AN: Hope this chapter isn't confusing. In order to explain what needed to be explained, I had to put in Amaya's side of what happened last chapter. Oh, and a twist. Italics are flashback. Hope you enjoy it. ~safarigirl

Night Rain

Chapter 11

She was swimming in darkness. Nothing made sense. No up. No down. Nothing. Just the black.

She couldn't move. Something held her down, clamps on her arms and legs keeping her in the darkness.

Something flashed, the light blinding. A figure silhouetted against a window of light disappeared before she was completely sure she'd seen anything. Where was she? Why couldn't she remember?

Another flash. A man with brown hair and green eyes. Who? The name came to her: Hakkai. He looked injured, hurt. A flash of metal. No, don't kill him!

Fierce golden eyes. Sounds of metal clashing against metal. Nothing else in the darkness. She knew those golden eyes: Goku. He was fighting. Who was he fighting? She could help him. Blood. She hoped not his. She won't kill him. She wouldn't kill any of them.

Gojyo. She would never forget his red eyes and hair. The cuts on his arms matched the color of his hair. No. He was injured too. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. She didn't want to hurt any of them.

"Give me the scripture." It sounded like her voice, but it didn't. She strained against the bonds that held her. What was happening? She hadn't spoken, and yet that was her voice.

"No." That voice, harsh yet somehow smooth at the same time. She knew that voice. How did she know that voice?

"I will have that scripture, Genjo Sanzo." Genjo Sanzo? She knew a Genjo Sanzo, didn't she? Yes, she remembered a Genjo Sanzo. And suddenly, she remembered everything.

She was beyond scared; she was terrified, her body frozen with fear. Her parents were dead, killed before crystal eyes by crazed villagers. They didn't do what the humans accused them of. She knew it. Her parents were good demons. They would never hurt the villagers. They would never hurt anyone. They told her to never hurt anyone. She fingered the silver chain around her neck, the one her father gave to her. He said it would protect her.

The man in charge turned on the young girl, an evil snarl marring his features. "This one, too. We can't have the spawn following in the footsteps of the parents."

They closed in on her. Amaya closed her eyes, tiny fists clenched at her sides. They were going to kill her.

"You are a bunch of ignorant peasants," a young voice called from the doorway. The villagers turned in their surprise and Amaya caught a glimpse of golden hair and cream-colored robes before the crowd closed off her view.

"Genjo Sanzo." Heads bowed. "These demons killed my brother and his family. We couldn't let them live here anymore. They must be punished."

The crowd parted as the young man made his way into the small hut the demon family lived in. Amaya, unsure of the significance of the young man followed the ways of the adults. She bowed her head, keeping her eyes on the floor. Except the floor was covered with blood: her parents' blood. Tear welled up in her eyes, clouding them. She screwed them shut, not wanting to look anymore.

A soft hand touched her chin. Amaya flinched and pulled away.

"I won't hurt you. Look at me."

She couldn't help but follow his instructions. She looked up and opened her eyes. She was met by the most beautiful pair of purple eyes she'd ever seen. His face was soft, delicate, but he looked very serious for someone only 3 or 4 years older than Amaya. He extended a hand toward her.

"You're coming with me." It didn't sound like a suggestion.

"But, Genjo Sanzo," the lead human protested. Purple eyes turned hard as they wrenched away from Amaya. The lead human stuttered but he got the words out.

"Her parents killed my brother. Who's to say she didn't have a hand in it? We should kill her too." Amaya crept closer to the boy priest, clenching a handful of his robes in her small fists.

"This girl is under my protection." He gripped her wrist protectively. "Come on."

None of the villagers utter another protest as Genjo Sanzo walked Amaya out of the hut. Once outside, he looked back for a moment before leading Amaya away.

"Stupid idiots," he mumbled. "I'm sorry they did that to your parents. What's your name?"

"Amaya," Amaya replied softly. "Where are we going?"

"I'll take you some place safer. No body will hurt you as long as they know you're under my protection."

Amaya didn't answer. She clutched his hand as they walked down the dirt road.

"Over my dead body." The words stung. He wasn't supposed to die. She swore an oath to herself that it was the one life she would never take, no matter the price. She pulled against the bindings

"Then you will die." No! She said she wouldn't kill him. She wasn't going to kill Sanzo.

"You will kill Genjo Sanzo and bring the Maten Scroll to me," the green-haired woman demanded.

"No," Amaya replied, her head still bowed. But her voice was like ice. She would not back down from this one. She would not kill the man who saved her all those years ago.

"I command it," the bitch on the throne yelled.

Amaya raised her head, her ice blue eyes burning brightly with anger. "You do not command me. You wanted a trained assassin for hire. And this one job I will never take." She straightened and adjusted her formal kimono before spinning on her heels and walking out of the room.

"I will kill her."

"I know a way to make her do it," a creepy voice called out from the shadows. Amaya ignored it, continuing out the door. But two large demons stood in her way. They had unarmed her at the entrance, but they hadn't taken every weapon. Amaya fingered the small dagger hidden up her sleeve. She had another tucked in the bow of the kimono and a third disguised as a set of hair chopsticks. She could take the two in front of her, but she wasn't familiar with the palace and didn't know if she could escape without getting caught.

"Oh, and what is that?"

"We'll just erase her memories of Genjo Sanzo." The two demons grabbed her arms roughly. Amaya pulled the little dagger out of her sleeve sheath and sliced one across the chest with it.

"Hold her!" the woman screamed.

"See if I care." That voice. It sounded like that bitch of a woman. That woman who had had her memory wiped clean and used Amaya as her own personal assassin. No, she would not kill Sanzo. She wouldn't be anyone's puppet.

"No!" she screamed, pushing against the restraints. Breaking free of them.

Suddenly, heat tore through her, lighting her on fire. She looked up, eyes catching amethyst orbs as they stared at her from behind the barrel of a smoking gun.

"Sanzo," she whispered. She couldn't hold herself up anymore and crashed to the ground. She felt cold. Slowly, the light faded, then sounds, until there was nothing at all.