Sanzo decided this roadtrip was going to be as boring as Hell five minutes into it. Six days had passed since they left Chang'an, and since then they hadn't really covered much ground. It didn't help that Hakuryuu only had one speed (which Gojyo had aptly named 'Old Grandma'), and the two guys chasing after the tow-truck towing away a white ladybug car were faster than they were. To make matters worse, Goku – in between complaints of hunger – was asking Hakkai constantly if he could drive.

If he drived in real life like he did in Halo, Sanzo would much rather walk to India than be killed by a maniacal monkey behind the wheel.

"Goddamnit, this one's hot." Gojyo licked his lips free of the beer he'd drunken and then turned to Goku. "Hey, Goku, gimme another beer."

The brunet, irritated by his hunger, was quick to snap back. "Get your own beer, jerkoff!"

"Listen, punk; either get me another beer or I shove this can up your whiny little ass, you got that?!" Gojyo growled back.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

Sanzo could feel another migraine coming on.

"Go ahead and try! You just want an excuse to touch my ass!"

"You sick little fag! Don't go projecting your fantasies on me!"

"Alright, that does it! Pull over, I'm taking him out!"

Sanzo had had enough. "Your unrequited little love affair is starting to get on my nerves! GET A ROOM!"

Silence fell about the jeep until Hakkai spoke up. "Ah…good one, Sanzo."

"Thanks." The former monk sighed, his shoulders relaxing. "I thought so too."

"Oh my," the tall brunet began again, sounding a little scandalized. "It's gotten awfully quiet back there, guys. Are you making out?"

"Hey, shut up, Hakkai," Gojyo grumbled, looking out his side of the jeep.

"Yeah, shut up."

Hakkai only laughed and drove on.

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Gensomaden Saiyuki: A.D. 2020
II: Prophecy

Written by Takato Metallium
Disclaimer: I disclaim all rights to Gensomaden Saiyuki. Saiyuki belongs to Kazuya Minekura. I only own the fic, the idea and not much else.
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The presidential building was in the western lands of China, in open fields surrounded by thick, lush green forest and a brick wall that stood twenty meters high, keeping out unwanted visitors. The building itself was three stories, not including the basement and attic, with a North, South, East and West wing. The occupants included Lady Gyoukumen Koushou, her teenage stepson and young daughter, and a few thousand guards and scientists.

A purple-haired woman of her late teens to early twenties was walking down the corridor, accompanied by a man of about early-mid twenties, talking quietly to themselves, worry clearly expressed on their faces. They had not seen hide nor hair of the First Son for almost half a day, and were now heading towards the basement, hoping to find him there.

The basement was dark, dim lights lit in the form of torches that lined the walls. The woman looked around before spotting the First Son, and was the one to speak on behalf of herself and the man she was with. "Lord Kougaiji, there is movement in the East."

"I know." Kougaiji Koushou's voice was a low, husky sound, a mix between a growl and spoken words. "I've already sent people to deal with the Sanzo-ikkou, and take the Maten Scripture." Though he spoke, he never once turned to look at the two behind him, nor did he even look over his shoulder. "Dokugakuji, Yaone…"

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Yeah, Kou?"

"Get ready to move out." The red-haired teenager stared at the wall which held a petrified woman, her arms spread out and looking like Christ on the cross. His golden eyes stared at the woman for a moment, holding a fondness in them that he had never shown anyone else. "Mother…I do this for you…"

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"That's my spring roll, you stupid cockroach!"

"I didn't see your name on it, monkey boy!"

"I'm not a monkey, asshole!"

Hakkai sighed as he watched Goku and Gojyo's antics, Hakuryuu sleeping in the seat next to him – he'd barely had time to pull the plate out from under the boy's face before it hit the table. He ran his hand softly through the dragon child's white hair before blinking as Sanzo stood from his chair, looking up. "Where are…?"

"I'm going out." The former monk lit a cigarette, pocketing his lighter into his jeans as he regarded their healer with cool amethyst eyes. "Make sure those two don't kill each other before I get the chance to do it for them."

Hakkai laughed a little nervously, turning his attention back to look at them. Gojyo was now teasing Goku in true brotherly fashion, having stolen a spring roll from the boy's plate and was moving his chopsticks in and out in front of Goku's face, making him furious. "I'll try not to. Be careful. For all we know, the ones trying to resurrect Gyumaoh will send more assassins after us."

"No need to tell me twice." With a wave over his shoulder, Sanzo left the tavern inn, heading out into town. They'd arrived on the eve of some festival, lanterns hung around everywhere. Children ran by him, laughing and giggling as they chased each other through the streets. He looked around, his eyes raking over every stall before they landed on someone. A little old lady was waving him over to her stall, but Sanzo snorted and continued on through the crowded street.

A little further down the street, the blonde monk stopped to take a puff of his cigarette, one hand in the pockets of his jeans as he looked around again. He frowned; there was that old lady again, and she was waving him over just like last time. 'The Hell?' Sanzo thought to himself, his eyes narrowing in irritation as he made to move again.

There she was again! And again, and again…

Sanzo snarled and gritted his teeth around his cigarette, finally giving up and stalking over to the stall, glaring at the old woman with a look in his eyes that would kill mortals. "Yeah? What do you want, grandma?" he hissed between his teeth, looking at her with deadly amethyst eyes.

The woman smiled – she was obviously blind because her eyes were white, and she was obviously senile because she thought that Sanzo was a 'good', 'upstanding' monk like all the others. "Come here and let me read your future, dear."

He snorted. "I don't believe in that tarot shit." He was taken aback when she got up onto the stall desk, as she was short, and began feeling around his face with her wrinkled old hands. Sanzo sighed in irritation, hearing her murmur something to herself as she searched his face for God knew what.

"My, my, my…you are an old soul indeed," she said after climbing back down off the desk, feeling around for a deck of tarot cards and beginning to shuffle them. "Two thousand years on this earth, and you have begun a journey that you did long ago, with four others you have known for a very long time."

"I'm not into this spirituality bullshit quite frankly, ma'am, so cut to the chase." Sanzo let his cigarette butt drop to the ground, snuffing it out with the toe of his boot, reaching into his pocket for his packet and another one.

The blind woman smiled, beginning to place the cards on the desk as she looked up at Sanzo, as though knowing where he was just from feeling his face. "I'm sure you know of the legend of the Monkey King, Genjo Sanzo, how he traveled with the priest Tripitaka and the two souls banished from Heaven."

Yeah, he knew about that legend. Goku used to watch it on Saturday mornings before they cancelled the show. "What of it?" Wait, he never told her his name, did he?

She spread out the cards, leaving them face down as she frowned, making him raise an eyebrow. "Oh dear…it seems your journey is fraught with as much peril as it was all those years ago, my dear. You will gain something dear to your heart, and lose it to someone who seeks to use its power for his own desires of a new world. Be weary, Genjo Sanzo, for in your future…" Her eyes seemed to change colour, going from white to a pale lavender to crimson and back to white. "…I see death."

If Sanzo were the laughing type, he would have burst out laughing at her prediction. However, he was not, and so only snorted at her words. "Crackpot," he murmured before turning to go away.

"Be weary, Genjo Sanzo," she called again, and when he looked over his shoulder, the woman and her stall was gone. Raising an eyebrow, Sanzo proceeded to move back to the inn, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that she was right…

End of chapter two

Notes: I am so, so, so sorry for the lack of updates on this fic. I've been busy since I wrote the first chapter; I had full-time work for six months that left me without any time to write at all, and my inspiration went downhill. However, having recently finished the second part of the first season, I've found inspiration again and went back to writing. Hope this chapter lived up to expectations. Also, I'm looking for a beta reader for the fic, so if you're interested contact me via MSN. Contact details can be found on my profile page.