Otaku-sama is back with another chapter! I'm so excited about this one 'cause I put a lot of effort on this!

So, without further ado,

The next chapter!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the Saiyuki plot line or the main characters! I own Yuki, Kasumi, Aoi, Suzume, Tomu, The Hanyou Gang, and all the new characters that I'm going to introduce!

Some things that need to be cleared up before you read:

Yuhwa is pronounced: You-hWA

Bi-dam is pronounced: Bee-dAHm (AH as in Ah, I get it!)

Enjoy!

Culture Shock

Chapter 7: New Additions

"So from oldest to youngest are Ikki, Juni, Temari, Sado, Sora and Kiku!" Kasumi introduced the hanyou children to Gojyo and Hakkai. "Guys, say hello!"

"A pleasure to meet you." Ikki, a fifteen-year-old turtle hanyou, greeted politely. Aside from his swamp-colored eyes, he looked the most normal out of the whole hanyou group. He then let out a slow yawn and rubbed his eyes. He lazily turned to Kasumi. "Can I sleep now?"

"Hey strangers!" Juni and Temari, who were both thirteen-year-old raccoon hanyou twins, chorused mischievously. They were identical twins, exact mirrors of each other. They both have raccoon ears sprouting from their black-haired heads and striped tails. Their faces held strange, diamond-like markings on their cheeks. Their blue eyes twinkled cheerfully at Hakkai and Gojyo.

"Yo." Sado, who was a mole hanyou of twelve, stated simply while facing the opposite direction. The twins turned him around so he could repeat his greetings face-to-face. His dirty blonde hair defied gravity, giving him a messy look, not that he didn't look messy already. His face was smudged with dirt and his clothes looked all torn up. He didn't seem to mind about his appearance and clothes at all. His eyes were squinted. The whole picture of this hanyou resembled a mad scientist.

Temari chirped. "Sorry but-

"-Sado is kinda blind!" Juni finished.

Kasumi's brow wrinkled with worry as she looked around. "Hey guys, where's Sora? I thought she was standing here a second ago! Where did she go?"

The whole group shrugged.

While Kasumi was interrogating the others about "Sora", Gojyo and Hakkai stood awkwardly in the sidelines. "A strange bunch, aren't they?" Gojyo commented while lighting a cigarette.

Hakkai laughed. "You would fit in perfectly!"

"Oi…" Gojyo was about to reply when a sound interrupted him, making him drop his cigarette.

"Hello!" A small voice chirped.

Gojyo looked around frantically. "Where-?"

A high-pitched giggle was heard. "Kiku is down here!"

Both Gojyo and Hakkai looked down to see a very short, gray haired girl. Her gray hair was short, reaching only to her chin. Her eyes were pools of dark purple, shades darker than the purple that both Sanzo and Yuki had. Bat-like wings sprouted from her back, contradicting her innocent appearance.

Kiku grinned at the two men while speaking shakily due to her inexperience in speaking the Chinese language. "Kiku wants to be friends! Kiku is…" Kiku looked at her three held up fingers and re-counted them before holding them up. "Four…Three? Um…" She counted again. This time, holding up four fingers she proudly proclaimed "Four!"

While Gojyo and Hakkai were falling for the little four-year-old's charms, Aoi was tying a certain monk up and hung him from a high tree branch. "Get me down here you sullied girl! How dare you tie up a holy monk?"

"Oh, I dare. I dare a lot of things believe it or not."

"Aoi, do you want me to put a gag on the fat man?" An accented voice asked with a sadistic glee. Aoi giggled. "Nah, I'd rather hear him scream. It might attract the youkai. Hmm, I guess that makes him great bait!"

At the mention of youkai, the monk snapped his mouth shut.

Aoi turned to her friend and smiled sincerely. "I thought I wouldn't be seeing you in a while, Yuhwa. How did you get here anyways?"

Kim Yuhwa wasn't one to believe in gods, goddesses, or whatnot but that was only because she only believed in what she saw and touched with her own hands. When she was suddenly sucked away by an enchanted whirlwind, met a busty woman who called herself the goddess of mercy (ha!), and was transported into… the far west of China, was it? She was then totally convinced of the existence of the supernatural beings from above.

She was also convinced that the said supernatural beings were complete jerks.

"Can I gag the fat guy too?" A childish voice piped up innocently.

The monk caught sight of the child who spoke up and recoiled in disgust. "Don't let that hideous thing touch me! It's filthy!"

"Hideous? Thing?" Both the monk and Aoi turned in surprise when they heard the rising shrill in Yuhwa's voice. "It? You dare call him-

"Mom." The child coaxed, placing a calming hand on Yuhwa's shoulder. "It's fine. I'm okay with it so you shouldn't be so ruffled up about it. Besides, you still didn't answer my question. Can I gag him?"

Yuhwa looked down and smiled at her son. It was a relief that she was able to grab him before they were swept away. They could've been easily separated. "Of course you can, Bi-dam! Make sure you shove it down his throat. The annoying sounds that he's making are causing your dear mother's head to hurt."

The child nodded and walked up to Aoi while holding up a dirty rag. "Miss? May I-?"

Aoi nodded while not once letting her eyes off of his face. "…Bi-dam?"

"Yes?" Bi-dam obediently turned to face her as he was stuffing the dirty cloth down the monk's throat at the same time. The monk's face turned an interesting shade of red.

Aoi chose her words carefully. "You…grew since I last saw you. You look different."

"Grew? Look different? Well, that's expected from not seeing me for four years. I was only a baby then." Bi-dam said understandingly. He patted his cheeks. "I lost all my baby fat too!"

Aoi laughed. "Yes, that must be why you looked so skinny and tall. You're about…seven summers old?"

"Eight." He corrected her.

"Man, I'm losing my touch! Did a year pass by without me noticing already? I feel so old." Aoi joked.

Bi-dam shook his head. "My birthday came three days ago. You're not losing your touch at all. And you are most definitely not getting old. My mother is older than you and she's still very young."

Aoi looked the boy over again. There was no doubt about it. That boy was a hanyou. But the thing was…the last time she saw the kid, he had black hair and he was sleeping on his mother's back.

That kid had red hair and red eyes.

The traits of a Chinese hanyou

"Hey…Yuhwa. Just who was this kid's father again? I don't think I caught it the last time you told me." Aoi turned to her friend with a serious look. Yuhwa stiffened and faced Aoi. "I never told you his name, Aoi."

"The last time you introduced him to me, he had black hair. You dyed it, didn't you? And you purposefully introduced him to me while he was sleeping, right? So I wouldn't know? Did you really think that I would hunt down and kill your only son? I only hunt Japanese youkai for kami's sake! And hanyou aren't included in that category!"

"I know." Yuhwa sighed and turned to her son, who was listening intently to the conversation. "Bi-dam, can you do a favor for me and go introduce yourself to the other hanyou children? I'm sure that you and them will get along beautifully."

"Of course, Mom."

When he was far enough, Yuhwa turned back to Aoi.

"Aoi…I didn't tell you this but this child's father wasn't well-liked back in Korea. He was a youkai and they feared him because of that. If they knew that Bi-dam was his child who knows what they would've done to him? But…his father isn't like the others who invaded your island. Truly. I knew him since we were very young, you see. Both of us were play mates. He was gentle, kind, forgiving." A small smile graced Yuhwa's lips as she said this. Aoi's eyes softened. "Lucky bastard. He's got your heart, doesn't he? So it wasn't some fling?"

"No. He was the son of the man who had an affair with my mother. Remember that story? After that incident, we were separated for years. We met again one day coincidentally. We caught up with each other, told stories, and eventually…fell in love." Yuhwa gave Aoi a sheepish smile. "Like parent like children, I guess."

Aoi chuckled. "Yeah, I guess."

"Aoi, do you think that loving a youkai is wrong?" Yuhwa asked suddenly, surprising Aoi. "You're a demonslayer so I'm curious if you think that way."

Aoi pondered a bit before answering. "If I was ten years younger I would say 'yes'. But now, I'm not as sure. It depends how you're asking it. 'Yes, it is wrong to love a youkai because it is a taboo' used to be something that younger me would've said."

"And now?"

Aoi smirked. "Nah, loving your youkai is okay. Loving him wasn't a mistake. Bi-dam over there isn't a mistake. To hell with anyone who thinks otherwise."

Yuhwa laughed at that statement.

There was a comfortable silence between the two before it was interrupted by a surprised yell.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Both Aoi and Yuhwa ran over to where the commotion was. Goku was staring at Bi-dam with a horror-stricken expression. Yuki whacked his head over with her fan. "Shut up, monkey! Stop overreacting over such a small thing!"

The crow youkai next to her nodded. "Yes! You made Yuki-sama very concerned!"

"Shut up, Tomu!" Yuki growled out.

Tomu tearfully obeyed.

"B-But Yuki," Goku complained while holding his head in pain. "That kid looks just like-

"I don't care who he looks like! You screamed as if there was a youkai horde about to attack! Do you know how worried-

Yuki stopped mid-sentence and cleared her throat. "-I mean, you woke me up from my nap!"

"What's going on here?"

The rest of the group rushed over to where Goku was. Some were worried while most were irritated and pissed (*cough* Sanzo *cough*).

"You stupid monkey! What were you thinking making so much noise! You made me move for no reason!" Sanzo yelled while hitting Goku over the head with his paper fan.

Suzume smiled amusedly. "It seems that Kouryuu was also worried."

Yuhwa swooped Bi-dam into her arms and clucked over him like the mother hen she was. "Are you okay? Nothing happened to you? You didn't fall or hurt yourself?"

"Mom, I'm fine. I just stumbled 'cause I was surprised. It's not every day when a person screams when they look at my face. Oh wait I forgot," Bi-dam fingered his hair, "People naturally scream when they see my kind around these parts, don't they?"

Yuhwa shook her head. "No dear, I think he was just surprised by your sudden appearance, right?" Goku flinched at the hard tone that was directed at him. He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah! I mean, you just looked a lot like someone I know so it sort of freaked me out when I saw a mini version of him…heh."

Suzume seemed to flinch at that. Her eyes suddenly became all misty and clouded over.

"Mini version?" Yuhwa questioned quietly before shaking her head and looking back down at her son. "See? It has nothing to do with your pretty hair, Bi-dam."

Temari bounced over to Bi-dam. "Wow! Your hair is so-

"-red! It's really pretty! Can we touch it?" Juni finished while grinning.

Bi-dam nodded reluctantly. "Sure…just don't braid it."

"Aw shucks you-

"-saw through our evil scheme!"

Little Kiku waddled forward and tapped on Bi-dam's shoulder. He looked down and his eyes softened at the young girl. "Yes?"

"Can Kiku touch your hair?"

There was no hesitation in Bi-dam's nod. "Sure thing!"

Kiku touched Bi-dam's hair and pouted in disappointment. "Awww."

"What is it?"

"I thought it was going to be warm when I touched it. Like a campfire."

Bi-dam blinked in surprise at Kiku's way of describing his hair. He was suddenly tugged away by the twins, who weren't that happy about being ignored. "Lets go and-

"-play!"

While the rest of the hanyou children were pulling Bi-dam away, Suzume talked to Aoi about something in a rapid yet low tone. Aoi jerked back in shock. "Are you sure?"

"Have my visions ever failed to tell the truth?"

"I know, I know. It's just so hard to believe!"

Aoi went over to whisper something into Kasumi's ear. Her ear twitched once but besides that, she had no other reaction.

Kasumi left Aoi's side and walked up to Yuhwa and Bi-dam with a grin on her face. "Hi there!"

Yuhwa smiled back brightly. "Hello. You must be Kasumi, right? I heard so much about you from Aoi. It's nice to meet you." Yuhwa came up to Kasumi and surprised her by embracing her. "Thank you so much for taking care of Aoi during the war."

Kasumi blushed at the words of gratitude that she was suddenly getting from the stranger and began to stutter nervously. "A-Ah, about that…it was more like Aoi was looking after me, you know? I'm not exactly some savior or whatever you made me out to be. I just killed. So don't say 'thank you' so easily to me, 'kay?"

"Still. You are Aoi's precious friend. You saved her life multiple times and you helped chase away her nightmare." Yuhwa drew back and smiled at Kasumi again. "You deserve my thanks and more."

Warmth

That woman emanated warmth and kindness.

Ah…

How nice it feels to be embraced by a person who is 'normal'

To be accepted despite of the fact that the person knew the sins that she committed in the past was very refreshing.

"Miss Yuhwa…" Suzume said slowly. She was very reluctant to break up the emotional moment between the pair.

Yuhwa adamantly shook her head. "No! Call me Yuhwa, just Yuhwa."

"…Yuhwa, Aoi also told us much about you. Your personality, your strength, and your past are not something that we don't know. I…heard that your were separated from your lover about nine years ago." Suzume wasn't sure if Yuhwa was aware of her 'gift' so thought of it safe to not mention it in their conversation for now.

Yuhwa's eyes widened at the mention of her lover. "Do you know where he is?"

Yuki snorted rudely at the comment. "If we didn't, we wouldn't be bringing up this whole subject, would we?"

"Hush, Yuki." Suzume scolded.

"Yeah! Shut up! This guy is obviously important to Yuhwa!" Aoi snapped at the little girl.

Kasumi grinned at Yuhwa and picked up the conversation as if there weren't arguing people in front of her. "Not just that! He's alive. He thinks you are dead but he hasn't stopped loving you for a moment. I know your lover personally and, if you would like, I can take you to him." She looked down at Bi-dam. "He would be so happy that your son also survived and that he is a father!"

Awe

Shock

Disbelief

And then…

Overwhelming happiness

"And not just that." Aoi laughed at Yuhwa's gaping 'there's more?' expression, "Suzume also know where your long-lost baby brother is. Even I can't believe it! The resemblance was right there and I couldn't see it the whole time!"

Yuhwa blinked blankly. "What are you-?

"What kind of trouble did you stir up this time you stupid monkey!"

Goku glared at Gojyo. "What do you mean by THAT?"

"Oh dear, it seems that the two are stirring up trouble again." Hakkai sighed before picking little Kiku up. He noticed Bi-dam and blinked in surprise. "You…"

Bi-dam stood up and walked over to Goku and Gojyo with a kind of awe written over his face. When he stopped about a few feet away from the arguing pair, Gojyo finally noticed that there was someone there.

"Oh, hey kid."

Bi-dam continued to stare. He let out a breathless laugh. "So that's why that guy screamed so loudly when he saw me."

"…Sha Gojyo?"

Gojyo looked up and saw a woman stumble up to her feet and look at him with the same expression that the little boy had. The usual smirk that he would have when he saw a beautiful woman didn't come to his face for some strange reason.

Maybe it was because that woman was obviously a mother

Or maybe it was because of the heartbreaking expression she had on her face

Or maybe it was because her face looked similar to the face that he saw every morning in the mirror

Or maybe…

"Oh…" Yuhwa stumbled. Gojyo, out of reflex, caught the woman. He found himself being fiercely embraced by the woman. "Gojyo? Can you really be that Gojyo? But you were so small! How could you have gotten so tall? And, and your cheek! Where did you get those nasty scars? Were you fed properly?"

"Err, lady? I'm sorry to say but you have the wrong guy. I've never met you before in my life." Gojyo said nervously.

"Nope. You're the right guy." All Yuki, Aoi, Kasumi, and even Yuki chorused at the same time. Aoi smiled at Suzume. "Thanks to Suzume, Yuhwa finally found her long-lost half brother. And we discovered who the mystery "daddy" is."

Suzume smiled demurely. "It was unintentional."

Gojyo stared at the priestess in shock. Then, he looked at both Yuhwa and Bi-dam with a sort of awe and disbelief, the same emotions that Yuhwa expressed.

"Ah, brighten up Kappa! You have a sister! And a nephew! You should be happy!"

"Besides," Kasumi piped up, "Don't you think Jien will be happy to hear that he's a father? Oh, I just can't wait to see the look on his face when I tell him!"

Dokugakuji paused for a second and shivered.

Was someone talking about him just now?

"Hey Doku! Why did you suddenly stop?" Lirin asked curiously. She was on the youkai's shoulders and was confused by her friend's stiff posture. "Did something happen?"

Dokugakuji considered on replying before shaking his head. "No. It's probably nothing."

"Just tell me if anything's hurting or causing you discomfort, okay?" Yaone told him kindly. He nodded.

"Well keep moving then." Kougaiji said from ahead. "We need to catch up with the Sanzo-ikkou."

Dokugakuji remembered the four women who recently joined the group and paled at the thought of facing them. "Um…Kou? I have something to tell you."

"Is it important?"

"Oh, it's important all right."

To others who knew him, he was Bi-dam, an eight-year-old boy who planned to become the most notable blacksmith in the Korean peninsula. He was an obedient child and displayed a vast amount of filial piety (Confucius would be proud). He was bullied by most of his male peers for his lack of "manliness" and was loved by every female he met simply because he was kind to them.

If only it were true.

Bi-dam, in actuality, was a twenty-year-old man plus a century or two stuck in a little boy's body.

No, he was Bi-dam, son of the blacksmith Yuhwa. He still is. He was no imposter of some sort and he definitely had no ill intentions. His mentality was simply a bit more…advanced for a child.

Bi-dam was normal until he turned three. By that age, he was suspiciously interested in reading about everything, a very peculiar trait for a to-be-blacksmith. He wanted to learn about everything and seemed to read the texts that he got his hands on with ease.

Science, Math, Literature, History, he wanted to learn it all. He gobbled up whatever was given to him by amused scholars and sometimes snuck up to the roof of the schools just to get just an inkling of what the old professors were teaching.

He quickly picked up different languages from the merchants who visited to sell their products. Fishermen were also very knowledgeable in that area. They were kind enough to teach him a few sentences in return of him helping out on their little boats.

He was able to learn how to speak Chinese within a month. Japanese came easily because of its similar structure and sounds. Hindi and Latin were much harder. It took him about three years to learn those languages and he is still yet to master their puzzling accents.

Yuhwa feared for a bit that her son would become a scholar instead of becoming a blacksmith like her grandfather and his grandfathers had. But, when he turned four, he left his books and took up the hammer.

He was not so good at the art of shaping iron at first, but he soon came to master it in a surprisingly fast pace.

He was scrawny for a boy. There was no doubt about it. Many joked that he resembled more like a girl instead of a boy. But, despite of appearances, Bi-dam was very strong. He created weapons that were considered exceptional for people who were his mother's age. People soon heard about the red haired boy who was a prodigy in creating weapons. Lords became interested in his progress and eagerly waited for the day when his talent was at its peak.

Yuhwa couldn't have been any more proud as she was of her son.

What Yuhwa didn't know was that Bi-dam had lived ten lives. The memories weren't with him when he was born. No, they just came gradually in random moments. The most simplest things could trigger a memory that Bi-dam knew wasn't his.

He was confused at first. Who in their right mind wouldn't be?

But he had read once about the idea of "incarnation". He was no Buddhist but he had many friends who were and they mentioned the idea many times. Most of the times, it would be brought up with a "may you live a better life in your next" or "I'll squish a thousand cockroaches knowing that one will be you" or whatnot.

Bi-dam considered the fact that he remembered all his lives to be both a blessing and a curse.

A thief, a shepherd, a poet, a scholar, a physician, an assassin, a merchant, a slave, a courtesan, a hanyou/blacksmith

He experienced different things.

He had different or no parents.

He had many dreams that he either achieved or never reached.

He loved and hated people.

He lived ten lives.

This was his tenth.

So why…

Why is it that it was his tenth life that he had to remember it all?

Bi-dam walked through a field that was near the village. The flowers that decorated the green carpet beneath him were admittedly pretty but they weren't as pretty as the ones in India. He was a poet and an artist in that life.

He had decided to leave his mother and his…uncle alone. The emotional moment that they shared was something that "a child his age wouldn't understand". He understood, of course. He probably understood more than all who were there combined.

But, he was acting as the obedient son of a blacksmith so he obeyed when his mother requested him to "go and play while the grown-ups talk".

Funny to think that he used one of those "grown-ups" in multiple lifetimes.

Bi-dam snorted and fell back into the grassy cushion, disturbing many flowers and causing many petals to fly because of the impact.

And worst part…

The flowers seem to be blooming beautifully, don't you agree?

And the worst part was that voice in his head that belonged to that goddess who sent him and his mother to this foreign land.

Kanzeon Bosatsu, the Goddess of Mercy

Through the experiences in his past lives, he knew that he despised Gods, Goddesses, and other immortal beings that thought of the mortal race as their playthings.

He personally was a plaything of the Gods in a past life.

He never truly forgave them for what they did to him.

Hey boy, I asked you a question.

It started ever since he conversed with that girl Aoi. At first, he thought that the voice was something from a memory. Then, he concluded after a while that the voice was too annoying to be a memory or some figment of his imagination.

But then the voice suddenly went and introduced herself and convinced him of her existence.

It was then when the voice got really annoying and bothersome.

Hey! I heard that!

Worse yet, she could hear every thought in his head, which was slightly irksome. He, like any other living being, required at least a little bit of privacy.

Ha! Tough luck, boy!

Maybe if he ignored her, she would go away and torment some other poor person.

Sorry boy, but your mind is too interesting to leave. I think I'll stay here for a while.

Gah! That's it! I want you OUT of my head! OUT!

He heard the Goddess snicker. Now, now, that's not very polite. This is a Goddess you are talking to, child.

I don't care! All you immortals are the same! Playing with us like marionettes before throwing us away the moment we break!

At least your poetic way of speaking hadn't changed since we last met.

We met? Bi-dam thought with a sudden curiosity. He shuffled through his memories but came up with nothing. Nada. Zip.

You wouldn't remember. I was disguised as someone else anyways.

Bi-dam rolled his eyes. Of course, I forgot that Immortals tended to shift into any form that wasn't their own during their time of mischief. He thought bitterly.

Hey now, I was very nice to you when I met you! And you were much cuter back then too!

"Knowledge makes one unattractive to the eye". Bi-dam quoted. I think a friend of mine said that once.

You have pretty good memory for someone who lived nine lives. The goddess stated dryly.

I treasure my friends and memories, unlike you Immortals. Bi-dam spat.

So untrue

Bi-dam thought he heard sadness and regret in her voice. But he squashed that thought the moment it entered his mind.

The prospect of those arrogant beings having any remorse seemed too impossible.

Gyokumen Koushu was aghast and irritated at the news that a youkai relayed to her.

"What?" She shrieked while striking the poor youkai. The messenger fell to his knees and cradled his throbbing cheek. Koushu meanwhile began to chew on her thumbnail. She turned her irate gaze at his curled up form. "Repeat what you just said!"

"Th-There seems to be f-four powerful females w-who joined the San-Sanzo-ikkou in their quest. Th-They somehow man-managed to wipe off more than-an half of the Southwestern tr-troops within three days." The messenger stammered. He whimpered when Koushu kicked him away. "Useless! Useless all of you!"

She stormed to one of the guards stationed at a set of double doors that led out of the lab. "Where is Kougaiji? I need to see him this instant!"

"I'm sorry, my lady, but Master Kougaiji isn't here at the moment. You sent him to retrieve the sutra more than a week ago, remember?" A guard informed her only to receive a harsh slap on his face.

His partner winced at the treatment he was getting but made no move to aid him. It was understandable. Any youkai who wanted to keep his head wouldn't say a word against the crazy lady.

"Yare, yare, it seems that my lady is unhappy about her current situation. Is there anything that this man could do to help?"

How to describe this man? His appearance was like a straggler's yet his aura was of great importance. He was smiling as if he were amused yet his form and the way he walked screamed of boredom. His vision was obviously hindered due to the wrappings around his eyes, but he walked with such confidence. He spoke to Koushu respectfully yet it sounded so cheeky to the ear. He seemed so open yet none knew a thing about what's going on in that man's mind.

That man, to sum it up, was a walking contradiction.

He was far more dangerous than Lady Koushu for sure.

Koushu smiled in relief at the appearance of the man. "Dr. Ni!" She turned to the two guards. "Get out of my sight! I wish to be alone with him!" She snapped. They were more than willing to comply with her wishes and were gone within three blinks.

The youkai concubine of the Ox King Gyumaoh fell into the arms of her Bioengineer. She relaxed as he stroked her hair.

"Don't worry about the girls, my lady." Dr. Ni Jianyi otherwise known as the Ukoku Sanzo said soothingly to his lover. He smiled in a twisted manner. If he were wearing glasses they would have glinted sinisterly. "I'll take care of them."

She tensed. "Get rid of them!"

Ni Jianyi smiled and crooned. "Patience, my lady."

Patience

Love, an emotion that sent many strong minds over the moon and turning them into mush. It was originally created for the purpose of keeping life (intelligent life if we're being picky) from going extinct. Luckily, because he was a hanyou, Bi-dam didn't need to worry about those things. Humans and Youkai were officially declared as different species so hanyou were practically sterile as a mule. They could never reproduce so that crossed out the whole purpose of falling in love.

It was a hindrance.

It was a limiter to both humans and youkai.

Bi-dam was determined to never fall in love in this life.

Oh ho! You're just begging for an Immortal to prove you wrong, aren't you?

You again? I'm not begging for anything.

You claim that yet you boldly state that you'd never fall in love when I'm in your mind.

Hmm? So? What if I did?

Boy, do you know who I am?

Bi-dam pretended to ponder over her question. An annoying voice? An irritating immortal? A so-called Goddess of Mercy when you're technically a sadistic hermaphrodite?

Oi, he could hear the irritation in her voice, you're playing with fire, boy.

Sorry.

To answer your question, I am Kanzeon Bosatsu, the Goddess of Love and Mercy.

Bi-dam cursed under his breath. He forgot about that little bit of the Goddess' title.

Would you care for a friendly bet?

Suspicion immediately rose in Bi-dam. Immortals were usually fond of making bets with mortals during their times of boredom. They twisted the bet or did something funny to the winning prize if they lost.

No doubt that Goddess would do the same.

There's no way that he'd- What's the bet? Damn his curiosity.

Amusement rolled off the reply. Lets see if your claim would be true, boy. If you win, I'll leave your mind once and for all. I'll give you the peace and privacy you wanted.

And if you win?

I'll stay in your head until the end of this journey. And, she spoke this part with a more serious tone, you would have to relay a message from me to the Sanzo-ikkou. It's very important that they would know.

The message part could be done without the bet. Bi-dam assured the Goddess.

How kind of you. Never mind then, I'll be giving the Sanzo-ikkou a visit personally then. Be grateful that I'm wasting the energy to do it myself, boy.

Bi-dam was thankful. That would save the energy to act like an overreacting child who just discovered that he had a 'strange lady's' voice in his head.

So…when does the bet start?

There was no reply. Bi-dam mentally shrugged. The Goddess must've gotten bored and abandoned the whole bet. That was a bit disappointing. He was looking forward to a little challenge. Just when Bi-dam stood up to make his way back to the village, something crashed into his back.

"OMF!"

Bi-dam's face was suddenly very familiar with the ground. He also had a good amount of dirt up his nose and in his mouth.

Bi-dam spat out the dirt and spluttered for air when the weight scrambled off his back. When he recovered, the first thing he heard was feminine laughter. He felt himself being helped up. "I'm so sorry! It's jus that-

Another peal of laughter

"I must look like a fool, then." Bi-dam said dryly, abandoning his good-boy act.

"No! No! It's just the amount of dirt that went up your nose! I never knew that it was even possible!" The girl giggled. Bi-dam felt some sort of cloth beginning to wipe away the dirt that was over his face and eyes. "I'm sorry that I crashed into you. Really. I was chasing a butterfly and wasn't looking where I was going."

"It must've been a really pretty butterfly."

The girl immediately agreed. "It was! I wanted to catch it so I could show it to my little sister. It was orange with black stripes and little white dots."

"That's a Danaus plexippus." Bi-dam stated in surprise. "But their kind only thrive in India, what is it doing here?"

"A what?"

"A butterfly that feeds on a plant called milkweed. It could also be known as the Monarch Butterfly." Bi-dam explained eagerly. "Birds rarely eat their kind because their bright orange colors are like poison signs to them."

The girl seemed to be nodding. "I see. Then it's such a pity that I didn't catch it."

"Yeah. It would've been great to see." Bi-dam agreed. He opened his eyes and blinked experimentally, making sure there weren't any more dirt stuck to his eyelashes.

A dirtied handkerchief came into his view and dabbed the area below his right eye. "Ah, thanks."

"No problem!"

Now with the dirt all gone from his face, Bi-dam finally had his first glance at the mystery butterfly girl (random nickname he came up with) who fell on him. Bi-dam's eyes widened with recognition. That girl…

She looked a lot like that Kiku girl who played with his hair.

There were some differences, of course. Not every person looked exactly the same. Bi-dam was also able to pick out the differences between the so-called 'identical' twins. The girl, for one, was obviously older and her hair fell to her hips. The wings that sprouted from her back were also far bigger and looked strong enough to carry her body, unlike Kiku's whose wings were as small as his fist.

Her kimono was black.

She smelled a little like rained-on grass.

She was smiling.

She-

Wait.

Wasn't he being a little too descriptive here?

"You look a lot like Kiku." Bi-dam said aloud.

The girl smiled excitedly. "You know Kiku? That means you must be the group that we're traveling with!"

"No, I was transported here like you were with my mom."

"Really? I came here with my little sister Kiku and the rest of the hanyou gang while searching for Kasumi."

So she was Kiku's older sister. That made sense.

"Ah, that means you're a hanyou." Bi-dam blurted out stupidly. He knew this beforehand but he had nothing else to say at the moment because his brain felt a little muddled. Probably from the impact and the dirt. The girl stiffened and began to take a defensive stance. "Yeah, I am. So? What about it?"

"That's cool. I'm a hanyou too." Bi-dam quickly amended. That girl must've never seen a Chinese hanyou before or heard of one. His theory turned out to be true based on the look of pleasant surprise on her face. "Really?"

"Yeah. The Chinese hanyou (that's me) are a bit different from the hanyou from Japan. That's where you're from, right?" The girl nodded. "Well, we have red eyes and red hair that shows our 'mixed blood'."

"That's it?" The girl gasped. "Boy, you guys are lucky!"

"Well, I think you Japanese hanyou are much luckier. You get to have all these cool abilities while I just get red hair and red eyes."

"That's not true! You're definitely much better off! You can always dye your hair and hide your eyes, right? If you only do that, you can be as normal as the next person!" The girl retorted.

Bi-dam nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's true. But I hate hiding. Mom tried to do that with me and that ended up being a bust. For one thing, I can't hide what I am. Besides, I'm not ashamed for being who I am. I'm just…me. If people can't accept that then, screw them. I don't give a damn."

The girl giggled.

"Hmm? What's so funny?"

"You swore."

"So? You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" Mom is so going to kill me if she ever heard me swear in front of a girl.

"I won't. Besides, I bet your mother won't be that angry." The girl giggled. Bi-dam shook his head. "Nah, I'm more than sure that Mom would- wait, I didn't say that part out loud."

Genuine confusion filled the girl's features. "You didn't? But I swear-

"Think about something. Anything." Bi-dam demanded suddenly.

I'm not sure about what's going on but I'm a little scared.

"Don't be." Bi-dam assured her. "I think only thoughts that are conveyed purposefully to the other person could only be heard. What am I thinking now?"

The girl's face scrunched up in concentration. "I…I can't hear it."

What about now?

"Eek! Don't do that!" The girl jumped in surprise and Bi-dam snickered. "Sorry. I'll try not to do that so often."

No, I'll try getting used to it.

Really? That's relieving to hear. I wouldn't want to make you upset by accidentally sending you some mental message.

Hey! You're not going to really do that, are you? Gosh, this feels familiar. First the weird voice and now you. Who next?

Bi-dam's amused laughter was cut short. What weird voice?

I think it was a woman's voice. She was the one who told me to go and chase the butterfly.

And you listened?

…I was really bored, okay? And tired!

Bi-dam snorted. He should've known. So he wasn't the only one she was tormenting. He felt a wave of pity for the girl. Well, welcome aboard. The woman is the Goddess who sent us here. She's a real pain-in-the-neck and she can read all of your thoughts.

Waa! Really? That's terrible!

I know, right? Bi-dam grinned. But I think we'll be all right. We're going to suffer together, not alone. Besides, we can talk to each other in a special way!

The girl grinned back. Yeah…what's your name anyways? I forgot to ask.

It's Bi-dam.

Strange name.

Oi, that's because I'm a Korean! That's a normal name back at home!

Okay, okay, fine. Bi-dam. My name is Sora. Let's be friends from now on, okay?

Sure thing, Sora.

"Ha! That brat fell for it hook, line, and sinker!" Kanzeon gloated from her chair. She snickered as the boy offered his hand to help the girl up. "Awww, look at that! They're already friendly!"

Jiroushin shook his head at her immaturity. "Aren't you supposed to do something? Like warning a certain bunch of heroes about the upcoming dangers?"

"Meh that can wait."

"Kanzeon-sama this is serious!"

"Okay, okay, fine! Jeez! I'm going to miss the good part! Jiroushin, watch them for me and tell me what I missed, 'kay?"

"Yes, yes, now go and warn them!"

With a swish of her hand, the Goddess was gone with a flurry of sakura petals floating down settling on the spot where she once stood.

Gah! I'm finished! (Stretches) So, how was it? How did ya like the new characters?

All were inspirations caused by random anime and Korean dramas that I ended up watching. They were all totally unexpected. I think I'll be using them for future important things (wink).

So what to do next?

(Turns to readers)

Give me a pairing that you all would want to read? I haven't done that many fluffs lately. So, what do you say? Suggestions anyone? Say so and I'll write a whole chapter for that pairing after the next one!

I'm interested in all your thoughts about the new characters so don't be afraid to REVIEW!

REVIEW! (Oops. I said that already, didn't I?)