A/N: Okay, once again I have learned that planning something is much faster and easier than executing it. I had intended to get further this chapter. Gomen.
Oh! And, a link to my sister Robin's fanart for this story can be found on my profile page.
Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed. I really appreciate it!
Great. Just great. What the hell had he been thinking? Sanzo shook his head in frustration and clutched his stomach as he hacked up phlegm, blood, and water. His lungs were on fire, and his head was spinning. Whatever had possessed him to ... to ... Shit! He'd never be able to explain this.
Eyes slitting open briefly to gauge the kappa's reaction, Sanzo noted that Gojyo was frowning and fingering his lips. Damn. He'd definitely noticed, then. Sanzo's eyes slid shut again, his brow furrowing in helpless frustration. Well so fucking what!? It was the kappa's damn fault, anyway, with all his shameless flirting. What did he expect? Besides, it wasn't like it was the water sprite's first kiss or something. And, considering how many chicks Gojyo claimed he'd kissed, it'd been a pretty pathetic excuse for a kiss. Sanzo wondered viciously how many second kisses he'd managed to score. His muscles spasmed, and he started to shiver.
Water was bad enough, but why did it have to be so damn cold?! After taking another couple of shuddering breaths, he gave up on waiting for the uncharacteristically silent kappa to make some stupid comment. "Let's get the hell out of here," Sanzo growled hoarsely, his watering eyes still screwed shut as he rolled over awkwardly.
He didn't want to lose his balance and slip back into that hellhole. Deserts he could handle, but water should only ever appear in bath form. Forcing his eyes open, he blinked a few times before he managed to pull himself up over the tree roots. Tottering painfully to his feet and bracing himself against the tree trunk, Sanzo sloshed forward a few feet before he came to an abrupt halt. There were no echoing splashes behind him. Gritting his teeth in irritation, he turned around and shuffled back to the tree. He glared as he pulled his pistol out of his back pocket. How dare the cheeky bastard ignore him!
As he'd suspected, Gojyo was still where he'd left him, sprawled across the tree roots. "Oi!" he barked, "Now is not the time to be taking a nap."
Cocking his pistol loudly, he glared meaningfully at the unresponsive form. "I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but you can just stop it right now." Was this the kappa's idea of a joke? A trap?
Eyes narrowing suspiciously, he fired a warning shot to the right of the redhead's bedraggled bangs. When that got no reaction, not even a flinch or a flutter of the shut eyelids, Sanzo's frown deepened. Pocketing his pistol, he scrambled cautiously over to the slumped water sprite.
He really didn't like being this close to the water again, or to Gojyo, for that matter. Clinging tightly to the tree roots with one hand, he grabbed the kappa's arm with the other. "Come on!" he growled impatiently, tugging on it. The redhead's torso flopped obediently toward him, but the lower half of the body was stuck between some twisted roots. Sanzo's body stiffened, and his fingers slid lower on the unresisting arm. He could feel a pulse. It was sluggish, but definitely present.
"Lazy fucking bastard," Sanzo huffed as he maneuvered himself out into the sinkhole again. Why the hell did the kappa have to be so tall!? And heavy? What did he eat, anyway, lead!? Disentangling the long gangly limbs was difficult and uncomfortable, but slinging him over his back and dragging him up out of the muck was damn near impossible. They kept sliding, and Sanzo couldn't maintain a grip on both Gojyo and the tree roots at the same time. When the redhead's leg got caught on a tree root in the struggle, Gojyo moaned softly but didn't move. Sanzo swore and backed up, sweat trickling down his back. At least he wasn't cold anymore.
Just as he'd finally managed to swing the troublesome leg free again, he heard a loud rustling overhead. His back strained as he tried to straighten up. Huffing, he readjusted his grip on the arms slung over his shoulders and bent his neck backward. A flash of maroon was swiftly followed by a hideous orange cape settling around the familiar shoulders of his very own wayward chimp. He slid backward a foot or two and almost lost his grip on the kappa's arms.
"Sanzo! I found you!!" The monkey's triumphant grin extended from his wild, unruly hair all the way down to his idiotic pointing finger. He could feel Gojyo getting heavier on his back.
"Where the hell have you been all this time!?" A flurry of white wings beat against his face, obscuring the deep scowl he could feel replacing his momentary lapse of shock.
"Well, I ..." Goku started, large brown eyes blinking, but Sanzo cut him off.
"Never mind, forget I asked! Hurry up and give me a hand with this idiot." The redhead was starting to slip again, and Sanzo's shoulder was throbbing insistently. Monkey boy could explain his unexcused absence later.
Goku finally seemed to notice the arms slung around Sanzo's neck. "Whoa! Is he drunk!?"
Trust the monkey to jump to the stupidest conclusion possible. "Yes," Sanzo snapped irritably as Goku, his eyes wide and forehead creased, slid down the slope and finally started being useful. Well, the kappa had certainly drunk quite a bit of water before he'd passed out cold, the stupid bastard. And why the hell was the flying pet lizard poking its nose around his hips and eyeing him accusingly?
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Hwan dug absentmindedly into a bag of stale potato chips as she hunched over her lab notes, fluorescent bulbs flickering fitfully overhead. The wheels of the lab chair squeaked in protest as she scooted the chair back over to the glowing terminal to enter another column of data.
If she weren't so meticulous about her work, Ni would never get anywhere. At least, his results would never be reproducible, not that he cared. To him, science was a game, and, when it came down to managing the details, he got bored quickly. His work was always spectacular, in one way or another, but it was rarely practical.
She pushed her glasses back up on her nose and stood abruptly, bustling over to check the timer. It was still showing another three hours before she could begin the tricky business of copying and manipulating the appropriate knowledge and personality patterns. The primary sample had already been collected, and development was progressing steadily within the specified parameters.
Slipping on a pair of gloves, she popped the top of the centrifuge and pulled out one of the sealed tubes. Tapping it lightly to get the liquid to settle, she drew out a pipette and proceeded methodically with her preparations. She should have the nurturing solution ready in plenty of time for the transfer.
Fifteen minutes later, when she was completely focused on checking the pH of the buffering solution that was swirling gently in its beaker, the lab door swished open. The distinctive sound of flapping bunny slippers confirmed that the intruder was, in fact, Ni, back at last. Lady Koushu must have had something particularly creative in mind. Hwan continued with her work, not bothering to look up, determined not to ruin this batch when it was so close to its critical stage.
Off-key humming was joined by a series of electronic bleeps. Hmph. So, he was back to the game controller. Hwan expertly aimed the used micropipette tip in the direction of the trash bin. It landed with a satisfying thunk. The game controller was terribly childish, of course, and it maddened her that she had no idea what it actually did, other than make noise and irritate the hell out of her. Maybe that was its sole purpose. She wouldn't put it past him. The box of games the controller had actually come with had only kept him busy for a week before he'd gleefully toasted them all. The microwave had never been the same afterward.
Turning with a sigh, Hwan moved off toward a row of cabinets to collect the necessary wires and tubing. When she'd actually managed to flush the tubing and prime it with the necessary liquids, she flinched and turned abruptly to face the presence that had been silently hovering behind her.
Ni smiled broadly, his hair a tousled mess, and held out his chipped coffee mug. "We're out of hot chocolate, Hwan-chan." He dropped the mug unceremoniously on top of the bundle of cables she had in her hands. Ten seconds of frantic fumbling later, she'd managed to catch the bunny mug's handle in the crook of her pinkie, but most of the cables were lying on the floor in a tangled mess.
Scowling, she set the rest of the cables down on a nearby lab bench and strode out of the lab, headed for the food supply cabinets. The bastard had bruises on his neck now, and there were new bandages on his fingers. She really didn't want to know, really she didn't. It just irked her more than she cared to admit that a clever, ruthless woman like Lady Koushu would have anything at all to do with a vile snake like Ni. Oh, using him was fine. He was brilliant and all, and he knew more than anyone about the Tenchi Kaigen scriptures, but, at his core, he was incapable of loyalty or fear, and therefore not to be trusted.
Pausing in the correct side corridor and dragging a heavy key chain out of her lab pocket, Hwan selected the correct key and wrestled the metal cabinet open. There were only two hot cocoa packets left. Snatching both, she slammed the flimsy metal door closed again, relocked it, and stormed back down the corridor to the lab. This was so juvenile. It wasn't like she was his lackey.
Back inside the lab, she dumped the powdered mix into the mug, sloshed some hot water in on top of it, and thumped the mug down on the lab bench next to Ni, who was now comfortably stretched out on a spare gurney, a cigarette dangling from his lips. His eyes cracked open as he smirked up at her.
"Why, how thoughtful of you, Hwan-chan." Swinging his long limbs around, he managed to attain a cross-legged position on the clean sheets, dust and hair from his filthy slippers combining with the crumbs spilling out of his pockets onto the starched white sheets. Taking a brief sip of the cocoa, he leaned over toward the gurney next to his and lifted the sterilized sheet. Ash flaked off the end of his cigarette and landed, smoldering, on the floor. Hwan frowned in stiff disapproval.
"We'll need a minimum of ten new copies of the Y003 model by the end of the day tomorrow." One hand played idly with the damp braids laid out on the white sheets while the other balanced both the cigarette and the mug. He downed another gulp of scalding cocoa before setting the mug down directly in the middle of her pristine lab notebook. An oozing brown ring spread out across her meticulous columns of numbers.
"With all due respect," Hwan ground out through gritted teeth, tugging the sheet back into place, "I don't see how these cloning experiments relate to the revival project. Shouldn't we be focusing on obtaining the final missing sutra?"
Ni clucked disapprovingly, but swung off his perch and pulled the inevitable bunny off the gurney with him. He'd been using it as a pillow. "Ah, but these experiments are related. You'll see eventually, I'm sure. And we might just manage to collect the last sutra while we're at it. It's more efficient this way, don't you agree?" He chucked her chin lightly, then smiled down at his stuffed animal as he moved off to settle down in front of the game controller again.
Scowling and brushing ineffectually at the mess on the no-longer-sterile sheets, Hwan finally gave it up as a lost cause. Spinning around and snatching the half-empty mug, she planted herself firmly between Ni and his glowing monitor. "So, shall I prepare a progress report for Lady Koushu? I've been correlating the cloning data, and—"
The light reflected off Ni's glasses as he set the bunny on the bench in front of him. "Oooh, she's jealous, isn't she, Bunny-chan? Yes, Hwan-chan hasn't been getting any lately, so she's trying to impress people. It's sad, isn't it?" The sick bastard made the stuffed animal nod its head in agreement as he grinned up at her. Suddenly, every scratch, bruise, and bandage on Ni's face, neck, and hands made Hwan itch all over.
Stifling a scream of frustration, she slammed the stupid mug down on the counter and stalked off to scoop up the pile of cables and sort them again. He was obviously stalling. Was he really waiting for the cloning project to finish before reporting on it, or was he hiding something? And why did he have to be such a know-it-all? She hated it when he hit close to home, and he always did, somehow. It was like he had a sixth sense for people's weaknesses or something. She suspected that, half the time he was hunched in front of his computer, he was digging up everybody's dirty little secrets.
Stretching and yawning hugely, Ni came over to pet her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Hwan-chan. I'm sure Gyumaoh-kun will be more than happy to share." Hwan stiffened despite herself. When she finally heard the lab door swish shut, she stared down at her trembling hands and clenched them fiercely. She would fight back. All she needed to do was find irrefutable evidence of his treachery and convince Lady Koushu to terminate him. Then he'd see who got the last laugh.
Her mind made up, she launched herself to her feet, swaying slightly from the blood rush, and made straight for Ni's terminal. She could keep track of his location using his own surveillance monitors. A grim smile stretched across her face. He'd underestimated her for far too long, and now he was going to pay.
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Even after Goku slung the limp kappa's knees over his shoulder and Sanzo took the arms, their progress was still agonizingly slow. The ground, at least was becoming firmer, even if it was obscured by rampant undergrowth, and, using the mountain as a guide, Sanzo was fairly sure they were heading in the right direction.
When Sanzo, quite literally, tripped over a set of tracks and fell heavily against a metal cart, jarring his injured shoulder, he swore fiercely. After closer inspection, though, it seemed like the first stroke of luck he'd had in days. Manhandling Gojyo's dead weight into the rusted cart left Sanzo and Goku leaning against the side of the cart panting, rampant weeds clinging and scratching. Hakuryu hovered around and kyuuued plaintively. Sanzo would have swatted the noisy pest, but the breeze was welcome, and moving seemed an unreasonable waste of energy at that point.
After a few minutes, Sanzo grunted and turned to put his uninjured shoulder to the cart. It rocked gently in place before sliding forward a couple of inches. Glaring, he braced his feet in the slats on the track and managed to get the wayward cart to move a couple of feet before it ground to a halt in the midst of a particularly dense thorny bush. At that point, Goku got a running start and threw himself against the cart, a blurry brown cannonball. The decrepit cart groaned and creaked before suddenly moving far enough forward that Sanzo ended up flat on his back, wooden slats digging into his vertebrae and long, thin scratches on his hands and face. So not a good day.
He could hear Goku yanking the cart to a squealing halt, and then unruly brown hair was obscuring his view of the twisted branches overhead. "Sanzo, you okay?"
Closing his eyes, Sanzo grunted, "Find another cart."
Goku looked around. "This is the only one, Sanzo." A cool hand landed on his forehead. Sanzo's eyes squinted open again. The chimp looked determined. "Why don't'cha climb in?"
The priest managed to roll over and drag himself to his feet again. He considered resisting, but, really, he'd reached his limit, and Goku was remarkably stubborn when he wanted to be. The little brat would probably just pick him up when he fell and wrestle him into the cart then.
Leaning heavily against the top of the cart, Sanzo sighed. He didn't have the energy to fight right now. If Gojyo could be selfish and lazy, then so could he, dammit! And, if the kappa woke up and started anything, then Sanzo would damn well finish it! "Fine," Sanzo growled, heaving himself awkwardly into the cart next to the prone kappa. "Wake me up in half an hour."
"Okay!" Goku called cheerfully, all traces of stubbornness vanishing, as if it had never been. The rusty metal cart swayed gently on its warped tracks and creaked as it resumed its brisk forward motion through the overgrown weeds. Sanzo spent a few minutes rearranging the kappa's limbs to his liking, eyeing the limp redhead beadily all the while. When he'd finally settled on the least uncomfortable contortion available, he settled his head against the back corner of the cart, the top of his mussed blond head peeking up over the edge.
Goku hummed softly as he watched the two heads roll gently back and forth in their respective corners. Hakuryu occasionally took to perching on the back of the cart, long white neck arching around so it could check again for the presence of hidden snacks. Goku shooed the dragon off when Sanzo grunted irritably. And, gradually, as the cart rolled along, the two heads inside it slid closer and closer together until, finally, they were jostling gently against each other.
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When Goku caught sight of a group of people up ahead through the trees, he slowed to a halt and Hakuryu settled on his shoulders. The figures appeared to be darting about next to a line of metal carts parked around the next bend. "Whaddaya suppose they want, buddy?" he asked the dragon, stroking the hissing head hovering next to his head. He frowned briefly, then grinned. "Maybe they have food!" He braced his arms once again against the back of the cart, bouncing on his toes. "I'll bet they do." Sprinting forward with an enthusiastic burst of speed, the cart wobbled a bit and almost came off its tracks as Goku whipped around the corner. The two sleeping heads rolled to the side, and a warning growl issued forth from the depths of the cart.
Sanzo, who'd been rudely awakened from his well-earned doze, was mortified to realize that he'd been snuggled up against the water sprite, his arm slung protectively over the redhead's chest. Snatching his wayward arm away from its illicit perch, he whipped his head around and funneled all his frustration into the sizzling glare he sent over the edge of the cart at the wayward chimp. When that had no immediate effect, he braced himself against the framework of the swaying, jolting cart so he could twist around and whack the chimp, hard, on his wild, demented little head. Just as he had nearly managed to get within reach, twitching hand outstretched, the sound of raised and angry voices forced him to swivel back around to face whatever it was he was currently hurtling headlong toward.
The soldiers responded immediately to the sudden appearance of intruders. Two of them dashed in front of the cart and brought it to an abrupt halt. Goku frowned at them in consternation. He'd been having fun. What was their problem?
Sanzo took mental stock of the new bruises he'd just acquired, including the throbbing one on the back of his head, and grimly began apportioning levels of blame among those present so he could dole out appropriate retribution. Attempting to lever himself up out of his undignified position sprawled in the cart, Sanzo gritted his teeth. "You! Get that ridiculous monstrosity out of my face." He waved his hands irritably at the rifle that had dared infringe on his personal space.
The solider in question looked a bit dumbfounded and lowered his weapon a bit, frowning. "Who the hell—" he started, but he was distracted by the sound of another soldier jogging over to see what was going on.
The newcomer's facial muscles twitched into a grimace reminiscent of indigestion as he stared at the motley trio. An unidentified midget was pouting, his hands on his hips, while a white dragon hissed from its perch in his hair. The redheaded traveler was shifting restlessly and mumbling a bit in the cart, and a bruised and thoroughly irritable blond was half out of the cart, his hair a complete mess and dirty bandages unraveling on his shoulder. When the blond finally succeeded in levering himself out, he somehow managed to tower over the taller soldiers who were standing uneasily in front of the cart, cradling their rifles uncertainly.
Sanzo crossed his arms and scowled indiscriminately at everyone. "I've had a really shitty day, so I suggest you either help me find Hakkai or get the hell out of my way." His eyes slid over to the newcomer, who was slowly edging away. "You! I know you. Your first aid skills suck."
Private Shin winced and glanced around for help as the blond advanced purposefully toward him. These guys were nothing but trouble. "Rin! Get Sergeant Nu!" he called, his voice only cracking slightly.
A burly female soldier saluted and trotted off down the line. Shin watched her go until his attention was forcibly yanked back to the man who was now standing next to him and impatiently rifling through his backpack. "Hey!" he yelped, dancing out of range. "Get the hell off me!" He'd had enough of being looted the night before, when he'd first met these nutcases.
"Shut the hell up and stand still. I just want your fucking med kit." Shin paused, sighed, then slung his pack off his back and handed it over. "That's more like it," the blond growled. "You do have aspirin in here, don't you? I've got a splitting headache."
Sanzo paused, glared beadily at the bristling soldier, then yanked the med kit out before tossing the pack on the ground. "Never mind. You probably wouldn't recognize it if you saw it."
A couple of the other soldiers snorted and stifled snickers. Shin shot them dirty looks and bent over to retrieve his backpack, only to discover that the midget was already sorting through its contents, tossing items haphazardly aside. "What the hell!?" Shin wailed, and tried to snatch his belongings back from the crazy interloper.
Goku frowned briefly at the attempted recapture, then hopped over toward Sanzo, clutching his loot. "Sanzo, he's mean! I just wanted something to eat, and he won't share!"
Running his twitching fingers through his hair, Shin reminded himself that he was not cursed, the villager fortune teller was just a tipsy old bat, and his tour of duty was over in two more months.
"Sanzo, I'm hungry!" the midget continued, tugging on the blond's elbow and waving around a brown packet with the inscription "m&m's" on it. "Is this okay to eat? It looks safe. I really want a meat bun, though. Can I have a meat bun now?"
Sanzo, who had finally found what he was looking for, swatted half-heartedly at Goku and popped a couple of tablets in his mouth, wincing slightly at the bitterness on his tongue. "Just eat them, dammit," he growled absentmindedly at the pouting chimp. He was busy scowling at the sandy-haired man striding into view. He knew he'd seen the guy before. What was his name? N something. Noodle? Newbie? Dammit! Gojyo and his stupid nicknames!