Disclaimer: Would I be writing this if I owned SaiYuki? No. Also if I did, I wouldn't be known as GirlWithNoLife, now would I? I do own Tsuki though!

Summary: Sanzo's secret has finally been revealed! Now that the boys all know Sanzo's a girl, emotions are going haywire! And with Sanzo's death closely approaching, what is she to do? And who are these strange gods that keep appearing? And who of the boys will win Sanzo's heart?

By the way, this is taking place during the Reload series, so that's what everybody's outfit is.

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"Wha... What the hell?!" exclaimed Gojyo. The demon laughed.

"Ha! Now you're mine, you miserable little peons. You'll sooner die than escape from this place." he laughed. "Welcome to the grand illusion world of the almighty Zakuro-sama!"

"Hang on. This is an illusion?!" exclaimed Gojyo as he looked around.

"It certainly seems real." said Hakkai. Sanzo just cursed as she brought up her gun.

"Shit!!"

"How very futile." sighed Zakuro. "Attacking me with a melted gun and all. Suddenly Sanzo's gun melted.

"Huh?" she exclaimed as she dropped it. Zakuro chuckled again.

"Perhaps now you see it. You've already fallen into my hands." he said. "And look. Snakes. You'd better pay attention– You don't want to get bitten, now do you?" Suddenly snakes appeared all over them.

"Hell no!" Gojyo yelled as he started to throw them off. "Get this shit off!"

"Dammit. I get it now. Physical damage is connected to mental damage here. So a physical death... means a mental death in reality." growled Sanzo as she yanked snakes off herself.

"He's using a hypnosis technique! Don't listen to what he says!" yelled Hakkai.

"Thanks!" said Gojyo sarcastically. "Easier said than done!"

"My. If you look closely, those aren't snakes at all." said Zakuro. "They're human hands." Just then all the snakes turned into human hands that started to grab them.

"Dammit! Nngh!" Sanzo yelled as the hands pulled her down. Zakuro laughed.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! What's the matter? Need a hand?" he laughed.

Dokugakuji and Yaone watched the Sanzo party wither in pain.

"Whoa! What the hell's he doing?" asked Dokugakji.

"This is Zakuro's ability. He can create illusions with his words." Yaone explained. "By using hypnotic suggestion, he speaks directly to the brain... Thereby causing mental damage. If your brain accepts his words, they cause hallucination. In other words, your own mind will cause you physical damage."

"Wait, Zakuro! Just wait a second!" yelled Dokugakuji. "The annihilation of Sanzo's team was assigned to Kou. Wasn't your goal just to take the sutra?"

"...Hn. How naive." sneered Zakuro. "This is why you couldn't even protect your own master. You two are completely useless."

"You son of a bitch!" growled Dokugakuji.

"Oh– That's right. This one's your younger brother, isn't he?" Zakuro said as he walked over to Gojyo.

"Stop it!" Dokugakuji yelled.

"Hey, Sha Gojyo. Take a look at your right arm." Zakuro said. "Quite an inferno, that."

Suddenly in the illusion Gojyo's arm a lit a blaze.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" Gojyo yelled in pain.

"Gojyo!" yelled Hakkai as Gojyo continued to scream.

"Tch! You goddamn halfwit!" Sanzo hissed, actually looking worried.

"GAAAAH! D-dammit!..." Gojyo yelled.

"Give it up." Zakuro laughed. "You'll never be able to put that out."

"G-goddamn bastard!" Gojyo gasped.

"Don't listen to him!" Hakkai yelled. "It's only an illusion, Gojyo!"

"An illusion? But isn't it hot, Sha Gojyo? Look how fast the flames are spreading." Zakuro sneered.

"No, Gojyo! Don't listen!" Hakkai yelled.

"Look at that... The silly thing burned off." Suddenly Gojyo's arm fell off and he screamed louder.

"Gojyo-san?!" exclaimed Yaone. "Listen, it's not burning– It's an illusion!"

"It's no use, Yaone." said Dokugakuji through gritted teeth. "They can't hear us right now."

Hakkai stared at Gojyo with wide fearful eyes.

'Incredible. To think his suggestions could be this powerful!' he thought.

"What's wrong, Sha Gojyo? Won't you attack me?" Zakuro asked. "Use your shakujou." Suddenly Gojyo's weapon appeared in his remaining hand. Gojyo shook a little, then yelled,

"You crazy bitch!"

"It's a trap, you idiot!" Sanzo yelled.

"Ha, ha, ha! What wretched aim!" Zakuro yelled. "Try not to kill your friends with that thing!"

Suddenly in Gojyo's illusion he accidently sliced both Hakkai's and Sanzo heads. Gojyo stared.

"Wha..." Zakuro laughed.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Look what you did, you fool! They're dead! You killed them both!"

"N...no. I didn't. I... I didn't..." Gojyo breathed.

"You killed them!"

"Gojyo!" Hakkai, who was very much alive with Sanzo, yelled.

"Great. That Shithead just offed us." Sanzo growled. It felt weird to see herself offed off.

"This unbelievable." breathed Hakkai, then to Gojyo he yelled, "We're alive, Gojyo! It's nothing but a trick!" But Gojyo didn't hear him. Zakuro laughed.

"I already told you– There's no escape from my illusions! Prepare to--"

Suddenly Dokugakuji punched Gojyo in the gut and knocked him out. Gojyo fell to the ground.

"What did you do?" asked Yaone.

Meanwhile in the illusion Sanzo and Hakkai were staring at the stop where Gojyo was.

"Gojyo... Disappeared." said Hakkai.

"Dokugakuji!" growled Zakuro. "You've crossed the line, you miserable insubordinate!"

"What Happened?" Yaone asked.

"To get out of Zakuro's hypnosis... he had to ether die from shock or lose his mind." Dokugakuji explained. "I opten for something better."

"...I think I see." said Hakkai. "Unconsciousness is another way to break free."

"Heh. So now you know– Good for you. And?" Zakuro said.

"He's right." agreed Hakkai. "We can't all pass out– This is still a fight."

"Exactly. You have nowhere left to run." Zakuro said. Sanzo gave a irritated sigh.

"We're not as small minded as Gojyo, dick head." she told him. "Don't expect us to fall for your yammering so easily." Hakkai laughed.

"Our apologies. We're the intelligent ones!" Zakuro smirked(again!).

"Is that right? You certainly talk tough." he sneered. "So you use self suggestion? You must be aware... Of the Kaiba in the brain."

"Kaiba? That's another word for walrus, right?" joked Hakkai.

"Don't change the subject. The Kaiba controls short-term memory. If I call out to it, I can easily pull such memories out." Zakuro explained as he pointed to his head. "With more intelligent humans, the memories are more vivid."

"Last night, we had fried rice for dinner." said Sanzo as if to prove his point.

"That's right. The soup that came with it was delicious." added Hakkai.

"...And today? That's right. You do remember. You drowned in the river." Zakuro said. The next thing Hakkai and Sanzo knew was that they were surrounded by water.

'Shit...!' Sanzo thought as Zakuro continued.

"You're sinking deeper and deeper. Struggle all you want– You're submerging to the inky bottom where you'll never see the sun again!" he said.

"There's no w-water!" Hakkai tried to convince himself. "It's an illusion!" Zakuro continued.

"And what happens when you talk under water? You lose your air. Now... You feel the water entering your lungs." Hakkai suddenly felt water entering his lungs. "Mm! This is the end for you. Bye, bye, Cho Hakkai." Suddenly Hakkai vanished.

"Hakkai!" Sanzo cried. Then she felt water enter her lungs as well.

"You too... Genjyo Sanzo." Sanzo's eyes darkened as she listened.

...Water.

The sound of running water...

A river...

...And darkness...

Darkness.

Sanzo froze. Wait. That was wrong... She thought of her master. She suddenly saw a bright light.

"Just now. I thought I heard a voice." she heard her master's voice say. The water suddenly vanished and a golden light surrounded her. She gave Zakuro a devilish look.

"What?!" exclaimed Zakuro in surprise.

"'Kouryuu of the River's flow'. Right." Sanzo said to herself.

"But you can't--" Zakuro started.

"Bad call with your choice of imagery. It wasn't dark. I saw light." Sanzo interrupted as she aimed her gun.

"No! I-I told you that gun melted! You can't do that!" Zakuro cried.

"The gun's fine." Sanzo said cooly.

"Um... Then it's not melted! It's j-jammed! You can't pull the trigger!" Zakuro cried, desperate now.

"Shut the fuck up."

"There's no way you can shoot me!"

"YOU listen to me." Sanzo hissed. "I say I can." Then Sanzo shot Zakuro and the illusion vanished.

Zakuro hit a tree.

"Welcome back." Sanzo said cooly. "Reality's a bitch... And so am I." The others were conscious now. "This is reality. My reality." Zakuro laughed.

"Do you honestly think you've won?" Then he threw his coat at the Sanzo party.

"Dammit!" Sanzo cursed as she ripped the coat away. But by the time she had torn it away, Zakuro had disappeared, but the heard his voice.

"Hoo, ha, ha, ha, ha! We'll meet again, Genjyo Sanzo! And I'll be sure to tell everyone your secret!" he laughed. Then he was gone.

"Wow. That was a rather cheap exit." said Hakkai thoughtfully. "Even Tsuki can do better."

"And who put 'Hoo' in their maniacal laughter? Did he escape from some crappy theatrical troupe, or what?" twitched Gojyo.

"What a ridiculous farce. And he wasted our time." added Sanzo she walked over to her dried robes. Dokugakuji was silent.

"Yo, Dokugakuji. Thanks for the save." Gojyo said as he pulled on his shirt. "Dokugaku?"

"Brainwashing. And Hypnotism, y'know. I didn't think it was so easy to get out of." Dokugakuji said suddenly. The Sanzo party looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" Sanzo asked as she slipped on her robes.

"Brainwashing?" Hakkai repeated when Yaone and Dokugakuji finished explaining.

"Yes." said Yaone sadly.

"He's a killing machine now. He has nether blood nor tears." Dokugakuji said downcast. "He's not... He's not Kou anymore."

"That seems kinda harsh. He's your prince, isn't he?" Gojyo asked as he rubbed his head. Dokugakuji was silent.

"Hmph. So that's why you felt the need to warn us. We should 'Leave the sutra and run,' right?" said Sanzo as she pulled out a pack of soaked cigarettes. She crushed them. "Thanks, sweet heart. But we're not that pathetic." Suddenly Dokugaku grabbed Sanzo by her robe collar.

"Dokugakuji!" gasped Yaone in surprise while Sanzo just looked at him boredly.

"Don't get me wrong, jackass! I'm not worried about you!" Dokugakuji snapped. "I just know Kou wouldn't want to win like that!" Sanzo gave him a cold look.

"All the more reason. This isn't our problem." she said as she slapped his hand away. "I kill whoever's in my way, no matter who they are. And besides... I sincerely doubt want sympathy or a surrender." Dokugakuji stared at her.

"See? Our boss has always been a killing machine." Gojyo said to Yaone.

"And look who's in my way." Sanzo said as she aimed her gun at Gojyo. Yaone looked thoughtful.

"Yes. You're right, Sanzo-san." she said quietly. Gojyo looked away, rubbing his head.

"Fine, fine. Whatever. We still have to look for a way to change Kou back." he said.

"Even so..." said Hakkai as he stepped forward. "You're not sure what they did to him, correct? They may have directly tampered with his brain. Hypnosis is probably not as intense as something like that." Dokugakuji and Yaone were silent, then Dokugaku said,

"...If Kou doesn't come back... Then..."

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Jee, I wonder what's gonna happen next. Review for the next chapter!