Ice Cold

by curiouzkatt

The Saiyuki gang find themselves back in Linlin's world, eight years into the future, and they have to find their way back this time. However, since time has passed, people have changed, and so have emotions. A certain blonde with sapphire eyes is trying to catch someone's attention.

2. Lost

Ice Cold

curiouzkatt: Hello, this is a sortof sequel to my previous fic, Summer Snow. The timeline for this one is two years in Togenkyo world had passed, but they jumped back into my OC's world ten years into the future, making them the same age as the original kids in the first story. Plot convenience timey wimey time jump, entertaining my fanfic muse that won't let me go. But basically what you have to know is my OCs were kids in Summer Snow. Now they're young adults in the big world. Adding disclaimer that this will be mostly R-18, mildly. Sex, foul language.

Disclaimer: I don't own Saiyuki.

Chapter 1: Lost

x-x-x-x-x

Kougaiji left the small apartment with a transparent umbrella as he set out to look for something to eat. It's been two weeks since he somehow landed in this place, and everything still felt like some sort of sorcery. The woman named Sophie would drop by every day for a few hours, but she doesn't stay overnight.

He was wearing his hair up in a ponytail with his backup limiter on to avoid people from staring. He has learned from his first attempt to be outside that walking around as himself wasn't a pleasant sight to most, and twice he was mistaken for what they called "cosplaying". Five times he was mistaken for a male escort, which ended up with the person getting beaten up. Sophie had cackled when he told her what happened and explained that some people in the area did have unique tastes. When he asked why she stayed in such a place, she just waved it off as a convenient hiding spot. She didn't elaborate.

It rained a lot in this city, which Kou discovered was quite normal during this time of the year. It suited him in a way. It stopped drawing attention to him, even if he had to learn to wear more casual clothes daily. He still couldn't figure out why he ended up there, and so far, he had found no leads. He figured it was fine for the time being, as it was giving him enough time to mourn Dokugakuji. He still didn't know how he could tell Lirin and Yaone about what happened. Before long, he found himself in front of the noodle shop he went to a few days ago. They had a good selection, and the owner didn't ask too many questions. He closed his umbrella and left it at the rack outside, however, upon entering, he was met by a familiar chaotic noise that almost felt nostalgic.

"YOU GIVE BACK MY NORI YOU STUPID COCKROACH THAT WAS MINE!" Goku yelled, squishing Gojyo's cheeks as if doing so would be able to get back his lost crispy snack.

"I can spit it back out, would you still eat it? Bleah." Gojyo teased, showing the melted nori on his tongue. "Hew, take ith, monkey!"

"Ew you disgusting roach!"

Kou just stood there by the doorway in disbelief. Of all the people to meet today, it had to be them. Also, what are they doing here too?

"IRRASHAIMASE!" welcomed the owner, embarrassed with the ruckus and wanted to make sure Kou was accommodated. "Welcome back, Kou, do you want the usual?"

The ruckus was still ongoing so Kou just took his seat by the bar table while the four bickered in the booth table. "Ah, yes mister. I appreciate the same mixture please. And maybe some additional nori."

"Right away Kou!" The owner said cheerfully, starting on his dish.

Kou turned to the people at the booth. It was definitely the four, and an unknown girl with long curly hair in pigtails. She seems to have known them prior as she was entertained by the mess. The girl spotted him looking and waved at him. Embarrassed, he looked away.

"Hey, is that Kougaiji?" Kou tsked in his mind. The monkey had recognized him, so he had no choice but to address them.

"Yes." He said calmly. "I'm not here for any trouble, I just want to eat and I'll be on my way." He thanked the owner and started to eat his ramen. He offered the monkey his nori, which the boy took gratefully. All commotion stopped, but he knew they also wanted answers.

"How long have you been here?" Hakkai ventured to ask him. "It seems like people around here already know you."

Kou slurped some of his ramen's broth. "Not that long." He muttered. "I was just lucky someone found me and took me in. I don't know how I ended up here nor how I can get back. It would be great if you guys know the way. I'd owe you."

"Well, we've been here before..". Hakkai started. "But that was a different method, so to speak. I figure we'll find the way back eventually. But we're waiting for a friend to have a few more leads. You're welcome to join us."

"IRRASHAIMASE!"

Their attention was brought back to the door, where a woman was fixing her umbrella in the rack. Her attire resembled the typical blue qipao outfit with gold swirls, but she had a spiked choker, wristbands and white fighting boots. Her brown hair was tied up into ox horn buns, covered in white and tied with white ribbons. The white waistband and brown sheer leggings flattered her figure even more. It was too unusual in this city, especially the fact that she had a backpack with her. She immediately saw Kou and walked over to him. "Hey there Kou, fancy running into you here." She said playfully, leaning over to his plate of nori and just helping herself to one, biting half and teasing the demon prince to bite it.

"Ch." Kou gently pushed the woman away, mildly annoyed. From his actions, it seemed he knew the woman. Gojyo whistled to himself, and grinning unabashedly at the exciting spectacle.

"Hmp, you're still no fun." The woman muttered, turning to the table with the four men. She finished the rest of the nori, licking her lips while walking towards their table, leaning towards Gojyo. "What about you, maybe a different red head might be more interesting."

Gojyo was taken aback by this aggressive behavior, but he leaned forward and rested his chin on his hand. "Oh, I can show you a good time later, young lady."

Hakkai felt embarrassed and was about to change the topic when Mili spoke up. "Please stop teasing them, Linlin."

...

...

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?" Gojyo flew out of his chair and nearly broke the riveted table. He held an accusing hand pointed at the woman. Goku, who was in the middle of eating a bun, found himself choking on his food, adding to the commotion on the table.

"WATER! WATER!" the boy said, suffering with his food, grabbing someone's tea to help down the food.

"THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL YOU'RE LINLIN! O BUDDHA I HAVE ALMOST SINNED!"

Hakkai and Sanzo had their jaws drop, and Gojyo had simply ran out into the rain screaming at the sky. The woman composed herself, and scowled at Mili. "Ugh, no deadnaming please, you know my legal name." she huffed. "You ruined my fun." She pouted.

"It hardly seemed fair to do that while in cosplay, you know." Mili chuckled. "And besides, it was fun to see them freak out too."

Sophie sighed, glancing at the crew in the booth. "I'll go ahead and change, I'll see you back in a bit." She sauntered to the bathroom, waving to them. "Ah, uncle owner, one miso-based ramen and some extra roasted nori please!"

"You got it Sophie!"

As things calmed down, Hakkai and Sanzo looked at Mili for answers while Sophie was changing. She shrugged a little. "It's not really my story to tell" she said simply. "But, to explain the outfit, it's called cosplay. People go to events wearing a costume or an outfit of a favorite character. We were avid fans of the community when we were in college. These days, we get invited to judge or participate as a guest. More of Sophie and me though. Mayumi's always on tour with the circus."

"Circus?"

"It's a group of people with special talents, or what society consider as freaks, or people with fascinating stunts or unusual strength." Mili tried to explain. "Mayumi's the magician of the troupe, obviously. She seems to enjoy it a lot, but it keeps her away from the city most of the time."

Mili paused as the shop owner set down Sophie's ramen order and nori. "Thanks, uncle."

"Ugh, makeup is always so rough to remove!" Sophie whined, appearing next to the booth, her sapphire blue eyes glinting again without the contacts. What surprised them the most was her hair, appearing to be a pixie cut but with an undercut tribal design. "What?" she touched her bangs. "My hair has always been short. It's just way easier to manage when cosplaying." She was just now in comfy loose pants and a fitted shirt. Her figure was still unmistakable despite the outfit.

"Oh hey! My food's here!" Sophie exclaimed, plopping down next to Mili and quickly taking her chopsticks and blowing onto the noodles. She saw Goku eyeing her food and stopped. She grinned, taking a sheet of roasted nori and put it in her palm. "You can eat it off my hand if you wa-" she tried to tease, but her hand soon disappeared into the boy's mouth. "HEY!" Sophie immediately punched Goku out of instinct and disgust. "Ewwwww" she got one of the hot towels and wiped her hand clean. She paused, stood up, and went to the bathroom to wash her hands and was back immediately, continuing to eat.

Mili was laughing so hard that she was in tears. "Oh Goku, you haven't changed at all." She breathed. "and Sophie, please stop teasing them! And you should have known better than to do that to Goku!"

"Yeah yeah.." Sophie waved her chopsticks. "It wouldn't hurt to try.."

"Your look does suit you better…" Hakkai complimented, smiling at the woman who immediately blushed, slurping more noodles. "May we know why you decided to change your name?" Sophie stopped slurping, chewing and scowling, as if thinking how to summarize it.

As soon as she swallowed her food, Gojyo walked back in after flicking off his wet clothes. Upon seeing her, he was more confused as he has no idea it was still the same person.

Sophie smirked. "Are you done asking for forgiveness from the gods?" she singsonged, giving Gojyo a wink and a flying kiss.

The red head froze, and ran back outside.

"PFFT HAHAHAHAAH! THIS IS TOO MUCH! HAHAHAHA" Sophie laughed, slapping her hand on the table. The others stared awkwardly. After drinking some tea, she cleared her throat.

"After you guys left, it was a long road to recovery for us.." she started, picking at the shorter noodles. "A lot of group therapy, and school wasn't easy with it being half demolished." She gulped more soup.

"They decided to do hybrid classes, like half the time we do online classes, and half the time we were at school for PE and other subjects." Mili continued. "Internet connections weren't that great back in those days either. It's a good thing we managed somehow and graduated with the school back in one piece."

"What's internet?"

"Oh, it's really, really great!" Mili chirped.

"-for porn-" Sophie interjected while eating. Her friend scowled at her.

"When you were here, we could only search basic stuff at the time, but now, almost everyone's got fast connection"

"for-"

"Stop it Sophie!"

"Well stop setting yourself up!" Sophie chuckled, glancing over at Kou, who was about to leave. "Take care on your way home!" Kou just paused to nod and went out into the rain with his umbrella.

"Oh so you were the benefactor he was talking about earlier." Hakkai noted.

"Well that's a cute way of putting it." Sophie smirked. "It was more of I picked up a really wet puppy in the middle of the street. I almost thought he was run over with the wounds he had."

Mili excused herself to try to convince Gojyo back in, offering a towel. They had extra dry clothes, so she would just have to usher the man to change in the bathroom.

Sophie picked at her food again. "The Kazuya people had offered me, Jei, and the rest to get professional help to recover from all the losses during that time." She wasn't looking at anyone in particular. "They had wanted to make amends, and I decided to take them on with their offer, with my own conditions. Once I graduated from college, I decided to legally change my name to estrange myself from the family. Unfortunately, being the only living heir, they still wanted me to have the estate once they die."

Hakkai whistled. "That's a lot."

"She's also undermining the story-" Mili started, but was stopped with a scowl. "-which is not mine to tell so I'll go check on Gojyo." She made a beeline for the bathroom immediately.

"It was also a long lawsuit. Thankfully, their own show of goodwill worked into my favor, and I managed to secure myself a condo building which I rent out. Active and passive income. So I have more time for myself. I reserved the penthouse for myself, obviously. But I still have a small apartment in town, just for quick changes and other things. That's where Kou is staying right now."

"Hn" Sanzo poured himself more tea, but waited for more of the story.

"I'd set you guys up at the condo, but I'll have to check and have a unit cleaned first." Sophie said casually, bringing out a rectangular object and seeming to poke and tap it with her thumbs. She glanced at the men and saw their curious faces making her burst out laughing. "Guys, it's called a smart phone, see?" she said, showing them the images and words on the rectangle. "It's like the TV we had back home, only way smaller." Her statement was followed with fascinated ooohs and aaahs, making her chuckle. "Anyway, I'll teach you guys how to use it some time. In the meantime, I'll arrange for Ben to get you settled at the family house. Don't worry, he'll join you for the night to update you with things you need to know."

Hakkai seemed troubled. "It would seem awkward to be at the residence without you…" he stated. "Are you sure it would be okay?"

Sophie waved off the worry. "The house is almost always empty anyway. Besides, Noah might be able to point you to some answers to get back home." She stood up, gathered her things and paid for her bill.

"I'll see you guys soon."

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Please wait for the gate to open."

Ben backed away from the intercom, hopping back on the jeep. It had stopped raining when he managed to get to the ramen shop, and Sophie had already left. He knew the women wouldn't want to set foot in this place, and he knew it was up to him to at least settle the guys in for the night. Once the gates fully opened, Hakkai drove in and through the roundabout where Juniper was waiting.

"Ben!" she exclaimed, looking weary, her blonde hair having streaks of grey at the roots.

"Hey Juniper!" Ben greeted. "Long time no see! I'm sorry to call on such short notice.."

"Oh nonsense, Ben. The room is ready for you guys. You must all be tired." The four men bowed kindly, and Hakkai exchanged pleasantries for a bit while Ben led the group up the stairs, to the guest room they had occupied years ago.

"You guys get settled in." Ben said, moving back to the doorway. "I'll just go and update Juniper and get you guys some water and extra pillows. I'll be back in maybe an hour. I hope."

Ben made his way downstairs. Before entering the kitchen, he absently touched his blue hair, which he kept through the years. He wondered if he should let go of it like this place. As predicted, Juniper was in the kitchen preparing a light evening snack for the men. "Hey Juniper." He said gently, sliding into the room and helping himself to a cookie. "Do you want a quick summary?" He offered.

"That would be great, Ben." The older woman smiled gently. "It's too good to be true if they were here just for a visit."

"Yeah.. it would." Ben mumbled. He thought of how to start. "It does seem they accidentally stumbled into the portal that Noah and Seth discovered before. So it might be as simple as having them go back through the portal."

Juniper stopped with the last glass of water. "It might.. but we destroyed that portal all those years ago. After Shun came into our lives, the brothers made sure that no one else would get through from Togenkyo. They didn't want anyone else to be cursed."

"But.. how did they manage to come back if the path here was destroyed?"

Juniper sighed. "Your guess is as good as mine." She handed Ben the tray of water and biscuits. "I tell you what. Noah will be back here in a couple of days, you can visit again after."

"Thank you..." Ben accepted the tray. "We'll make ourselves scarce until we're due to head back out tomorrow."

"Oh? So soon?" Juniper seemed confused, but the immediate look of realization said it all to Ben.

"Yeahh." He said sheepishly, slowly making his way out into the hallway.

"How has she been?"

He only turned his head towards the woman. "I'm sorry Juniper."

Making his way to the room, he could hear Goku and Gojyo bickering and listened in first for flying pillows before cautiously opening the door. To make sure of safety, he decided to put the tray down on the floor before opening the door. Sure enough, as soon as he was able to get in, a pillow hit him straight in the face. "Oof!"

Sanzo was quick to tame the rowdy bunch and Ben was finally able to set up their snacks. They watched as Goku snarf down his share and then some, but nobody really minded. Hakkai closed the door as the group settled in.

"So how did it go with Mrs Kazuya?" Hakkai asked. Ben shook his head.

"Bad news is that apparently they had destroyed the path to Togenkyo, from where they discovered it." Ben started. "The good news is, we might be able to get help from Noah in a few days when he comes back. I left him a message as well, in case Juniper forgets."

"It seems like we'll be stuck here again for a while..." Gojyo muttered. "It's been ten years, might be worthwhile to look around the city in the next few days."

"Ben, if you don't mind me asking," Hakkai trailed off. "How come you refer to Li - I mean, Sophie's mom as Juniper?"

Ben smiled sadly. "After that whole incident with Shun, it was quite difficult for any of us to reconcile the issue of keeping the notion of what family meant, to any of us.*

"What do you mean?"

"Uncle Stuart was Gabriel's blood relative, but we all called him Uncle. He was more home to me than anyone else." Ben moved to set aside the glasses and the empty plates of cookies. He sighed. "Juniper, Noah and Seth lost their beloved 'Linlin Kazuya' when they continued to treat her like nothing had happened. It's the worst feeling. She would stay over our houses back and forth most of the time if she could. She'd come home scarcely if at all, mostly to replenish her clothes or get something from her room. She worked part time jobs. That lasted until we were 17, when Uncle Stuart passed away. I had nowhere else to go and Sophie offered for me to move into the spare bedroom next door."

"The family tried to include me as family. All I could do was to be civil with them. But Sophie did not want to have anything to do with it. She called them out when they tried to force me into any activities they deemed necessary to make me feel better.

"The worst of it was when they tried to include me in family gatherings with their extended family. I was surprised at how they managed to cover up everything that had happened, how they supposedly sent Shun abroad for further schooling, how they didn't announce anything as it was Shun's wish. They made themselves look the hero for adopting me. It was disgusting. Ultimately we stopped going altogether. When we knew there'd be an event, we'd run off somewhere with the others for a few days."

Ben moved to fix one of the extra mattresses, settling his blankets and things.

"But how did you manage to be still be able to come back here and talk to them?"

"I don't know either.." Ben admitted. "Maybe it's because I've been so used to adapting to circumstances that I don't see them as someone who did me wrong, but more of people I can benefit from, one way or another. I don't know what the others would get to tell you, but one way or the other, we've adapted to survive on our own. When they were trying to have me take sides to let them know what was going on with the group, I told them no, and if it was all the same to them, there was no reason for me to call them with their honorifics. I never once considered them family anyway. Sophie, Mili and the others are my family." He smiled sadly, sitting on the couch. He felt the somber atmosphere and clapped his hands together. "Well! If it's all the same to you guys, I'll just be on my phone doing my daily grind. I'll be sure to be quiet." He gave a slight smile.

Goku laid down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "I never really gave that much thought of what family meant, Ben." He muttered. "All my life, all I've known are Sanzo, the monks at the temple, and then there's Hakkai and Gojyo... They're my family."

"Monkeys hurt their brains when they think too much." Gojyo tossed a pillow at Goku and got thrown one back.

Hakkai moved to turn off the lights. "It's true. No one can really define family like that. Good night everyone."

x-x-x-x-x

"Ben, sorry but you have stay one more night there, the cleaners are delayed because of the rain. If I can expedite the cleaning, I'll let you know ASAP."

Sophie looked at her message and sent it off to their group chat. She made sure it was sent, but it seemed like Ben was still asleep. It was around 7 in the morning, but knowing him he might have gotten lost in his mobile games. There was no way in hell she was calling the house. Sighing, she set up her portable practice pole and began her daily stretches. She held onto the pole, propped herself with her knees into a pole resting position. She then remembered her calendar.

"Okay Noodle." She mumbled loud enough.

Her laptop beeped into operation. "Yes, how can I help you?"

"Please relay my day's itinerary."

"Okay. Your day's itinerary is as follows:

8am Breakfast with Kou

9am head for the firing range

10am to 11am firing lessons

12 noon Lunch with Mili

3pm check vacant units

5pm check on Ben

7pm dinner: current cravings, sashimi or steak. Lazy option: pizza delivery and a few beers

The rest of your night is free."

"Thanks Noodle." The operating system was Ben's own creation. It was simple and it got the job done. Since it wasn't based on bigger companies, it was less prone to hacking as it was a little unknown. Ben's been known to sell other systems, and he earns quite a bit of royalty from it. She's proud of how far her friend had gone on his own. Finishing up with a spin and a slide down with her legs, she started another routine with the song Poison by Alice Cooper.

She held onto the pole with one hand as the intro of the music played, slowly, following a point as if she was looking at someone. Releasing the hand and spinning back with the other. Waiting for the beat drop, reaching her arm to her forward leg, keeping her ass in the air.

"I wanna love you but I better not touch (don't touch!)

Slowly, back up and a clip of the arm on the pole with a slow spin.

I wanna hold you but my senses tell me to stop

And the end of the phrase, a quick drop and spin on the low end of the pole.

I wanna kiss you but I want it too much (too much!)

Back to the pole, moving her hips forward and out before jumping into a spin.

I wanna taste you but your lips are venomous poisooooon

Down on the floor into a split, leaning back and up for a final turn.

You're poison running through my veins~"

"Whooo! It's still early but it is HOT IN HERE!"

Sophie stopped the track and looked for Mili who was sitting at the open window, watching her with feet dangling into the room. She continued her routine for a few more minutes before getting a swig of water and addressing her friend. "We aren't scheduled to meet until lunch."

"Ehh but things have been so exciting! The guys are back, and we have Kougaiji too!" Mili pressed on, hopping from the window and swinging off the pole. "I could bareley sleep last night thinking of all the things that could happen. I'm more concerned why you aren't even excited about all this."

Sophie sighed. "Mili our lives have been peaceful for the past decade, as much as peace as we could get. Them being here is more trouble than anything else. I'd be more eager to see them home than have to deal with the battles we had to in high school." Mili wrinkled her nose at her friend's practicality.

"But you can't deny they're here though." Mili retorted, following her friend to her room until she went to the bathroom.

Mili laid down on the bed while she heard the shower. She glanced around the room, her cat ears literally coming out and her nose sniffing out anything naughty. Stealthily, she checked the shelves for anything out of place, going on all fours to peek under the bed.

Aha. A condom wrapper, a vibrator, a tin box..

Click.

Mili froze, feeling a gun pointed at her head. Slowly turning, she put on her most apologetic face for having been caught. "You caught me.." she turned and gawked. Sophie didn't even have a towel on her. Mili closed her eyes. "Please, can you do something with your nakedness?"

"I bet you didn't think that through before poking your nose in my business."

Mili peeked again, hoping Sophie had at least covered herself with a towel. Her gun was still aimed at her, still naked. "Oh for God sakes, I'm going, I'm going." Mili mumbled, eyes closed stumbling out of the room and onto the sofa outside. She could hear Sophie setting her gun aside and putting on clothes. She leaned back on the sofa's headrest, looking at the sky through the roof window. "Come on, let me come with you to see Kougaiji, I'm bored today."

"You know how I feel about having someone fucking up with my schedule." Sophie said, stepping out of her room, wearing a white fitted crop top and flare red pants. She sported giant gold hoop earrings and gradient grey aviator shades. She went over to pick out her white stilettos.

"I knowww, but you also make a lot of buffer time between those schedules." Mili eyed her friend. "Are you sure about your footwear? It smells like rain." She heard Sophie tsk and toss the heels, going for her platform boots instead, fitting her legs under her pant legs.

Grabbing a small satchel, she moved to go out the door and sighed. She beckoned to her friend to come with her. "Woohoo!" Mili ran out with her friend and off they went to the elevator and down to the ground floor. Her rented apartment where Kougaiji stayed was only a few blocks away. Mili stretched, inhaling the morning air. "It's so nice to be up and about during the day!" she declared, a bounce in her step.

"Yeah, you're usually a night owl after all" Sophie commented, grabbing a newspaper from the stand and handing the seller her payment. The front page had a small article about a hostage situation a few days ago, and there was an update on the case. "The men who had kept the office building employees hostage were found guilty of a number of cases, setting them up for imprisonment for 20 years"

The article continued to describe the charges, but Sophie folded the newspaper and tucked it under her arm. "The Negotiator does the job swiftly as usual." She muttered, spotting Kou at the next corner, waving to him. The demon acknowledged with a small wave. Upon reaching earshot, Sophie spoke "I hope you don't mind my friend joining us this time." She motioned to Mili who waved at him.

Kou studied the other woman, remembering her from the day before. "I don't mind."

"Do you have any preference for breakfast?" Sophie chirped, grabbing Kou by the arm and taking him to the general direction of the street ahead of them.

"You always ask me but you end up choosing every time" the prince muttered. "Whatever."

Mili was just watching the exchange, getting some mental whiplash from seeing how Sophie can change her mood so easily, especially to the unsuspecting folks.

"Ah, yes, but see, I haven't brought you to the same place twice!" Sophie commented. "I just know when you like a place, you tend to come back without me." They ended up walking one more block, to a small Chinese restaurant that served giant meat buns along with the usual classic dishes.

"Welcome!" the owner behind the counter greeted. Seeing that it was Sophie and Mili, the woman smiled. "Oh, you're both early today! I see you have a new friend with you."

"Ah, he's Kou, a cousin of mine from the father's side." Sophie fibbed. "Auntie Mei, please serve us meatbuns, and some hot chocos." She turned to Kou. "Unless you prefer coffee or something else? They have tea and sodas."

Kou was confused. "I'll have what you two are having."

"That's three hot chocos please."

The three settled at the table beside the window, showing the people walking past the restaurant. Kou was silent, seeming to measure what he wanted to say. He could feel Sophie studying him, so he returned the gaze.

"You purposefully left me on my own all this time since you were waiting for them to show up, weren't you." He stated. He knew he was on the mark. "Who are you, really?"

"That's – " Mili started, but Sophie raised her hand to stop her.

"Yes, and no."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Like I said when I got you out of the rain, we've read about your world. We know the kinds of hardships going on there right now." Sophie started, pausing to thank Auntie Mei who brought in their hot choco. "I could tell your energy was spent, and that there was more than you were letting on." She offered one of the cups to Kou and waited for him to try it, giving out a chuckle when he realized he didn't like it.

"I know when a man needs time for himself."

Kou scoffed. "That's a very broad answer, it would placate someone else, but not me."

Sophie smiled wryly. "I see." She took a sip of her hot choco, glancing at Mili. "This might sound stupid to you, but we know the smell of death, and sorrow." She paused. "We know you lost someone very dear to you in that fight. But we're not ones to pry, out of respect."

Kou was silent, and the girls slowly ate their meat buns while Kou ventured another sip of the sweet and somewhat bitter drink. He felt the pang of loss, remember Dokugakuji's face as the life faded from his eyes. He clenched his fists, diverting his gaze back outside.

"We also know you are enemies with Sanzo's group, that's why we decided to wait for further developments." Mili added. "Like Sophie explained to you, it's not the first time we've encountered people like you. And, we're not exactly common folk either."

"Yeah, I figured as much" Kou glanced at the table, grabbed the meat bun in front of him and ate it as is. "My sister would love this.." he muttered to himself. "I could sense witchcraft in Sophie's apartment, and I you're not human." He nodded to Mili.

Mili scratched her head. "Well.. I am, but I shapeshift."

Kou continued eating silently, finishing the bun faster than he expected. "Auntie, can I have another one?"

"Pfffft! HAHAHAHA He finally discovered quality food!" Sophie cackled, enjoying this exchange.

"Yeah, but this.. "hot choco" is not to my liking." He commented.

"Well maybe you like it more as an iced drink." Sophie ventured, touching the cup, discreetly dropping ice spheres into the mug while cooling the whole thing with her hand. Kou watched quietly, and turned away when Sophie gave him a little wink. "Go ahead, try it now."

The prince hesitated, but eventually tried again. "Hm, it is better." He muttered in agreement. "Thank you."

Mili and Sophie looked at each other. It was the first time he seemed to have broken his persona.

"Can you shift into any form?" Kou inquired from Mili.

"Animals, yes, I haven't thought of imitating any shape of humans, and it feels dirty to do." She admitted. "Being with nature is more than enough for me, it scratches that itch."

"Ah look at the time.." Sophie muttered, checking her schedule. "I'll have to leave you two." She stood up, paying the bill at the counter. "Oh right, Kou, I'm arranging that you stay with the four in the same unit starting tomorrow. Don't worry, you'll have your own room, so you won't have to deal with them too much,"

"What?" Kou protested.

"I'm sorry, but I need to be able to keep troublemakers in one space. Since the guys are already here, you might as well stay with them until we get you all back home." She turned to Mili. "I'll have to rely on you to pick him up later tonight."

"But what about our lunch date?" Mili pouted.
"You already had my time this morning. I'll see you both later."

x-x-x-x-x-x

Ben woke up with the bright sun of late morning streaming through the windows. The team was not in the room, but Hakkai had just opened the door to fix up their bed.

"Oh! You're finally awake!" the man greeted. "I was wondering if I should wake you, your phone had been making a lot of noise. Sanzo had been tempted to shoot it, so I just went off to fix them up some breakfast."

Ben rubbed his eyes, still bleary with sleep. He checked his phone to find a few messages from their group chat, informing him on the delayed plans. "Damn… Looks like we're staying one more night here." He said to the room.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Sophie says the cleaners were delayed. But she'll let us know if it gets done sooner." He scratched his head and yawned. "Feels like it will take some time." Ben got up, folded his blankets and checked any other significant messages. "Oh, Mayumi has a show later tonight, looks like they'll stream it. We might be able to watch it on my laptop later."

"The circus thing?" Hakkai tilted his head.

"Yes, but Mayumi has her own magic act, and they stream that part specifically. It's very popular."

"What do you mean when you say "stream"?" Hakkai inquired, knowing it nothing more than just being water.

"Oh, hmm, it's like being able to watch something far away. Like the three gods you talked to before." Ben tried to compare. "It's mentioned you can communicate with them on high temples. It's like where signal is closest. But it's a live show. But for Mayumi's case, she can't talk to us. It's just things recording and broadcasting to us live."

"Hmm, I'm not sure I quite understand, but, you can show us again later." Hakkai offered. "Come on, I can still make you some breakfast, I'm sure Goku would have devoured everything downstairs already."

Making their way to the kitchen, they only found Sanzo at the table, reading the paper.

"Good morning Sanzo." Ben greeted, glancing around for the others. "Where's the troublemakers?" Sanzo only nodded to the backyard. Goku seemed to be currently running away from Polly the Parrot. "Geh, that thing's still alive?" Ben muttered incredulously. "I would've thought something had already killed it by now."

Hakkai laughed. "Yes, that bird doesn't seem to like anyone, but he doesn't seem to like Goku the most." He offered some roasted sausages and scrambled eggs to Ben. "Tea?"

Ben shuddered at the tea cup. "No thanks."

"I made it."

"I'll just make myself some hot choco." Ben muttered, helping himself to the pantry and fixing himself a mug of sweet chocolate. He then remembered Sophie's update. "Right, we might have to stay here for one more night, there's a delay in being able to move to Sophie's place."

Sanzo just nodded. Ben glanced at the paper, seeing the news about the hostage taking earlier that week. He mentally took note to read more on it later.

"So what's your agenda for today?" the men looked to the doorway, seeing Juniper watching them.

"Good morning Juniper!" Ben greeted. "We don't really have much to do today, but we might be staying her one more night." He said apologetically.

"Oh don't worry about it!" Juniper waved it off. "And it might work in your favor, too. Noah called earlier, he might be able to make it home tonight. At least you'll be able to get some information before you leave."

"That's great news!" Ben exclaimed, smiling at the other men in the room. "Then afterwards, we'll at least be able to have an idea how to get you home."

x-x-x-x-x