A/N: Little hint of angst here. More of that to come. We had to balance out the humor somehow. And a semi-decent length as well. I did say they'd be getting longer.

...

Dang, now I'm starting to sound reliable, huh?

Disclaimer: I have not somehow magically gained rights to Saiyuki in between now and last chapter. So I still do not own Saiyuki.

Hachiko was trying to balance two bags of groceries. They were stuffed full of food, items of personal hygiene, they'd run out of bandages, so she'd gotten more of those, as well as some thread for when they would inevitably rip clothing. She wanted to get some more fruit, something healthy that wouldn't be too difficult to get the other's to eat. Honestly, it was like being around children all the time. She spotted a sale on apples, and perked up. 'Oh, that'd be perfect,'

She'd just been about to grab an apple, when her hand grazed another. ""Oh, excuse me,"" they said in unison. She pulled her hand back, upsetting one of her bags. It was the one of food, and spilt the items all over the ground. "Oh dear," she said, kneeling down to start picking things up.

"Are you okay, miss?" she heard, and looked up to find a young man was helping her gather her groceries. She looked surprised for a moment, before smiling pleasantly.

"Oh, yes, just fine. These needed to be washed anyway," she said, putting the last of the items back in, and gathering her bags into her arms again.

She watched him rise to his feet, "Need a hand?"

Hachiko didn't hide that she was surprised. It was rare to find such a nice young man. Or maybe it was just that she was used to the assassins that usually came after them. "Thank you," she said, sincere as she let him help her to her feet.

She adjusted the bags a bit, so that they wouldn't be so likely to fall again, and looked him over. If she had to be honest, she'd say he appeared rather dashing. He had an oak green oriental top on. Normally, she'd say that men looked sloppy when they didn't tuck their shirts in, but he looked alright in it. Perhaps it was simply because it wasn't a button up, like most shirts. It also went surprisingly well with the beige slacks, and the black accents around the elbow-length sleeves bled right into the black sleeves that he had underneath. She was surprised that his headband was the same shade of green as the shirt. Normally, men figured green was green was green, but this actually was the same shade. The pink sash was a bit unusual, but he looked good with it. Same went for the monocle. Perhaps it was the smile, it seemed natural on his face. It was only then that she felt his demonic presence wash over her. 'How was I stupid enough not to notice that? Was I really that concerned with the groceries?' she fretted, before focusing on the issue at hand. 'It's alright; he may not be here to kill us. I'll just keep my guard up, and I should be fine.'

"No problem. I'm sorry that I startled you. It's the least I could do to help. Uh..." she realized he was probably looking for a name.

"Hachiko," she said sweetly, betraying nothing of the thoughts that were running through her head.

"Hm, what was that?" he sounded confused, and Hachiko realized her mistake, her cheeks flushing slightly as she ducked her head. Oh, that was embarrassing. She looked back up at him.

"My name, it's Hachiko," she said, explaining a bit more of what she'd meant.

"Oh! I'm sorry about that." He freed his right hand and held it out for a handshake. "My name is Hakkai. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, no, it's my fault; I shouldn't have assumed you were looking for a name. But it's nice to meet you too," she said, managing to balance a bag on her hip, returning the gesture.

"Excuse me, you gonna buy anything?" the person running the stall suddenly put in, staring down the two people clogging the front of his stall. Hachiko felt herself bristle at the rude tone, but kept herself in check.

"Yeah, I would like five apples if you don't mind." Hachiko watched as he made his purchase, and realized that she'd also been here to get apples. 'Honestly, where is my head today?'

"Do you need anything?" He asked, turning back to her with a smile.

"Oh! Yes. Could I get a dozen?" she asked, pulling the money from her pocket. It was always dangerous to flash a lot of money around, so credit cards were even worse. She took the apples, glad that she finally had something she could hang off her arm, instead of having to carry. "Well, thank you for all your help. Hope you have a nice day." she said pleasantly, heading back towards the inn.

Hachiko felt apprehensive when someone came up behind her. "I hope I'm not being a bother, but the inn that I'm staying at is in this direction. Would you mind if I walked with you for a bit?"

It was only... Hakkai? Yes, she was sure that was his name. She smiled pleasantly back, deciding it'd be natural to accept, and she didn't have any proof, yet, that he was here to impede the Sanzo party. "Of course not." she said, matching his stride so that they were walking side by side. Come to think of it, Hachiko couldn't remember another inn around the area. But, what were the chances that he meant... "Wait, are you talking about the Dual Lily?" she questioned.

"Yeah, you're familiar with it?" he asked with a smile.

Hachiko laughed lightly. "I suppose. I happen to be staying there as well." she mentioned. Was this... coincidence? Was that really that likely? Maybe, she hadn't seen any other inns. So, what were the chances of her meeting another traveler at the market?

"Really," he said. "What a coincidence..." He paused for a moment, and Hachiko wondered if he really meant that. "You're traveling? Where are you heading?"

'Hmm, probably not the best idea to tell the truth.' "Funny that you ask that. Truth is, I've kind of been dragged along for the ride. I'm not entirely sure, my friend hasn't told me just where we're going." she said. It wasn't technically a lie; Sanzo hasn't told them where their final destination was, just that they were going west. "I suppose that seems really foolish, huh?" she asked, realizing how stupid her response sounded now that it was out of her mouth.

"No, I think I can understand. Sometimes I wonder if I really know what I volunteered for when we started this road trip."

She felt so moved at the smile on his face, that she was momentarily stunned. She looked away, her mind racing. She shouldn't allow him to get to her like that. It really would be bad. She hated it when the people that came after them didn't just act like mindless monsters. It just hurt every time she could sympathize with the people they had to kill in the end. Plus, he seemed so sincere. She got the impression that it was the kind born from hardships. "I hope you don't have as many sorrows as I do." she murmured quietly, thinking of what she'd had to face, both in her life and just on this journey.

His response was almost as soft. "I don't know if that is at all possible."

Hachiko looked at him for a moment, confused. As she tried to work out what he meant, they arrived back at the Dual Lily. She nodded her thanks when he held the door open, and her eyes flicked over the lunch menu. She hoped everyone would at least come back to eat together. She heard the tell-tale signs of her group fighting, again. She sighed. "That sounds like my friends. I really should go stop them. It was nice meeting you." she said, hurrying up the stairs before someone broke something.