at the girl. "You pick up a girl?" He saw her jaw clench and decided to drop the subject.
"Ah, no. Gojyo, Miss Eshana, you two have already met." Hakkai glanced over at the girl and she nodded.
"Yes, we have."
Gojyo noticed that the two were walking very quickly. He blinked. He was sure that he was missing something. He was sure of it. "Wait…so you two were attacked by youkai?"
"Gojyo, could you please listen the first time a question of yours is answered?" Hakkai turned so that he was looking at Eshana. "How far till we reach the inn?"
"Not far," she answered, clutching something before her in her hand. Was that a knife? Gojyo frowned. Well, he supposed that if they were in a fight, she would probably have found something to defend herself with. "Just several more blocks. It shouldn't be long now."
Gojyo was absolutely certain that he had missed something. Something big. "Hey, Hakkai? What happened when I was gone?"
He was also sure that Hakkai was amused. His mouth was twitching in the semblance of a smile, though when he answered there was nothing at all funny about the situation.
"Sanzo's been poisoned." Gojyo nearly stopped dead in his tracks.
"Again?" Hakkai nodded and Gojyo let his head roll back, staring at the sky as he continued to walk. "Crap, that's what—the fifth time now? And what's this girl got to do with all of this?"
"Don't exaggerate, Gojyo," chided Hakkai, who had once more quickened his pace. "Miss Eshana is the one who showed me where the doctor was located. However there were—complications, I suppose you could say. As it is, she has kindly offered her assistance in helping us."
Gojyo blinked. "Yeah. That…answers everything. All right then, so what's with all of the youkai? I mean, you and I both getting attacked? They normally aren't that coordinated."
Hakkai shot him a look that appeared to mean something along the lines of: Shut it, Gojyo. You're telling far too much about us to the girl. Though if Hakkai had actually been speaking, he would have said it far more politely, and used Eshana's name instead of 'the girl.'
"All right, all right. I got it. So, we just heading off to go and save the poor priest in distress?"
He heard Hakkai sigh. "Now is not quite the time for joking, Gojyo."
"Sorry," he said, a bit sheepishly. "I guess things are a pretty serious right now."
From the nodding of the other two, he was sure he was right about that.
Things seemed to move rapidly from that point on. They hurried down the street, rounded the corner, and came to the inn. From the moment they saw it, it became apparent that something was wrong.
"Shit." Gojyo stopped again. "Hakkai, do you see that?" Many of the people who had been staying at the inn were outside, some dressed and other wrapped in blankets and robes. He could see glass, as well as broken pieces of wood. From what he would tell, one wall had been smashed. He could only guess what had done it. And from the looks of it, their room had been the one attacked, though he couldn't quite be sure.
The man nodded. "Indeed, I do. Miss Eshana, this may be more complicated than I previously thought. You do not need to help; I believe that I can take this from here."
Eshana shook her head. "No; you are going to—"
"Don't be a hero, girl," said Gojyo, holding out his hand and allowing his shakujou to reappear in it. "This isn't something for you to be involved it."
She held out her own hand, dangling some sort of bottle filled with a dark liquid. "Look, your friend is going to need help. This might be able to help him, but I'm going to have to see him before I can do anything. I'm already involved in this; I might as well see it out to the end."
"We don't have time to argue," called Hakkai. He had already started forward. "Depending on what we find in there, we may need one more person. But Miss Eshana," and here he turned around, and the look in his eyes was deadly, and the look was directed at the woman, "you have already expressed your concerns about this not working. And I know that herb to be poisonous when not used correctly. If it kills him—"
Eshana closed her eyes and took a deep breath, closing her hand around the bottle. "I understand." Her words cut off Hakkai, but Gojyo had no doubt about what the rest of that sentence would have been. It appeared that Eshana knew as well.
"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Gojyo hefted his weapon over his shoulder. "Come on, there's probably some youkai left. Can't let the other two have all the fun."
"I highly doubt they are having fun, Gojyo."
Gojyo just rolled his eyes, heading past the throng of people into the inn. Eshana followed him, and Hakkai brought up the rear.
Through the barroom, up the stairs. There were several bodies, bloodstains and gore smeared around. Youkai, human. It looked like some of the customers had gotten in the way. As they reached the floor where their room was, they found doors open, several torn off their hinges. More bodies, looking like they had been thrown bodily into the walls. One was slumped to the side, the body of a woman that would have been quite pretty if her neck hadn't been turned at an odd angle, and her face hadn't been most skillfully shredded.
"All right, Hakkai. What's the plan?"
Hakkai pushed past him, towards the room. "We distract them, make sure they can't get to Sanzo. Eshana-san, you are to use that medicine of yours." Gojyo saw Eshana nod, and the three of them steps through the door and into the room.
"Well, doesn't look like Goku's been bored," was Gojyo's first words, as he saw the mess. It took him a moment to spot Sanzo, the priest being half under the small table that they had brought into the room the night before—or had it been when they first got there? He couldn't quite remember. Either way, Sanzo seemed to be asleep, though Gojyo couldn't see him breathing. Crap. That was bad.
" 'bout time you guys got here!" Goku's face was streaked with blood, his nyoi-bo covered in it. His slight distraction had given one of the youkai enough time to creep up behind it. Goku whirled, driving the staff through his gut. The youkai coughed, clutched at the wound, then slumped forward. Goku kicked him back, turning in time to catch another under the chin.
"Sorry about that, Goku," came Hakkai's almost cheerful voice as his hand whipped out, casting a sphere of chi at a taller one of the youkai. Gojyo watched in amazement as the youkai jumped, avoiding the blast. The wall took a beating instead, smoking slightly as though a fire had been lit to it. "Gojyo, please make yourself useful."
""Most certainly, Hakkai. Damn, there's a lot of them this time." The youkai Hakkai had aimed for was now perching on the ruins of the windowsill. "Look's like he's good," he commented. "Doubt that he's good enough for me, though." The chain of his shakujou uncoiled, the blade flashing. It cut through the neck of one of the youkai, though not the right one. "All right, maybe he's a bit fast."
Goku growled. "Yeah, he's been th' only one I can't get to. Hey, Hakkai? You bring the doctor?"
Okay, there were still quite a few youkai left. There were maybe twenty bodies lying around the room—which wasn't good for movement, considering that it was a pretty small room. Course, one of the walls had been destroyed, so there was a whole other place to fight it.
"Hey, girl!" he called out to Eshana. "Get to Sanzo!"
He saw her move, dart forward. He saw one of the youkai move to intercept her, and he was all set to get rid of it when he felt something slide across his back. He winced as he felt cloth and skin give way to the edge of a metal blade, but he spun, slashing with the back end of his staff. He caught the man across the leg, though not hard enough to cut off the limb.
It was the same damn youkai that had avoided Hakkai's attack and his. Some tall, thin one, with a really odd haircut. Gojyo flipped his shakujou around, forcing the man back. His back, however, was starting to hurt, though he ignored it. And the blood loss wasn't so great…but he could ignore that as well.
There was a crash and a yell from behind him, though he didn't have any time to turn to see what had happened.
…
The first thing that came back was sound. Bangs, yells, the sounds of heavy footsteps. To his drugged mind, none of it made any sense. He could hear things, however, he couldn't move anything else. Only breathe and swallow. His arms wouldn't move, nor would his legs.
After a few moments he began to think clearly again and all of the noise suddenly made sense. A fight. There was a fight happening around him, from what he could tell. And he was just lying there, completely at the mercy of whoever decided to stick a knife in his gut. He could feel something damp on his face, running down his neck. A bit of whatever it was had leaked into his mouth. It tasted…metallic. Blood.
His blood, or someone else's? Knowing his luck, it probably belonged to him.
He tried with all his might to move something. He felt so tired, so much that even opening his eyes seemed an enormous task. He just couldn't move.
"Don't you touch him! Keep away from Sanzo!"
Goku's voice. Somewhere very close to him. So he wasn't alone. Hakkai should be there as well, though Sanzo didn't know if the kappa had returned. So two people…hopefully. Against quite a few, from what he could discern.
Damn it, had he been drugged? He supposed that he had, since there was no other reason why he shouldn't be able to move a muscle. Well, he supposed that if he were dying…being drugged seemed more plausible.
He figured that the doctor had done it. Or, the doctor's assistant, to be exact. Stupid asshole. He should have been more cautious.
"Well, doesn't look like Goku's been bored." It was Gojyo's voice. Sanzo moved his hand ever so slightly in annoyance. Maybe that worked, hearing his damned voice. Maybe that would annoy him so much that he would be able to move again.
" 'bout time you guys got here!"
"Sorry about that, Goku." It sounded as though someone had been thrown against a wall. Sanzo tried to open his eyes, only succeeding in causing his eyelids to flicker, then they shut again. "Gojyo, please make yourself useful!"
"Most certainly, Hakkai. Damn, there's a lot of them this time." The kappa said something else, but Sanzo couldn't make out what it was. Then he heard Goku, calling out across the room with his incredibly loud voice.
"Yeah, he's been th' only one I can't get to. Hey, Hakkai? You bring the doctor?" Sanzo wasn't sure if he heard Hakkai answer or not, for another voice ran out.
"Hakkai-san, what should I--?"
A woman's voice? What the hell was a woman doing with them?
"You said that you know how to wake him up."
When the woman spoke again, there was a note of panic in her voice. "I said, 'I think.' Hakkai-san, I'm not sure—"
"Eshana-san, watch out!"
There was a cry and he heard the sound of shattering glass, then he felt something hit him. A body. He forced his eyes to open.
Everything was blurry, his eyes not yet adjusted to the light. He was staring upward, seeing the ceiling light and part of a table that he seemed to be lying under. As things came back into focus, he realized that there were a few streaks of blood across the ceiling. In fact, he noticed that he seemed to be lying in a puddle of the liquid. He guessed more blood.
He tried to move his head, so that he could see the person who was lying half on him. He was able to lift his head slightly, maybe an inch or so from the ground. Not so different from the last time that he had been poisoned, though he really didn't like it. Being poisoned was definitely not on his 'fun' list.
What he was able to see was a mass of white fabric and dark hair, as well as more crimson streaks. It seemed like several minutes before the person moved, rolling off him and under the table. He heard a soft cry and saw the—woman? He supposed that this was the woman he had heard talking—reach for something on the ground.
"Hakkai-san," he heard her say; though her voice was too quite for anyone other than him to hear, "it-it shattered—"
More feeling was returning to his body now. Obviously, the poison hadn't been meant to kill him. Just…incapacitate him. Wonderful. He found himself able to move his hand, and then a myriad of little hurts and pains rushed back to him as feeling returned. What the hell—? It seemed that he had been cut up somehow. He could feel dried blood cracking on his face as he moved his mouth, saying the few words that he could to try to get the hang of speaking again.
"F-fuck this."
There was movement to his side and the woman's face came into focus. An utterly ordinary face, though it was stained with blood.
"Are you—are you waking?"
Sanzo narrowed his eyes. "W-what's it to y-you?"
The woman looked up, glancing to where someone was still fighting. "Hakkai-san! He's awake! I'm going to get him out of here!" She turned back to him. "Can you move?"
He glared at her, not wanting to admit any weakness whatsoever. At the same moment he tried to move his legs. Damn it, they weren't working yet.
The woman seemed to take his silence for a no and moved so that she was directly above his head, hooking her arms under his and trying to drag him out from under the table. Then she stopped.
"Okay, maybe that wasn't the best idea," she said, positioning herself back out of harms way.
"An-d why is t-that?"
She leaned on her elbows, hunched over in the limited space. "Youkai," she said simply, glancing back out at the carnage. "Your friends are taking care of the remaining ones. Doesn't look like Gojyo-san is having that much luck, though."
Sanzo groaned, pushing himself up on one arm and just barely missing the edge of the table. His legs still weren't working that well, but his arms were just fine. He reached for his hip, where his gun rested, and withdrew it. He grabbed the collar of the woman's dress, dragging her forward and placing the end of his gun to the side of her head.
"All right," he growled, being able to speak again, "who are you?"
The woman went still, her eyes locked with his. "My name is Eshana. I am a friend of the innkeeper here, Lok, as well as a friend of a woman that your red-haired friend has been spending a lot of time with. Earlier this morning, I offered to guide Hakkai-san to the doctor's house on the outskirts of town. I also offered my help in dealing with you, I might add."
He didn't release her. "Those words could have several meanings. Either that you decided to help to save me, or to kill me. Which is it?"
She didn't even blink as she answered. "I doubt that you would believe me, even if I told the truth. But no, I did not plan to kill you." She made no move to knock the gun away, or to get out of its line of fire. "The doctor was not able to come to your aid, and I have a small amount of knowledge when it comes to healing and herbs. However, it seems that you have woken up on your own, so even if the vial holding the herb that I was going to use hadn't been smashed, I wouldn't have had to use it. Though I do not expect you to believe me."
"And why is that?" His finger tightened ever so slightly on the trigger. The woman's eyes flickered towards it for a moment, then returned to his.
"Because that is my impression of you." She then closed her eyes, releasing the breath that she had been holding. "That you wouldn't believe me. But the fighting appears to have stopped, Priest Sanzo. I suggest you run my story by your friends, before you kill me."
The table was moved to the side, lifted away by Hakkai. He glanced down at them, though Sanzo didn't let his eyes leave Eshana. "Sanzo, please put your gun away. I do not believe Miss Eshana to be a threat to us."
Sanzo didn't move. "Did she offer to help you earlier, Hakkai?"
Hakkai nodded. "Yes, she did. At quite a risk to her own well being, I might add. Now, please put your gun away. I doubt that is a comfortable position for her."
Sanzo removed the gun from her temple, though kept it out and aimed at her. "I don't—"
"Damn guy got away." Gojyo winced as he walked up, one hand on his back. "Shit, Hakkai? I think my back's pretty good an' torn up."
"Sanzo! Sanzo! You're awake!" Goku practically bounced over to them, perching on the overturned table.
"Sanzo, please put that gun away. I can assure you, there is no need for it."
He could feel a headache coming on. Maybe it would have been better to remain unconscious.
A/N2: Well, that turned out to be the longest chapter so far, in terms of words. Over 5, 000! I'm not going to say how many more chapters where they are going to still be in this town, but at least two or three more. My predictions never turn out quite right, so don't count on that. But there will be a lot more to this story (at least, a lot more is planned).
Thank you for reading,
Raven