Disclaimer(s) - I don't own Saiyuki or ANY of the Saiyuki Characters nor am I affiliated and therefore I am not making any profit from this story whatsoever. Saiyuki and its characters belong solely to Kazuya Minekura and all other respective creators/owners. I am just a fan. A BIG fan. A HUGE fan. A... well, you get the idea. I don't own anything but the 4 girls' characters in the story.

READ AND REVIW PLEEEEEEEASEE!!!!!

P.S. – Misa is the original character of ~schoolgirlninja~ - Props to Lady!

***

The bullet zinged past Misa's ear, signalling the crows to descend. In one loud scream, they folded their wings and plummeted towards the eight people and 2 cars on the ground. The girls raised their hands defensively, dropping to their knees and pulling out their weapons – all except Bella, who decided to punch the nearest crow out of midair, sending it crashing into the ground, where it stayed, motionless. Daja pulled out her pins, flinging them into the air, hitting a target with each one. "You've been practising," Tryst puffed as she came back to back with the shorter girl, her long daggers twirling in her palms as she dispatched three more crows, neatly beheading them. "So have you," Daja panted, more needles flying from her fingers.

Suki was twirling her staff above her head, either swatting aside or cutting any crows that came her way. Bella was dodging and diving, her punches so forceful that even if the blow itself didn't land, the inertia from it blew the intended target flying back at least 10 feet. Goku, his own staff twirling and whacking, whistled, impressed at Bella' strength. The girl grinned at him, her fringe flying from the force behind her punches. Hakkai was throwing balls of Chi like grenades, exploding them in the air, causing a rain of blood and black feathers, which he neatly dodged. Gojyo's shakujo chain was everywhere, cutting birds left, right and centre, as he used the staff to beat off the survivors on the ground.

Sanzo continued to shoot the dodging youkai in the tree, Misa neatly sidestepping each of his bullets as she gradually moved closer to the ground with each shot. The gun clicked then, empty, and the monk moved quickly to reload it. Misa took the opportunity to bound down from the low branch she was in, and slash at him, her sword aiming for his neck, a triumphant gleam in her eye. He was too slow...

"Sanzo!" Came a shout, before a large gash appeared on Misa's sword hand, pushing it off course. The youkai woman screamed at the interference, not feeling the pain of her wound. She looked for the source, wondering what it could have been, when all members of the group, Sanzo included had their eyes diverted to her crows or their weapons. "Over here." Came the same low voice from behind her. Misa turned, her eyes locking on the weapon which was being swiftly re-holstered... No... It couldn't be! That was impossible! That weapon... A single fuscia eye locked with gold, the two women squaring off against each other.

"Bella, stay out of this." Sanzo called out in annoyance, his gun now reloaded, and aimed at the back of the youkai woman's head. Bella grunted in frustration, her eyes not leaving Misa's, "What, no thanks, Monk?" she quipped. He scowled at her, wanting her out of his way, "Who says this gun is aimed at her? Just hurry up and move."

Bella just huffed, and, still keeping her eyes on Misa, leapt off towards her friends, her strong legs and powerful kickoff, sending her flying into the group with a single bound. As she landed, she twirled, kicking her legs out and clearing the air of the crows who were frantically avoiding her. She grinned, loving the feeling of coming down to earth like lightning. Her friends continued to fight the crows, ignoring her spectacular entrance, as the bird just seemed to keep coming.

Misa turned around to face Sanzo, her face contorted into a mask of rage. Howling in anger, she reached her hand up and tore off her mask to see him better. A livid scar, testament to her 'fathers' fists, rand from her right temple, across her eyelid and down across her nose, ending at her left nostril. "I'm going to make you scream for mercy before I kill you, just for them." She tilted her head, indicating the four girls of the group. "What are you babbling about?" Sanzo growled, thoroughly confused. Misa snarled, her lips curling in a feral grimace, "How could you fight alongside them?" She barked, "Especially the blonde one – don't you know what she is?" Her eyes were completely glazed now, her madness having taken over her completely.

Sanzo glared at the youkai woman, his curiosity piqued despite his anger at her goading. "I know what they are," He replied softly, "and I still fight beside them. Who are you to pass judgment on me?" The youkai woman screamed in rage, all pretence of sanity leaving her as she charged the monk, sword chopping down. Sanzo dodged to the side as the sword swished past him, taking off a length of his sleeve. The girl brought the blade back around in a low slash. Sanzo jumped, the sword just passing under his feet. He leapt back, gun firing at her.

Misa held her vertical, point down, two bullets pinging off it, as a third grazed her shoulder. She roared, unable to feel pain of the bullet, but furious that Sanzo had managed to hit her. Sanzo fired off another round, which was again deflected by her sword as she swung it up quickly, landing a light cut across his belly. The monk grunted, blood welling over his fingers as he tried to put pressure on it. Misa grinned, her eyes gleaming at the sight of blood.

"Sanzo!" Hakkai cried, surging towards him, only to be stopped by a virtual wall of crows. "No!" Goku yelled, swinging through the birds with his staff, and running to protect his injured friend. "Come on - bring it, you crazy lady!" He cried, furious at the youkai woman for hurting Sanzo. Misa was still grinning, her eyes wild as she faced her new opponent. Goku bared his teeth at her, and struck in low, she jumped to the side, swinging her sword arm back to slash across the monkey's shoulders. Goku countered, catching the blade on his staff, and twirling back around to face her as she disengaged.

Misa licked her lips; this was turning into a fun fight! She charged Goku with a yell, her sword parrying his staff, and chipping the red veneer. Goku eyes widened in shock and he pushed forward, thrusting her back in a powerful move. As they split apart, a blade came whistling between them, followed by a long chain. "You know, even with that scar, you're kinda cute. So how about leaving the boys be, and come hang out with a REAL man?" A familiar drawling voice sounded, as Gojyo strolled over, reeling in his chain. "Or maybe you feel socially obligated to extricate yourself from that scene. It would explain why you have only spent time with a monk and an underage boy." Hakkai said cheerfully, walking up beside Gojyo.

"What are you guys doing? What about the damn birds?" Goku cried, not taking his eyes off his opponent. "What? Oh, you mean the crows? Yeah, well, as you can see – the girls pretty much have them covered..." Hakkai said, as he waved his arm over to the small group, who were surrounded by piles of fallen black feathered bodies. There were maybe a hundred crows still remaining, though they chose to hover menacingly overhead, rather than swoop down to face certain death.

"So, you want to come at me all at once?" Misa rasped, her voice as rough as sandpaper as she eyed them all excitedly. "Alright, then!" She whistled sharply at her birds, forcing them into the attack once more, as she swung her sword around in a complex move, effectively clearing the immediate area around her and bringing it back into a ready position in front of her face. "Bring it on!"

The sound of the gun cocking against the back of her head brought the Youkai woman to a sudden halt. She stiffened, her senses on alert, as she heard slightly heavy breathing from behind her. "You let your guard down," Sanzo grunted, one hand to his abdomen, "you shouldn't count me out until you're sure I'm dead." The young men all grinned at this, knowing the woman was about to receive a bullet to the brain. They were about to be sadly disappointed.

Misa grinned darkly, her eyes shadowed as she gripped the hilt of her sword tighter, causing the regular subtle glow, into a bright light, which swiftly wrapped around her body like a second skin. Sanzo fired, hoping to break the sheath, but his bullet merely pinged off the surface, ricocheting back dangerously. He glared in frustration. Gojyo thrust out his shakujo, hoping to cut opaque golden shield, the blade merely bounced off, and he quickly reeled it back in. Goku swung in low, thinking it might be weak around the edges. He was wrong, and paid for his mistake by flying back three feet. Hakkai tried last, his Chi energy blasting at the shield, ineffectively.

Misa laughed joyously as the young men tried again and again to destroy her shield. She kept a close eye on the girls who were still fighting her crows. There was the weakness. Those seemingly 'unimportant' women. She snorted, knowing there was far more going on there than she could see – and she saw a LOT. Especially in that blonde one…

She took a step forward, then another, the men's attacks bouncing harmlessly off her, as they got more and more frustrated. She walked lazily over to the girls, her shield still uncompromised, and the men trying frantically to stop her from reaching her destination. "Hey! Look out!" Goku cried as Misa stepped behind Tryst, her sword posed to attack. She was shocked, when the tall muse spun around to face her, an unsurprised look in her eye as she thrust forward with one of her daggers. The tip pierced in, barely a millimetre, then halted. The woman was shocked – how had this human girl managed to pierce her shield? No one had done that – ever! In fact it was her shield that was the basic blueprint for the Shield Project around India!

Tryst scowled, obviously not happy that she had only managed to dent the girl's ego. Misa snarled, and swung her sword down in a move that would have decapitated to girl had she not tucked and rolled away quickly. The other girls each put up defensive positions against their new opponent, joining the circle of the Sanzo Ikkou, as the crows took to the sky once more. Misa's insane grin wavered for a moment – eight at once… this shouldn't be a problem… she had faced worse odds before… Still… no one had managed to pierce her shield before, either…

She snarled ferally as four iron needles came shooting from one direction and a large bladed stick cut at her from another. Both hits felt like they had made contact with her skin rather than her shield. She glanced down nervously at her shoulder, shocked to find one of the iron pins had actually lodged in her shoulder! That BITCH! Misa screamed in her mind, how DARE she break my shield?! She charged the girl without a second thought.

"Daja!" Hakkai yelled, nothing but a green blur as he dodged in front of the swinging sword, taking the blow across his back. "Hakkai!" Gojyo cried, watching his friend fall. "You evil bitch!" He screamed at Misa, running straight at her glowing form. "Gojyo – get back!" Sanzo cried, as she swung her sword around in an arc, chopping straight at his neck. He caught the blow – barely – and pushed against it muscles straining.

Daja was on her knees by Hakkai, trying desperately to staunch his wound, and remember the healing song she had sung. Sanzo had his gun lowered, unsure of how to proceed under the circumstances. Goku had his teeth bared, his feet set in a fighting stance – he was ready for anything. Bella and Suki were both looking for weaknesses in Misa's defence. It was Tryst who snapped first.

Running frantically forward, she stabbed straight at Misa's back, hoping to distract her enough for Gojyo to strike fully. The knife sliced through the shield, and buried an inch into the woman's shoulder. The Youkai howled, disengaging Gojyo to swipe a strong arm back, knocking Tryst around to slam straight into Gojyo, sending the both of them flying. While she was still recovering her balance, a large blade slashed vertically down her shield, slicing it neatly in two, and only just missing her face by millimetres.

The barrier dissolved, its glow fading as Misa stared in shock at the young red headed woman with the reckless grin, who had so easily defeated it. She screamed in frustration, gripping her sword tighter as she focused her energy on it once again. Before another shield could be formed, a bullet hit her sword had, causing her to shriek as her thumb was blasted off. The golden blade clattered to the ground. "I don't think you want to try that again." Sanzo said softly, his gun once again raised to aim at her face.

Misa panted, panicking and tried to sprint through a gap in the circle beside Suki. The young girl blocked her way with her glaive. "Nu-uh," she said playfully, her grin anything but, "I don't think you'll be going anywhere soon." Suki gasped as Misa slashed at her in desperation, her claws scratching the girl, but not drawing blood. Bella jerked from the sidelines. A rabid snarl sounded from behind the woman. Misa turned, wide eyed, as Goku stepped forward, his eyes glittering, and no hint of excitement on his face. "Back away from her." He growled again, causing Sanzo to glance at him, single eyebrow raised in surprise.

The Youkai Lieutenant stood still as the rest of the group seemed to disappear into her subconscious, her eyes only on her target... her madness narrowing to a single thought... kill. Overhead, the crows began to circle, cawing, their connection with their mistress lost, as her mind finally snapped. Misa licked her lips, hungry for blood, as she moved forward for the kill, with nothing but her claws.

SHWIP.

She stopped, confused, a strange feeling of emptiness overtaking her now rabid mind. Her back felt... wet... and there was the strangest sensation of peace filling in the emptiness now. Her mind was lost, but she knew this feeling – she had been defeated. All her life she had prepared for this moment – whether it was by her father, her overlord, or her enemy – so even madness couldn't take that knowledge from her. She smiled, true happiness causing her face to relax, and let her beauty shine through one last time. Her eyes burned, and she felt hot tears trickle down her cheeks, as she fought to keep her final composure. "A..Hah.." She gasped a laughing sob, as time slowed for her, and she fell to her knees in the silence. Turning her head to the sky, she watched the clouds pass overhead, her mind clearing of the anger and hatred she felt for these people, and wishing she could have spent just one day enjoying her life, rather than fighting for it. Her breathes became short and sharp, breaking into gasping sobs, as she finally let go, and slumped to the ground.

Bella lowered the ornate golden sword she had picked up, Misa's blood dripping down its blade. Sanzo eyed her cautiously, noting her shaking hands and tense posture. The moment Suki had been touched, something had changed about Bella's aura - it was almost visible. Before Sanzo could identify it, she had sprinted forward for the discarded sword, and in one leap, slashed straight down Misa's spine, effectively ending her rampage. He was more than pleased when that strange aura had disappeared from around the blonde girl – it had been strangely uncomfortable, and yet, at the same time – extremely familiar...

Bella dropped the sword, heading straight to Suki's side, Goku joining her, as they asked if she was alright. Confirming her health, Bella left her Goku's care as she went to check on Tryst and Gojyo, seeing as Sanzo was already headed to Hakkai and a very worried Daja. Tryst was groaning in complaint of her treatment, and heaved herself up off her elbows to see what had broken her fall. Gojyo lay beneath her, head spinning as he tried to guess if he was still conscious or not, seeing as how a very dazed looking Tryst was straddling his thighs. He grinned lopsidedly, his balance way off, as he attempted to become stone. In more than one sense of the word.

Tryst place her hands in front of her, feeling hard muscle under them , rather than the expected ground. With a surprised jerk, she realised her position, and found herself staring straight into Gojyo's laughing crimson eyes. Tryst huffed, she truly couldn't care anymore, and sat there in exhaustion as Bella came to help her up. Gojyo pouted, bruised and beaten, yet happy that Tryst had chosen to wait on him for just that little bit longer.

Stepping over to the huddled forms of Daja and Sanzo, Bella stood to the side, watching what she assumed was a foul mixture of crow blood and feathers trickling past her feet, her fear for Hakkai's well being overriding her sense of disgust. She sighed in relief as she heard the unforgettably haunting melody drift across the road – Daja had started healing. Walking back to the car, which was still parked in the road, she opened the door and slumped into the front seat, eyes closed and her hanging out.

Goku had been watching Suki anxiously, looking for any sign of hurt or distress. The girl merely gave him a trembling smile, causing him to place his arms gently around her, hugging her close in obvious relief. Tryst eyed the couple from her place beside Gojyo, her lips curved in an indulgent grin, as the kappa gaped in disbelief. "How... saru... wha?" He sputtered, Tryst giggled and elbowed him lightly, to which he looked at her suspiciously. "How come I am always the last one to know?" He pouted. The muse just shook her head, and stepped closer to Daja, feeling her cuts tingle as they sealed.

Daja herself was crying as she sung, her song wavering between powerful healing magic and something else – something alien. Hakkai twitched under her care, the large gash across his shoulder blades knitting together slowly. He stayed flat on his stomach, arms crossed under his head, in the same position he fell, so as not to reopen his healing wound. Sanzo watched the display with a closed expression, seemingly unruffled. Underneath the mask, he was becoming more and more impressed by Daja's power – the girl had quickly topped his list as the most useful of the four muses, even if she was the most emotional of the group. Hakkai sighed in relief as his skin finally healed over and Daja placed her hands on it, feeling for any trace of hidden injury she might have missed.

Her hands traced the firm muscles of his back, her fingers tracing over old scars, and even older memories. She suddenly flushed crimson as she realised she had been touching Hakkai more for her own pleasure than anything else, and she quickly retracted her hands as though his skin had burned her. Hakkai sighed again, already missing the feeling of those soft hands delicately tracing across his back. He pushed himself off the ground and up to a standing position, without even a pulled muscle or strained tendon – the girls' power was truly amazing. While as she had healed Hakkai (and everyone else who had heard her song), even some of the not-quite-dead-yet crows had launched themselves off the ground and joined their brethren as the murder descended to feast of the mountain of human corpses.

Sanzo and Daja both raised themselves off the ground and headed to their separate cars without a word. Daja, because she was till red with embarrassment, and Sanzo because... well... he was Sanzo. Tryst sighed in unison with Gojyo, as they too headed towards their rides, Gojyo shooting Tryst a disappointed look, like a puppy that missed out on dinner. Bella whistled sharply at Suki, from her seat, causing a large number of the crows to lea in fright, then gradually resettle. Goku let go if Suki reluctantly, yet again. Suki dropped her hands, and smiled at the monkey ruefully, her plait whipping around as she spun on her heal and trotted back to the bug, Goku returning to the Jeep.

With almost everyone settled, Daja keyed the ignition, ready to get started, although, still not knowing how they were going to get around the mountain of bodies. Hakkai walked slowly up to the driver's side of the bug. Placing both hands on his thighs, he bowed to Daja, who blushed furiously at his gallant gesture. The other girls pretended to ignore this, hoping the girl would say something charming in return.

"So, how are we gonna move all the bodies?" Gojyo's voice rang out, perfectly spoiling the moment. Tryst choked as Suki tittered in quiet laughter, the mood having finally been broken by the 'ever so eloquent' water sprite. Bella raised a hand to cover her smile, and even Hakkai, raising from his bow, seemed lightly amused. Daja's cheeks were still flying red flags, as she chorused the kappa. "Yeah, we can't just leave them here." She said quietly. Hakkai raised his eyebrows, "Of course we can't." He replied, as he strode towards the mountain, cracking his fingers, "So I will dispose of them." Cupping his hands at the wrist, Hakkai closed hi eyes in concentration, as he called in an incredibly large Chi energy ball. Releasing it in a blasting wave, he managed to disintegrate almost all of the bodies, leaving only mere fragments behind, and a clear road ahead.

Walking back to his ride, he jumped in the driver's seat, jeep already purring in anticipation of getting out of the haunted woods. The cars sped off the mark, the Bug following as usual, as they headed as always, westward. "We lost some time with that incident back there," Hakkai said to Sanzo, his voice carrying easily on the rushing wind, "So, I don't think we'll make that town until tomorrow. We'll have to camp it tonight." His voice was calm, but Sanzo knew the man well enough by now to know that he wasn't happy about that plan. The monk grunted in agreement, and they drove for another few hours, eventually stopping at the edge of the woods, and quietly bedding down for the night.

***

Kougaiji landed on the lowest tree branch, his nose crinkling at the smell of human blood, gun powder and carrion. Beside him, Lirin bounced impatiently, only staying quiet due to the large meat bun hanging out of her mouth. The demon prince jumped to the ground, examining the remnants of the human bodies. Uncovering the crystal at his neck from its black cloth cover that he had devised, the Youkai man stepped toward what appeared to be the only remaining complete body, however, it was a good 15 feet away from the other pieces. Rolling it over with his foot, he let out a grunt of recognition when he saw Misa's face. He sighed. So she had failed, and paid the price with her life. Just like so many others. His anger at Gyokumen Koshou boiled, and he thrust the crystal forward so she could see what had become of her precious fukutaisho.

Kougaiji gave up, knowing there was nothing he could do. Without a word, he gathered Lirin who was still munching on her meat bun, and disappeared in a whirl of flames, planning to be ahead of the Sanzo Ikkou, when they reached their next target.

***

"Oh, so she failed. How... unfortunate." The self proclaimed queen of the youkai murmured to herself as she saw the unmoving body in the road, through the mirror in her crystal. "Oh dear. Such a waste. Well, I guess we'll have to rely on the contingency plan, won't we, my darling?" She asked, her face turning the question to the great stone encased demon behind her. She smiled meaninglessly in the silence. Soon, she thought. Soon.

***

Light. Bright, unforgiving HARSH, light. Pain. Pain all over. A thousand hot knives, stabbing a thousand and one times. Air. Breathe. Life. She was alive.

Misa gasped as air filled her lungs, her mind registering her most basic senses first. Light, air, pain. She heaved herself up, screeching out a terrifying cry of agony as she felt her lightly healed back muscles re-tear. She lay back panting, the pain settling into a dull throb. Wait... healing? Who had healed her? The last thing she remembered was... darkness... and an ethereal melody – she thought it was an angel of mercy, calling her to heaven. She lay back silently, her mind churning as she tried to collate all her thoughts into a decisive plan about what she should do next.

She smiled contemptuously. She knew what to do. She still had a mission, and the fact that she was still alive meant that mission had not failed yet. She would wait a day, gathering her strength and the remainder or her crows, now that her mind was her own again, and then she would set out on one final attempt to kill the Sanzo Ikkou, starting with those girls...

Misa lay back on the road, content in her scheming, and waited for her strength to return to her.

***

END CHAPTER 14