Hi again! I'm back with another chapter!

I want to thank the reviewers who reviewed this story and I'll promise to do my best with this one. I just LOVE Saiyuki and I hope this story could live up to the manga!

Thanks again and enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Saiyuki or its sequels or prequels. I suck at drawing (but am exceptional at writing) so don't even think that the amazing Sanzo-ikkou belong to me! I only own Suzume, Yuki, Aoi, and Kasumi! And the story idea!

Culture Shock

Chapter 2: Enter, The Sanzo-ikkou!

Yuki stared the man wielding the gun in shock. She even dared the shift her body to look at his face clearer.

The young (?) man wore the robes of a monk and a chakra mark on his forehead but that was the only thing that told her that he was a holy man. His blonde hair wasn't shaven like the usual monks and he had a cigarette in his mouth too. Yuki could also smell meat in his breath. He ate that for dinner maybe? Whatever it was, he wasn't the usual priest.

But his face…

"What do you want, annoying brat? Can't you see that I'm busy? Go play with your Ane-ue and leave me alone."

…His face looked so familiar, too familiar.

The Sanzo priest looked at the shocked girl in annoyance. "Well?" He asked impatiently, "Who sent you here?"

Yuki shook her head to clear her head. Now wasn't the time to mourn about the past. She needed to get this mission over as quickly as possible so she could get her friends back home. "Oi, Fake Monk, are you the Sanzo that Baa-san sent us to help?" She asked in Chinese.

A tick mark appeared on the blonde's cheek and her adjusted the gun. "So you really want to die that badly, Brat. Show some respect to your elders."

"Get away from Yuki, you bastard! She's just a kid!" Kasumi yelled angrily in Japanese.

Aoi glared at the monk, "Don't you think pulling a dangerous weapon on a kid is just a bit too extreme?"

Sanzo hesitated for a second, mostly because he didn't understand a word that the two said. The only thing that he got from their gibberish was that they were pissed as hell. Suzume spoke up but in Chinese. "I apologize if we startled you but we truly mean no harm, Sanzo-sama. A Goddess had sent us here against our will."

Sanzo looked down to where she lay. For one crazy moment, he thought that he met this woman before. Of course, being Sanzo, he crushed the thought the moment it came into his head.

"Yeah," Yuki agreed, "The Old Hag sent us flying here from Japan and dumped all of our asses in China. She also told us that we would be stuck with you until we finish her assignment."

Just by looking at Sanzo's expression told the four that he despised the whole arrangement and that he wanted to blast their heads off then and there so he wouldn't have to deal with them.

"Sanzo, what's going on? Did you find the source of the strange crashing sound?" A soft voice spoke from the darkness. A blinding light filled the space, making both Suzume and Aoi wince. Kasumi only curled into a ball again. "Oh! I'm sorry!" The light immediately dimmed.

Suzume blinked quickly and looked at the soft-spoken person. He, like her, had brown hair but also had green eyes, which she herself didn't have. He wore a…monocle (that's what it was called, right?) on his right eye. He looked about the same age as the monk and appeared to be some scholar of some sorts in Suzume's opinion. He gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that, I needed to see so I made Jeep turn his headlights on. Bright, isn't it?"

"This is the exact reason why I despise technology of all shapes and sizes. They end up bring more trouble that help." Yuki grouched while rubbing her eyes. When her eyes focused, she stared in shock at the green-eyed man.

"Yare, yare, little Yuki. I know you love reading my book collection but your tutor will kill me if she finds you here again."

"Sanzo! Why are you pointing a gun at her? She's just a child!" The man scolded the priest. The blonde reluctantly lowered his gun from Yuki's forehead but kept eyeing the four suspiciously. The man knelt down to Yuki's level and checked her. "You okay, kid?"

"Tch, she was fine before you came."

Sanzo's voice brought Yuki back to reality. Her gaze hardened and she moved away from the brown haired man. "He's right. I'm fine so don't trouble yourself over a stranger."

"Don't be so rude, Yuki." Suzume scolded in a hushed voice. In a louder tone, she said, "Thank you for your kindness. Don't mind Yuki, she's usually wary of strangers."

Aoi finally got that the people around her was speaking in Chinese and switched languages. "Who are you?"

"Oh," The man blinked in surprise when Aoi spoke and smiled, "Excuse my rudeness, my name is Hakkai and the grouchy monk over there is Sanzo."

Aoi pointed at herself. "My name is Aoi." Then she pointed at the curled up hanyou, "And the curled up fluff ball is my friend, Kasumi."

Kasumi, hearing her name, peeked from her little ball and muttered a quick, "Hello." before curling up again. Hakkai looked at the curled up ball of a hanyou in shock and looked at Aoi for an explanation. Aoi patted the orange haired girl on the head. "She does this when she's shocked but she'll stop after a while."

Hakkai sweatdropped. "I…see."

"Hey Hakkai! Fake Monk! What's taking you two so long?"

The new voice put both Yuki and Aoi back on edge but Hakkai lifted up a soothing hand. "Don't worry, he's with us. Though I must warn you girls that he-

"Well, well, what do we have here?" The voice suddenly lost its rough edge and became seductive. Yuki wrinkled her nose in disgust. She hated those types of people. She moved in front of her three friends protectively. When the person came into the light, Yuki flinched at the sight of his face. He was tall and his clothing had a roughish style to it. His hair and eyes were red. His left cheekbone had two slightly curving scars.

But that smirk…

"You're improving, kid! I bet you'll become one hell of a warrior and a woman when you grow up. Just like your Combat Instructor."

"What is a bunch of beautiful women doing in the middle of nowhere, hmmm?"

"We were dumped into this hellhole by the Goddess of Mercy, whatsit to you?" Yuki snapped rudely. "And don't even think about hitting on us you pervert!"

The red head looked at Yuki as if she had just popped out of nowhere and sighed. "Great, there's another Brat and a rude one at that. Don't worry. I don't go after little kids. I prefer real women."

"When I said us, I meant all of us so hands off you cockroach!"

Aoi sarcastically cheered. "Hear, hear."

Yuki began to have a sinking feeling that ate at her stomach. There were too many familiar faces in one spot. This was too perfect to be a coincidence. Damn that Kanzeon, so this was the main reason why she had sent all four of them here!

But if those three were here then-

"What's taking you so long, Gojyo? I'm hungry!"

Yuki now understood what it meant to have "one's heart to stop in shock" or for "one's breath to be caught at the throat" because that was exactly what happened when the fourth person came into her line of sight. The boy looked like the youngest of the group and was visibly shorter than the rest. His hair had a lighter shade of brown and he had a golden diadem around his forehead.

He also had gold eyes.

"Huh, who're they, Sanzo?"

"They're young women who had the misfortune of meeting the Goddess of Mercy. The crazy old hag sent them here to us, thinking that we needed their help." Sanzo answered as he sauntered up to the car. The boy turned to look at the injured four. "Hey Sanzo, they look kinda hurt. Don't you think we should help them?"

"No."

"But Sanzo! We can't just leave them here!" The boy complained.

Gojyo nodded, "For once, I agree with the Baka-Saru. We can't just leave these women and brat all alone to fend for themselves!"

"It's also not their fault that they ended up here in the first place. Kanzeon Bosatsu sent them here to aid us." Hakkai added. "Maybe it isn't such a bad idea to take them along with us just in case the goddess is right about the barrier."

"Just leave them here and the goddess just might be merciful enough to send them back to where ever they came from."

Suzume added out of the blue, "Or, she might send us where you four will next stop for a break and will keep doing so until you let us help."

Sanzo shot a dirty look at her to which she innocently shrugged. "I'm merely stating the truth. In all honesty, I would love nothing more than to go back home but I also have a feeling that the Goddess would be the type to do exactly what I said."

There was a long moment of silence as Sanzo and Suzume had their own little staring contest. Well, it was more one-sided for Suzume was only calmly staring back patiently while Sanzo was giving her death daggers.

"…Fine."

The boy jumped up and whooped. "Yeah!"

Hakkai knelt down and helped Suzume up while offering Aoi his free hand. "Need some help?" Aoi rejected his offer with a smirk. "Nah, I think I'll be fine on my own. I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself just fine." To prove her point, she stumbled up to her feet and walked to the jeep with shaky legs on her own.

Gojyo scooped the curled up form of Kasumi up from the ground and looked at her strangely. "What happened to make her like this?"

"She's shocked." Aoi explained the second time. "She's afraid of heights and the fall from the sky was just too much for her. She'll be back to normal, happy self once the shock wears off." Aoi assured the red head.

The boy noticed Yuki sitting alone, staring at him. He hopped over to where she was sitting and offered her his hand and smiled warmly at her. "Hi! My name is Son Goku! I guess we'll be traveling together so let's be good friends!"

"My name is Goku, Son Goku!"

"Goku…"

His appearance hardly changed. Despite of the fact that he grew a little, but aside from that, he hasn't changed a bit. For years, she had feared that when she met him again he would be different. That he would never have that smile on him again.

"Yeah? What's wrong…um, what's your name again?"

Yuki's eyes widened in shock before dimming dramatically and she covered her eyes with one hand. So it was true…

Goku forgot.

Yuki knew that she should feel happy that he didn't remember anything in the past. It was something that tore him into pieces and he looked so much happier not remembering but now she…

She felt so lonely.

Yuki wanted to cry or scream but all that came out of her mouth was a weak chuckle that caught the attention of her three companions. Even Kasumi looked up from her curled up form. Her chuckle grew into uncontrollable laughter.

"Huh? What's so funny?" Goku asked curiously.

"No," Yuki said after she recovered from her laughing, "it's just that you reminded me of someone I used to know along, long time ago."

Goku blinked before nodding. "Oh, was that person really important to you?"

Yuki fell silent before poking him on the cheek.

Goku blinked in confusion. "Uh…"

"My name is Yuki and yeah, I hope we can be good friends too, Son Goku." Yuki interrupted him while stumbling up to her feet. Like before, she swayed after taking a step. Goku caught her out of instinct as she fell. "Damn, I hate it when I'm weak. That dumb goddess doesn't know the meaning of being gentle, does she? The next time I see her, I'll rip her face off with my nails."

Goku laughed at her comment. "Yeah, you do that."

"Goku…" Yuki stated in a distant voice as she began to lose consciousness, "Don't leave me alone again-ne? I was so lonely…"

Goku watched with a puzzled expression as the strange silver-haired girl spoke in a strange language. Then, she suddenly fell asleep in his arms. Not knowing what to do, he just lifted her up like how a groom would lift his bride and carried her into the jeep.

…What an awkward comparison.

Kasumi looked at the red haired man strangely as she sat on his lap.

The jeep was driving smoothly. In no time, they were already covering more ground than she would by foot. The sun was starting to rise from the east. She had never seen anything like it before. Hakkai had explained to her that the 'jeep' was really a dragon named Hakuryuu. Kasumi really didn't get how a dragon could willingly turn itself into an iron thing and let people ride on it like a horse. Weren't they proud beings? This is so confusing.

"Ah…" Kasumi said awkwardly, gaining Gojyo's (was it?) attention. He was smoking a cigarette. Kasumi with her sensitive nose really didn't like the smell of it but didn't complain. He helped her a little, didn't he? Gojyo smirked in her direction but not in a mean way. "What's the matter, sweetheart? Need something?"

The way he said it sounded strange. No man had ever spoken that way to her before. She's been to China before but only at the far eastern part of it, never this far. How different was this country compared to her own? If this was back in Japan, the man would've kicked her or spit at her feet.

Kasumi was usually a confident person, but when she was out of her environment, she needed a little time to adapt like most animals. She hadn't shown this side of herself to anyone in a while. The war and taking care of the Hanyou Children developed the Kasumi she was before. Acting nervous and weak was something that she didn't do normally. Dumping her into a foreign place did the trick.

"Can I ask…why you're touching me?"

Gojyo blinked in surprise before regaining his flirtatious smirk, taking the statement in the wrong way. "Sweetheart, I'm hardly touching you. But if you really want me to touch you that badly…" he trailed off suggestively.

Kasumi blinked in confusion. "Eh?"

Being a Hanyou, no man had ever hit on her so Kasumi was unfamiliar with innuendoes and whatnot. Aoi, in the other hand, was not. From her seat next to Goku, she gritted out. "Hey! Keep your dirty paws off of my buddy! She's in a fragile state so don't take advantage of it!"

Sanzo flinched and attempted to ignore the blue haired girl.

"What's wrong, Aoi? What did he mean by that?" The orange haired girl asked. Aoi sweatdropped. "So like you to completely miss such an obvious thing like that. That guy wants you in his bed."

Kasumi quirked her head to the side, "You mean he can't sleep alone?" She turned to face Gojyo, "Are you afraid of sleeping alone?"

Gojyo smiled slyly. "Yeah, you can say that."

Aoi slapped her forehead. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean Aoi?" Kasumi asked with genuine interest.

Aoi opened her mouth and closed it like a fish before shaking her head. There was no way she was going to talk about 'the birds and the bees' to Kasumi in front of a bunch of guys. She could do that later in a more…private place. "Never mind. Forget what I said."

Kasumi turned back to Gojyo to see him looking at them in amusement. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just that you're cute." He said. Kasumi flinched in surprise. Cute?

Someone said something like that before but that was such a long time ago. When was the last time she heard someone, aside form her group of friends, say something nice to her?

Aoi rolled her eyes. "He's complementing your looks."

Kasumi hated how being in a different environment made her so vulnerable and so clueless. She really hoped that she would get used to it soon. Kasumi pouted and crossed her arms childishly. "I know that, but why are you being so nice to me?" She directed the end of her sentence to Gojyo. He shrugged, "I'm nice to all pretty females."

"And that's becomes a burden." Hakkai stated from his driver's seat.

Kasumi couldn't help but laugh when Gojyo got riled up by that comment. Her animal-like ears perked up. Goku jumped in surprise. "Whoa! What are those on you head?"

Gojyo almost choked on his cigarette when he saw her ears. "What the-?"

The commotion in the back forced Hakkai to stop the jeep. The jeep squacked in complaint. "Sorry Hakuryuu!"

Kasumi stumbled out of the jeep.

Click

"Do you two really want bullets shoved into your skulls? I can really do that for you." Sanzo growled while pointing his gun at Goku and Gojyo's direction. Both shook their heads. "No thanks."

Hakkai walked over to where Kasumi self-consciously slapped her hands over her ears. "Hey, are you okay?"

Kasumi shook her head and scooted away from the chi user. Now she knew why they were so nice to her. They didn't even know she had those cursed ears. She didn't want to see the disgusted looks from them. For some reason, their opinions mattered a lot to her. She also didn't want to hear them voice that they didn't want to travel with a half-breed.

"Freak! I can't believe there's such a thing in this world!"

"Hanyou! Just go and die!"

"Keep away from me! Those things on your head are such an eyesore."

"Kasumi, they're only surprised. There's no need to be afraid." Suzume told her soothingly from her seat in the jeep. "It's different here, that's all. This is probably the very first time they ever saw anything like you."

"Yeah," Goku agreed, "Can we see them, Kasumi? I wanna see them again."

Hesitantly, Kasumi slowly lowered her hands and revealed her fox ears. Goku tentatively reached out his hand and looked at her for permission. "Can I?"

Kasumi nodded. "Just don't pull too hard please. It hurts."

Goku made sure to be gentle as he touched her ears. Kasumi's ears twitched a little when he pulled at them but she kept still. He stroked them as if they belonged to some small animal. The golden-eyed boy smiled in childish glee, "They're so soft! And warm, too!"

"…Really?"

Goku nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh, I like them!"

Kasumi smiled brightly, matching Goku's.

Something flashed through Gojyo's eyes that only Aoi caught but, before she could specify what emotion it was, it was gone. Gojyo casually strolled over to Kasumi's side and touched her other ear, catching her by surprise. "Huh, you're right. They really are soft and warm."

The way he touched her ear was a bit different than how Goku did it. Kasumi couldn't put her finger on it, but it felt much nicer. Without even realizing it, she began to purr like a content cat. Gojyo smiled to himself rather proudly for causing her to make those noises.

Realizing that she was making that sort of sound, she slapped both of her hands over her mouth.

Goku began to laugh. "Wow! You can sound like cat too! You're so cool! Do all youkai in Japan look like you?"

"No," Kasumi replied quietly, "And I'm not a youkai, I'm a hanyou. I'm not sure what the hanyou here look like, but the hanyou in Japan gain some part of their youkai parent's true form. If the parent were a bat hanyou, the child would have wings and strange-colored hair. If the parent were a spider youkai, the child would be able to spin invisible thread and so forth."

Aoi nodded in agreement. "Kasumi here is a fox hanyou if you hadn't guessed. Look," Aoi pulled something from Kasumi's back, "she even has a cute tail to match with her ears if you don't believe me."

Kasumi squeaked in embarrassment. "Aoi! Stop that! My tail is creepy!"

As she said this, her tail moved back and forth in an agitated manner.

"Nah," She heard Gojyo say and heard him kneel down beside her, "It's not creepy. It's just something extra that makes you look even cuter." He patted her head. "You don't have to hide them from us. There's nothing about your ears and tail to be ashamed of."

At his words, Kasumi immediately brightened and she gave him an overjoyed grin.

"Yeah, you're right!"

Suzume moved Yuki (who was still sleeping even after all that ruckus, mind you) into a much more comfortable position and strode toward the hanyou and knelt by her side with a deadpan expression. "Kasumi…you do know that he's like you, right?"

Kasumi blinked. "Wha-? Really? Is that true?" She asked Gojyo excitedly. He nodded self-importantly before he was tackled into an over exuberant hug. "Whoa there, I didn't know that you wanted me that badly! You could've just said-

"This is great! I have a new older brother!" Kasumi crowed happily, interrupting whatever perverted thing the water kappa had to say. For the second time in a day, the cigarette fell out of his shocked mouth. Kasumi gave him another hug before running off to Hakkai to tell him about what she just decided.

Aoi shook her head. "Sorry man, she's completely clueless when it comes to those things so I suggest you to stop trying. She also labeled you her new older brother so please don't disappoint her."

"Older Brother? What-no, how did that happen?" Gojyo asked Aoi incredulously. She shrugged. "It's a hanyou thing back in Japan. Because they're practically shunned by the whole society for their mixed blood, they look out for each other. Even though they're not even remotely blood-related, they think of each other as siblings. It's pretty amazing if you ask me. I've seen it in action, their bond and trust for each other."

As she said this, Aoi's eyes became a bit distant.

"But I don't want to be her older brother!"

Aoi sighed and shook her head. "Poor, poor Kasumi. She's so homesick that she's even making a perverted, good-for-nothing, water sprite her older brother. The kindness in her heart has no bounds but alas! The shameless guy has the gal to throw away her kindness like trash because of his selfish needs! What a pitiful girl my best friend is to entrust her precious memories to a guy like him!" At this, Aoi wiped away a tear with an embroidered handkerchief that she got out of nowhere.

Gojyo rubbed the back of his neck. Shit, this woman was making him feel guilty. "Yeah, yeah, fine. I hear ya. I'll be her older brother or whatever."

"You sound as if you had a choice." Aoi said flatly, going back to normal. "And this means you can't take advantage of her innocence."

"Shouldn't you be worried about yourself?" Gojyo asked, both amused and annoyed at the same time by her attitude.

"Nope. I've met my fair share of your type and worse. I think I can handle myself just fine. I'm not worried about Yuki or Suzume, either."

"Why's that?"

Aoi gave him a look. "Unless you're a pedophile, which I hope you're not, I don't really think you'll be pursuing her. Suzume is - how can I say it in a way you can understand? - She's like a female version of your monks so she can't taint her body, much less bother with someone like you."

"So you're all hands off then." Gojyo concluded.

Aoi smirked, "Unless some of us are willing, yes we are."

Aoi laughed at the kappa's hopeful look and added,

"But don't hold your breath."

When Yuki woke up, she was in a jeep and the sun was setting. For once, the sun didn't bother waking her up with its annoying rays. It allowed her to sleep as if it knew what she was going through.

Or maybe this sun was a completely different sun all together.

"Awake brat?"

Yuki lazily turned her head to the side and blinked dully at the cranky Sanzo priest sitting at her right. "I think I am. Or maybe I'm still dreaming. I mean, what priest or monk in their right mind smokes?" Yeah, it sounds like something she would dream up. A badass monk who resembles a person she used to know.

"Well that's Sanzo for you." Another man, that she thought looked like scholar, stated cheerfully. "It's nice to see you up-Yuki, right?"

"Shouldn't you know my name?" Yuki thought the people in her dreams always knew her name. She inspected the man critically and noticed that he had piercings in one ear. "Hn, pretty tacky for a dream. Do I really have that big of an imagination to think up a goody-goody with piercings?"

Yuki felt her cheek being pinched really hard. "Now, now, don't be rude. They saved us remember? Show your manners."

"Suzume? Oh, so I'm not dreaming." Yuki stated dully, pushing away her hand irritably. She dipped her head at the nice man's way. "Gomen, I thought you were a figment of my imagination."

The man laughed, "No harm done. My name is Cho Hakkai." To Suzume he said, "She's just a child. There's no need to scold her that harshly."

"I'm more than five hundred years old, what the hell are you saying?" Yuki asked incredulously.

Suzume, Aoi, and even Kasumi slapped their hands over the young girl's. "Ha, ha, you know little kids. They're always thinking that they're gazillion years old!" Aoi said while laughing nervously.

Yuki forced all three pairs of hands away from her mouth and growled angrily at all of them. "FINE! I'll stop 'kidding around'. Gomen again, Hakkai."

Hakkai smiled at Yuki and ruffled her head with one hand while keeping the other on the steering wheel. Yuki glared at him but didn't push his hand away. "No harm done, Little One."

"I'm NOT little!" Yuki gritted out.

"Ah, should I call you Little Yuki instead?" Hakkai suggested jokingly. Aoi blinked in surprise when Yuki didn't tackle the monocle-wearing man for calling her little yet again. Yuki crossed her arms and said in a smaller voice, "That sounds okay."

Aoi gawked at the sight. "Yuki…are you okay, kid? Did that fall do something to your head or something?"

Yuki stuck her tongue out at Aoi. "Shut up, Ba-Aoi. I'm tired."

"Already? You just woke up!"

"…"

"She's asleep, isn't she?" Aoi stated aloud. A soft snore answered her question. Goku covered his mouth to stifle a laugh. Aoi, in turn, glared jokingly at the monkey boy. "What'cha laughing at?"

"Nothing," Goku stated innocently. Then, he stated with his usual (to the Sanzo-ikkou, not the foursome), "I'm hungry!"

Gojyo glared distastefully at him. "Can't you not think about your stomach for once, you stupid monkey?"

"Shut up, you perverted Kappa! I hardly ate the last time!" Goku complained.

"Oh, suck it up!"

"Make me!"

Aoi and Kasumi, in the other hand, looked at each other and then at Goku in horror. "Kami, you poor, poor boy! Don't worry! Aoi has a bunch of snacks in her bag!" Aoi was currently rummaging in her bag and produced three peaches, two plums, five dango sticks, and a bag of sweets. "This is all I have. I would've gotten more if it weren't for the youkai attack in the village I stopped by."

Goku's eyes brightened immensely when Kasumi handed him the treats. "Wow! These look so yummy! Thanks!"

Kasumi and Aoi patted the boy's head as he munched on the plums. "Try to be patient until we stop by the next town and we'll get you more food." Kasumi comforted the content Goku.

"I wonder if they take Japanese currency here." Aoi wondered to herself.

"Stop it, you'll spoil him." Sanzo snarled from his seat. Yuki began to stir, making the three freeze from what they were doing. Aoi shushed the Sanzo priest. "Are you suicidal?" She hissed quietly. "DO NOT wake Yuki up in her naps. NEVER!"

Kasumi nodded in agreement. "She's scary when someone wakes her up."

"But she seemed fine when she woke up a few minutes ago." Hakkai stated in his normal volume and was shushed by a panicked Kasumi. Aoi shook her head. "That's not the same! She passed out so the sleeping wasn't intentional. She's sleeping now."

Yuki, by now, was back to her peaceful slumber state and the three relaxed. "Thank Kami, that was a close one!" Kasumi sighed in relief and wiped her forehead from the sweat that gathered there. "I thought we were all going to die!"

Just as she said this, Hakkai stepped on the breaks abruptly, almost throwing a surprised Kasumi off if it weren't for Gojyo catching her. She regained her balance and flashed the red-eyed hanyou a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"No problem, sweetheart."

Yuki shifted and groaned but didn't wake.

Aoi looked at the obstacle that caused the car to stop and jerked back in surprise. "A youkai hoard grouping up on us? Now why does this sight look familiar?" She muttered to herself sarcastically. Suzume agreed grimly while taking out her bow.

One youkai (possibly the leader) stepped forward and stared pointedly at the sutra on Sanzo's shoulders. "We're here for the sutra, Monk."

Sanzo pulled out the gun he pointed at Yuki earlier, while the others took out their own weapons.

Aoi slapped her forehead. "You stopped the jeep, while almost waking Yuki up, for a piece of paper with gibberish on it? What's wrong with you youkai?"

"This isn't Japan." Suzume reminded Aoi, "It may be that the youkai here aren't as intelligent despite of their ability to remain in a humanoid form and to speak."

"So they're all talk and no brain." Aoi scoffed, "Just like the idiots that tried to take over our turf years ago."

"Idiots taking over your turf?" Hakkai repeated curiously.

Suzume nodded, "Years ago, youkai and humans from your country invaded our land. They completely threw everything off balance and destroyed…well, almost everything that they found." Suzume discreetly glanced at Aoi as she said this.

"Ya wanna know what happened to those youkai when they messed with us?" Aoi offered to the youkai in front of her cheerfully.

Those youkai didn't even have a chance to reply to that question.

Blood suddenly spurted from the mouths of the youkai before they fell apart like chopped up fruit.

Their attacker kept her cold eyes focused onto the ground as her victims fell. Her eyes looked almost animal-like, feral. This act seemed so out-of-character to the Sanzo-ikkou that even the cranky monk himself couldn't help but blink in surprise.

"Aw, c'mon Kasumi! Couldn't you have left me at least one?" Aoi complained as Kasumi, who had sliced up the youkai within a few seconds, flicked her blade clean of the blood before sheathing it. She gave her friend a sheepish smile. "Sorry! I forgot that these youkai are soft skinned unlike the youkai back home."

Aoi glanced back at the jeep and laughed at the surprised looks on her new companions' faces. "What? You all thought Kasumi was helpless? Well think again! She's tougher than she looks!"

Goku stared at the chopped up youkai and grinned like a child who found a new, cool toy. "Awesome! Kasumi, you're really strong! You wanna spar with me sometime?"

Kasumi shrugged and grinned back. "Maybe."

It wasn't a yes, but Goku cheered anyways.

After a little bit more driving, they stopped for the night to camp. Poor Hakuryuu was too tired to move anymore. The women, minus Yuki who was still sleeping, left to bathe in the river nearby.

Kasumi yelped at the sharp, cold feeling that traveled through her nerves as the water touched her skin. "It's so cold!"

Aoi shivered in the water but forced herself to dunk her whole body in. "Just keep moving and it'll get better."

"Doesn't this remind you of the old days?" Suzume asked as she walked into the water calmly. She still hadn't stopped traveling far from towns during her years as a traveling shrine maiden after the war. She didn't have the luxury of a bath despite of her respected status. "We used to bathe like this in even colder waters."

Aoi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, don't remind me. I think the water was partially frozen then and we weren't in it to take a bath."

"Were we fighting youkai or running away from the soldiers?" Kasumi wondered aloud. "I don't remember."

"I think both." Suzume murmured while attempting to probe into the memories of the past.

"Yeah and Yuki had to pull us all out, remember?" Kasumi grinned at the memory. "She was so mad and she beat us all up for it too!"

"You make it sound as if it was a good thing." Aoi muttered as she washed the dry blood from her blue hair. Her hair was long enough to cover her breasts, but the beautiful lotus flower above them were as clear as day. No amount of hair could cover that.

Kasumi admired the floral mark on her friend's chest. "I always thought that lotus was beautiful."

"Yeah, pretty annoying you mean." Aoi told her bitterly. "This thing brought me nothing but trouble ever since I came into this world. You probably one of the few people who would call this thing beautiful."

"I also think it's beautiful, Aoi." Suzume reminded her as she helped Kasumi with a tangle.

Aoi waved her friend's comment away. "Few," she reminded her, "One of the very few."

"I bet a guy will tell you that it's pretty one day." Kasumi said confidently. Aoi rolled her eyes. "He would have to see me half-naked for that to happen!"

Kasumi shrugged and dumped her head into the water. A couple of seconds later, she resurfaced and took a greedy breath. Aoi eyed her buddy critically. "Why do you always do that? You know that something creepy would grab you by the leg someday and drag you under someday. And I wouldn't know that until it's too late."

"I guess it makes me appreciate the air more." Kasumi stated after much thought. "Better to make every breath your purpose in life than relying on a dead person's promise or some petty revenge to keep you going."

Aoi's face became thoughtful. "You don't say?"

"Yeah, doesn't it sound strange? My sensei told me that. I don't remember when, though. It seems that I'm forgetting a lot of things since I was dumped here by some other country's Goddess of Love and Mercy."

"Yeah, go figure."

Their moment of thoughtfulness was interrupted by Suzume and had water splashed onto both of their faces. "Don't look so serious." She deadpanned, "It's creeping me out."

This caused the two to break into immature giggles.

Kasumi playfully splashed back at Suzume's face. "Speak for yourself! You're always so serious! Brighten up a little and stop speaking in such a polite way!"

"No." Suzume deadpanned again. This encouraged Aoi to join in on the fun.

They weren't going to get out of the water anytime soon.

"I'm hungry!"

No need to know who said that.

It was just less than a day and the Four Heroes of Japan already discovered that this cry was common for the little monkey boy. Yuki, now finally awake, whacked him over the head with her fan that she always kept within her robes. Poor Goku yelped in pain and nursed his head. "Stop whining or I'll make you stop. Permanently."

The dark aura of annoyance that surrounded Yuki was terrifying. Actually, it was the same one that sent all those bull youkai running for the hills a while back.

Completely forgetting his hunger for once in his life, Goku nodded numbly. "Y-Yes, ma'am."

Hakkai stared at the sight.

A miracle had just happened:

Sanzo didn't have to pull the trigger to stop the racket.

Yuki shoved a handful of branches into Goku's surprised hands. "If you're hungry, help out with the fire. Kasumi, I bet, will come back with something yummy after her long bath and we'll be prepared to cook it the moment she gets here." She said the last part a little more kindly, which isn't that much but it was something.

Goku cheered and helped with setting up the camp. But after he was finished, he became bored and impatient so he decided that making a conversation with the silver haired girl would be more interesting than anything.

Besides, there was something about her that pulled at the edge of his brain.

"So, Yuki right?" Yuki, the way that name rolled off of his tongue felt so familiar. Saying it made his insides warm too.

It felt nice.

Yuki nodded. "Yup."

"What's your favorite food?"

"Apples." Yuki answered immediately.

"Where are you from?" Goku asked randomly.

Yuki answered without hesitation or excitement. "I'm from an island that floats in the middle of an ocean."

Goku nodded sagely. "I see…is it fun there? What's it like there? Do you have a family?"

"No, it's like my personal hell there. It's just a plain island covered with forests, villages, and a hell lot of annoying youkai that knocks down apple stalls. And yes, I have a family or had one," A vision from the past flitted across the young girl's eyes, giving her a painful pang in the gut. They left me a long, long time ago so I live alone."

"So what's having a family like?" Goku asked curiously. "Is it nice?"

"C'mon, Yuki! Let's go sakura watching!"

"Hurry up or I'll leave you."

"I'll carry ya kid, if you weren't so heavy!"

"My, my, isn't it lively?"

"Yeah, you're never lonely when they're there. They always gave me that warm, protected feeling when they're around." Yuki murmured, feeling a pang of nostalgia. Goku watched with slight awe as the harsh and serious expression that resembled a certain monk's melted into a face of a child not much older than him. "But I guess not anymore."

"Yuki! Look! I made a flower necklace for you!"

"Oh…I'm sorry."

WHACK!

"Owwww!" Goku complained while holding his throbbing head. "Why did you do that?"

Yuki stood over him with her fan up. "Don't give me that look of pity! I got over that a long time ago! I'm not a weak little girl like you!"

"Burn!" Gojyo called out unhelpfully from the sidelines. Yuki held her fan up threateningly. That shut him up just fine.

Goku pouted. "I was just trying to help. Besides, what is that fan made out of? Rock? It hurts more than Sanzo's paper one!"

"Iron, you dolt." Yuki growled while snapping it closed. "It was given to me for fighting purposes but it's also useful for keeping idiots in line."

"Oh look, the birth of a mini-Sanzo!" Hakkai stated cheerfully. At this, both Goku and Gojyo paled. "NOOOOOO! ONE'S ENOUGH!"

Click

"You bastards wanna die?"

Seems like the trio found that it was the perfect time to step back into camp. Dripping wet, Kasumi cheerfully held up her catch, which was already chopped up (Kasumi was nice like that). "Lookie! I caught dinner for you all!"

"Shut up!" Sanzo snapped at the hanyou, surprising her into silence. Both Aoi and Gojyo immediately became defensive and got into an argument with the cranky monk while Suzume, Yuki, and Goku huddled around the fire. They cooked the meat as the yelling and gunshots commenced.

Sigh

And Hakkai thought it was going to be quiet for once.

"Kanzeon-sama, are you sure that it's a good idea to send those four there? Especially Lady Yuki?" Jiroushin stressed nervously while looking into the lotus pool. "And why the other three anyways? You lied about needing them to break the barrier! A young goddess alone would be fine enough to break such a weak barrier!"

The Goddess lifted her eyebrows and lifted her finger to her lips. "Shhh, no need to fuss about the boring things right now. This is what makes everything more fun!"

"And tell me, how is this going to be amusing?" Jiroushin asked skeptically.

Kanzeon smirked from where she sat.

"Now, it wouldn't be as amusing as it would be if I told you, would it?"

Like what the Goddess said, It wouldn't be fun to tell!

And here is where I would have to stop the chapter. Sorry! I'll try to be quick on writing the next chapter!

Otaku-sama, out!