Summer Snow Rebirth

Disclaimer:

curiouzkatt: stands tied up in front of a microphone

M.K.: points water gun at cat Say it!

curiouzkatt: shakes head stubbornly NO!

M.K.: squirts water through cat's ear and out the other SAY IT!

curiouzkatt: Okay already! passes a towel through ears I DON'T OWN SAIYUKI….

Chapter Five: A Year and 500 Years Ago

Linlin sat on the ledge of her balcony, watching the moon rise from the horizon. She closed her eyes, listened to the night sounds and tried to analyze herself. What was happening to her? It wasn't like her to put up an act like that… especially in front of someone she liked.

Wait. Someone she liked. That was not in her vocabulary before. She jumped off the ledge, went to her bed and pulled her journal out from underneath. She took note of the day their "visitors" came and her first day to school with Goku. She was noting on the field trip when she stopped at Kusanagi's name. She gripped her pen tightly. She was out to get them again. She rummaged in her box and took out a small blue pendant, the only thing that connected her to Alex. She wore it again, but she was still unsure if it was letting go, or holding on to the past. She went back out to the balcony and was surprised to find Goku there, hiding behind one of the giant potted plants. "What are you doing here?"

"Shh," Goku had a very pleading look in his eyes. "I'm hiding from Sanzo."

"What is it this time?" Linlin asked, rolling her eyes and returned to her place on the ledge.

"He's still mad about the field trip incident," said Goku, not budging from his post. "I told him about the demon and stuff… he said I should have told him earlier."

"Makes sense…" Linlin sighed. Goku must've noticed the sadness in that sigh and he asked what was wrong. "It's just that… I miss Alex…"

"What happened anyway?" Goku asked, shifting to sitting cross-legged on the balcony floor, making sure that he was still hidden from Sanzo's sight. His wide golden eyes full of curious concern.

"A year ago…" she began. She paused. It was just strange. She wouldn't talk to anybody about what happened, and yet now, she was ready to tell this almost complete stranger. Goku was just the type of person you could tell your tale, and be confident that he wouldn't mind at all.

Flashback

Linlin sighed as she looked out the window of her father's Mitsubishi. She had braided and unbraided her hair for the fifth time. They were on their way to their grandmother's funeral in the next city, which was two hours away from home.

"Don't worry Linlin," Alex said comfortingly. "Lion Mane always wins." He was referring to the inter-school intramurals that was always held on the school's foundation day. Unfortunately, they were missing it this year. It was supposed to be Linlin's first year to join, and the twins' last.

"The school always won because you guys were there." Linlin answered, not looking away from the passing scenery outside.

"You flatter us…" Shun answered, finishing his chess game on the computer with Alex. "Check, and mate."

"Aww, man, this program is bugged, I tell you." Alex complained, demanding for a rematch.

"Well, I bet you that Lion Mane would lose this year because you guys weren't there." Linlin said, staring in awe as they entered their grandmother's gigantic lawn. It had been a long time since she last visited here with her brothers, and they weren't allowed inside then.

"Okay guys… we're here!" Mrs. Kazuya announced as Mr. Kazuya killed the engine. She got out of the passenger seat and went in ahead of them. Mr. Kazuya looked at his children.

"I know you guys are a little bit old for this… but please behave…" he said and looked at Linlin and Alex pointedly. "Especially you two."

"Yes sir!" Linlin and Alex said in unison, mimicking a soldier accepting an order with grins from ear to ear. Shun rolled his eyes. He knew they were in for some trouble.

Linlin looked in amazement as they walked in the hallway. They had already gone to pay respects to their grandmother and were exploring the insides of the mansion. She turned around and started walking backwards, admiring the ceiling. "Wow…"

"Linlin! Watch where you're- "

CRASH!

"Oops…" was all Linlin could say as she could feel her mother's angry aura emitting from somewhere behind her. A maid quickly cleaned out of what became of the porcelain jar while their mother approached them and scolded them for ten minutes, that seemed like hours.

"Now… I don't want anything else broken in my mother's house," she handed them some money and raised a warning finger. "Pass the time in town but be sure to be back before dark… okay?'

"Okay…"

One hour later…

"Hurry up you slowpokes!" Linlin teased, running ahead of her brothers.

"We would be glad to…" Alex answered, slightly annoyed.

"…if we weren't carrying these!" Shun finished, slightly putting up the boxes he was carrying.

"Maybe you should ask Uncle Seth for more training," Linlin said, giggling away. "Oh, by the way Alex.. did you get something for Mayumi?"

Alex blushed a little. "Not yet.. I don't know what to get her…" he said as they followed their sister into a small candle shop in the mall. No one was in the shop, but Linlin looked around anyway.

"How about this one?" Linlin said, handing Alex a candle and took another one. "Or this one?"

Alex and Shun followed helplessly. Their sister was in her hyper mode and they couldn't do anything to stop her. A scent suddenly caught Shun's attention away from his siblings – it was gunpowder. "Alex! Linlin! We have to get out of here now!"

BOOM!

Fire alarms blared on as Shun got up from under a few debris. He looked around for the other two. Spotting his sister a few feet away, he struggled to get up and helped his sister. She seemed to be dazed. "Linlin! Get a hold of yourself!"

Linlin's eyes fluttered open, registering her brother's face. "Shun… where's Alex?"

"I'm right here.. " Alex muttered, going to them. His left arm dangled broken on his side.

"We have to get out of here before there's another explosion." Shun helped his sister up, and supported her. "Let's go…" There was almost no one in that part of the mall. If there were any, they were injured as well. On their way out, a dark-cloaked person blocked the way.

"Out of the way, you two," the man said, referring to the twins. "Our business does not concern you. We only need your sister."

"Whatever business you have with her, you'll have to deal with us, too." Alex said, ready to protect his sister.

"Then…" the man began, forming an eerie ball of energy in his hands. "… all of you will die!" He released the ball towards Linlin and Shun. Alex didn't even stop to think and blocked his siblings, receiving the full blast. The man cursed to himself and disappeared.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion for both Linlin and Shun as they watched their brother fall to the ground in a heap. "ALEX!" yelling the name had broken the spell and Linlin ran to Alex, forgetting her own injuries. She knelt down and lay Alex's head on her lap. She knew she was going to lose Alex, but she didn't want to believe it. "Alex…" she was starting to cry. Shun knelt beside her, looking down at his twin.

Alex gave them a weak smile. "Don't worry guys…" he said quietly. "We'll meet again someday… until then, take care of each other.." He was starting to disappear. What was happening? Linlin thought. This isn't what happens when someone dies. He was starting to vanish. He gave Linlin a last request. "Take care of Mayumi…" he said then added: "See you later…"

Linlin forced herself to smile. "Later…" Where Alex was, was a blue pendant. She took it and closed her hand tightly around it. Shun said nothing, but held onto her shoulder in a comforting way. She hugged him tightly, holding on for fear of losing him and cried the pain away.

End of Flashback

Goku shifted in his spot and gave out a knowing sound. "So that's what happened…"

Linlin tugged at the pendant. "He risked his life for us," she said. "I don't want anyone to do that again… I don't want to suffer the loss of someone I love."

"Um, do you think the cat-like person I fought before is involved in all of this?" Goku asked, trying to divert the conversation to something with less angst.

"I don't think so…" Linlin said, trying to remember what the cat looked like. "Her agenda seems to be you."

"Damn right he is!"

The two looked up to find nocturnal green eyes staring down at them. With one swift movement, she was on the balcony. Linlin immediately went on the offensive, attacking with a punch. Her fist was caught with one hand. She knew she was in trouble.

"Is that all you've got?" the cat asked, pulling Linlin to her and punched her on the stomach, sending her flying off the balcony.

"Linlin!" Goku yelled, neglecting his defense, allowing the cat to hit his side. He looked up at the cat with a pained expression. She's stronger than she looks!

She grinned. "Hey, I'm your opponent here…" she raised her hand and a blade-like weapon appeared on it. "Time to die!"

BANG!

The blade was thrown off to the ground below, giving Goku enough to time to counter attack with a low kick. The cat jumped away holding on to her wrist and looked for the intruder. She found Sanzo standing on the ledge of the main balcony, and gave a wry smile. "Maybe you want to fight me instead?"

"Sorry miss, but if you make an enemy out of one of us," the cat looked behind, off the balcony to find Hakkai on the tree with Linlin.

"You'd end up making an enemy out of all of us instead!" Gojyo added, extending the chain of his weapon, missing the cat by a centimeter.

"Your aim is a little off…" the cat commented, picking up her weapon and preparing to attack again.

"Oh yeah?" Gojyo said, giving his weapon a tug, making it come back and tying the cat snugly, pulling him into the center of Linlin's room.

The cat creature struggled with all her might to get lose, but to no avail. "Let me go! Let me go!" she glared at Gojyo. She didn't get to continue what she wanted to say, for Sanzo had gotten to Linlin's balcony and pointed his gun at her.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Sanzo demanded from her, not letting his guard down even though the cat was already tied up. He asked again. "What do you want from us?"

"Hmph!" she refused to look at Sanzo.

Seeing as they were not getting an answer from the creature, Sanzo put his gun closer to her skull. The creature scoffed.

"Kusanagi, she just doesn't want the prophecy to continue. Because it means things as they are would end for our kind in this world." She looked back outside into the night. She almost seemed wistful. "Well, it was fun playing with all of you this time!" she declared, breaking Gojyo's chains and ran out the balcony and disappeared.

They had even more questions than ever.

Sanzo looked around the room, keeping his gun. He noticed that Goku was sniffing the air. "What is it, Goku?"

"I smell blood."

Shun fumbled with his key to the house, careful not to let it slip through his bloody hands. He managed to open the door and lock it behind him. He groaned and sank down to the floor… he had to get to his room and patch himself up before Linlin found out. Standing up, he stumbled forward and he would've fallen all the way if Goku hadn't caught him.

"What the heck are you doing up this late hour?" he asked, as the smaller youth led him up the stairs to his room.

"The question is, what did you do to come home a bloody mess?" Shun looked at the doorway of his room to find his sister glaring at him, demanding for an answer.

"Twenty demons…" he muttered as Goku set him down in a chair in his room. He looked at her sister. He never thought he's ever see her look the way she did now. There was fear in those eyes of her, fear of losing him. Hakkai now came in with medicinal items and started to look at his injuries. He saw the suppressed alarm in his sister's eyes. "Don't worry… I got rid of all of them…" he winced as Hakkai placed some medicine on the wound on his face. He could tell that Linlin was blaming herself – for not being there perhaps. "Look… I can protect myself, too…"

"Shun, you're an idiot…" Linlin muttered and walked out of the room.

"Linlin! Wait!" Shun called, and winced when he realized that he also had a broken rib.

"But that's not quite the priority here…" said Hakkai, now bandaging Shun's neck. "You're more injured than you think…" he said, using his chi-gong to mend the broken rib. "The best for you right now is rest…" He slung the boy's arm over his shoulder and led him to the bed.

Shun smirked. "And I thought I'd be the one saying that to my sister…"

Mayumi sighed as she stared at the pink ceiling of her room. It was Sunday already? She looked at her pink alarm clock before covering her face with her pink pillow. Five A.M. She removed the pillow from her face and got out from under her pink covers. Pink, pink, pink. Why can't her mother appreciate freedom of expression? Why does she always have to have her way? She opened the pink door to her own – pink- bathroom. She started to brush her teeth, pink bubbles frothing from the toothpaste. She mused about the room she'd really like to have. First of all, it would match the general design of the house… and her bed wouldn't be a pink four-poster…. Just a simple, patchwork covered bed.

SLAM!

Mayumi jumped at the sudden noise the closed door had made but shrugged off the enigma and continued to imagine her room. And then… almost nothing would be pink. She'd have the poster of her favorite singer on her cabinet door, and oh, that falling star alarm clock she always wanted. She gurgled on her last mouthful of water, thinking of the changes she wished to make on the bathroom. When she looked down, she ended up spitting water on the mirror.

The bathroom was changed. She shook her head in total disbelief. "Okay, calm down Mayumi…" she told herself, opening the bathroom door. She didn't dare to look at her room yet. "There has to be a logical explanation for all of this.. and that is…" she peeked with one eye, then opened the door all the way. "I must be dreaming.." Her once pink room was transformed into a nice combination of colors – and almost nothing was pink. The things she had pictured in her mind were all there.. the design, the bed, the alarm clock, - everything! She pinched herself as if to wake her. It hurt, but the room of her dreams was still there. She wasn't dreaming and it was the time to panic. No one can find out!

A knock came on the door. "Miss Mayumi…" the maid called from the other side. "Breakfast is ready…"

"Sure Grace!" she called out, rushing to her dressing room and grabbed whatever she had her hands on. "Just give me a minute!" She looked at the choices she pulled out. Khaki pants and a fitted red shirt – it would have to do! She quickly put them on, put on some sneaks and fixed her long red hair into a ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror and decided to grab a vest before running to her door, then stopped. Wait. It was a Sunday. Her mom would faint if she saw her in these… She started to pace about. But where would she go? Who could she talk to about a phenomenon such as this? Certainly not her mother.

She was about to go out when her door opened and her father rushed in. "Dad?" she said, quite surprised and forgetting the rush of the moment. Her father wasn't supposed to be back from London until next week. "What are you doing here?"

"Surprise!" he said then noticed the room. "Whoa! I've been gone for only two weeks and you've done a complete renovation?" he lifted his daughter off the ground. "You certainly are fast little one!" he put her down, beaming at her, then suddenly frowned. "Your mother doesn't know about this, does she?"

Mayumi shook her head and held his father's shoulder. "Dad, it's kinda complicated, but you have to know the truth…." She said, her voice quite grave, making her dad suspicious.

"You did this illegally?"

"NO!"

"Then what?"

She sighed. "I told you… it's complicated," she led her father to sit on her new bed. "It kind of freaked me out too, but when I was in the bathroom, the door suddenly closed… and when I opened it, the room was like this!" she pointed at her clothes. "Now, I even have clothes without pink! – by just thinking it!" to her surprise, her father didn't even seem doubtful. He sighed and smiled at her again.

"I knew I should've told you sooner…" he mumbled, running a hand through his copper hair. "Mayumi, this is the magic within you!"

"Say what?"

"Now it's my turn… it's kind of hard to explain…" he said, grinning at his daughter for not being original. "But we're not from this world…"

"You're kidding," Mayumi said, her nerves finally calming down, only to be overtaken by shock.

"Let me explain… Earth doesn't exist alone…. It coexists with a place called Togenkyo – I'm sure you've heard of it…" his father said. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to believe. "I kind of liked it better here…." Mayumi was silent… everything was kind of hard to sort out. Something in her pocket started to vibrate. She took it out, realizing it was a phone and Mili was calling. She looked at her dad who gave her a thumbs-up, mouthing a 'happy birthday'. She flipped it open.

"What's wrong Mili?'

"Emergency! Meet at Linlin's house A.S.A.P.!" with that, the call was ended. She pocketed her gift and looked at her dad. "Dad, I have to go."

Her father nodded. "Don't worry, I'll take care of your mom."

"Thanks dad, you're the best!" Mayumi said, running out of her room, down the hallway and spiral staircase, into the kitchen and into the garage. She took her pink bike… she paused. If she could give her room a total makeover, why can't she with her bike? She concentrated on the thought and got the dark purple color she wanted. She shuddered. It was getting a little freaky. She rode her bike out of the garage and headed for Linlin's house not too far away. What if she thought ill of someone but not meant it but it happened? She was now scared of her magic. She didn't want to use it anymore.

It didn't take her long to get there, and she rode along the tall fence around their house, looking for the marked bar. They had discovered the human error in the bars about a year ago, and they had always used it as a shortcut to Linlin's room. She slid her bike through and squeezed in after it then rode off to the tree by Linlin's balcony. Getting there, she leaned her bike on the tree and looked up at it, trying to remember how Mili and Linlin used to climb it many times before. She would've had experience in climbing it, if she wasn't wearing skirts before. She sighed… she can do this! With a bit of difficulty, she slowly made her way up the tree until she heard voices from Linlin's room – an angry voice. She discontinued her climb and sat on a branch, obscured from view.

"You disappoint me, Linlin!" came Mrs. Kazuya's voice… she seemed to be suppressing her anger.

"I just went for a stroll.." she heard Linlin mumble. It always amazed her at how her friend can manage to have a calm voice in such a heated situation. But.. weren't they in good terms with each other? What happened all of a sudden?

She heard Mrs. Kazuya scoff. "At three in the morning? I DON'T THINK SO!"

She winced. That was just a wee bit loud and scary. Wait. Linlin was out at three in the morning?

"It's not polite to eavesdrop you know.." Mayumi looked higher up the tree and found Sanzo there, smoking one of his Merlboros.

"Then what are you doing here?" Mayumi whispered. Then realization hit her about who Sanzo really was – who they all really were. "I thought only monkeyes climbed trees." She quickly clapped a hand on her mouth. Oh no! I forgot about his temper!

To her relief, Sanzo ignored the remark. "Avoiding idiots, smoking my cigarette and hearing a conversation in the air."

"Why do monks quibble so much?' she mumbled, imitating Gojyo's word from an episode of Saiyuki she got to watch. "Whatever you say, it's eavesdropping, too." She heard Linlin's door slam shut and took it as her cue. She continued her climb, hopped onto the balcony and entered the room, coming face to face with Linlin's wooden kendo sword.

"Hi…?"

"Mayumi…" Linlin stated, glaring at her friend. She didn't mean to, but her foul mood was still up a few notches. She moved the sword away from her friend's face. "What are you doing here? What's the emergency?"

"You tell me!" Mayumi said, sitting on her bed. She noticed that for once, her friend wasn't wearing a skirt, or anything pink for that matter. "Mili called me up and said to meet here…" she looked around. "And I assume she's not here yet, judging by your mom's recent exit."

"She thought of peeking into my room just when I left…" Linlin muttered, rolling her eyes. "I left a decoy, but she went inside and discovered the old pile of pillows trick…. She was waiting in my room when I got back."

"Where did you go anyway?" Mayumi inquired. "It's not like you to sneak out in the dead of night…"

"It was a long night." she replied, taking out her phone. "I'd better call up Mili and see what's taking her so long."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Maybe she'd answer you if we're all here…" Mili said, coming from the balcony as well. Her hair was a little messy from climbing the tree. "Why didn't you answer your phone?"

"If your mom was yelling at you, would even dare to move?" Linlin said pointedly.

Mili didn't continue to prod.

Linlin folded her arms behind her back. "And why was this meeting so important?"

Because everything is beginning to become crazy… Mayumi thought, remembering her talk with her father.

"Actually, I just called coz I was damn worried about you running away and all…" Mili explained, finishing tying her hair into the usual pigtails. "Your mother took the liberty of waking me up." She looked at Linlin. "So why was your departure so important that you had to make your mom panic like that?"

Linlin sighed. "We'll need today to talk things over." She said. She looked at her friends. "Let's just be quick and get some breakfast downstairs and eat here."

Mili volunteered. "I'll go get the food for us, since Mrs. K wouldn't be mad at me. But don't start talking about things without me!" She went off downstairs immediately.

While Mili was gone, Linlin turned to Mayumi, for she couldn't help but wonder at her friend's new fashion sense. "Are you on a strike or something?"

Mayumi shook her head, paused, then nodded. "It's.. complicated." She started. "Remember how dad wasn't supposed to be back from London til next week? Well he literally somehow just appeared out of nowhere. And, it was a lot to take in."

"And remember how you're not supposed to start without me?" Mili yelled, sliding the bedroom door open with her elbow.

"Ah, Mili, you could have asked me to open it for you." Hakkai stated, bringing the rest of the breakfast for the girls. "You seem to have a lot of catching up to do with school, so I'll leave you to it." Hakkai said. "I'll make sure to tell the others not to barge in either." He gave Linlin a knowing look before closing the door.

Mili handed the girls their plates of toast and eggs and found a spot on the floor. "So, your dad's back in town?" she started, getting the conversation back on track.

"Yes," Mayumi chewed on her food thoughtfully. "And, he told me he was actually from Togenkyo, like Sanzo and his party."

"For real?" Mili exclaimed, suddenly quieting her voice in case anyone else heard. "Wait wait, so Sanzo and the gang are those infamous dudes traveling to the west and stuff I've been reading about?"

"Yep."

"So let me get this straight..." Mili started. "...you're from Togenkyo and you grew up not knowing your dad was from there?"

"Dad is from Togenkyo, but I was born here." Mayumi corrected.

"Okay, so now we're all faced with people who have some sort of magical powers? I feel out of place now..." Mili muttered.

"You can hear animals, I believe that's something magical." Linlin muttered absentmindedly, chewing on a mouthful of toast and egg and noting that the egg was bland. She looked at her curly-haired friend who stared at her dumbfoundedly. She shrugged and just gave that look that said: 'What?' She had seen her friend with animals, and what happened at Aqua World did not escape her attention. "Anyway, what's this about you using magic in your room?"

Mayumi shifted in her seated position on the floor. "I don't know how it happened, but by just merely thinking it, I changed my room into something I really wanted. It was like magic. I got scared but my father had coincidentally gone back home today as a surprise for my birthday. When he saw my room, I explained to him and without even batting an eyelash, he told me that he was originally from Togenkyo, but he liked living here better... I didn't get to ask him further questions because you called for an emergency meeting here..." she glanced at the two other girls listening to her.

Linlin sighed. "With the number of things happening, I'd have to let you guys know what's been happening here since the guys arrived." She began. "We were attacked twice by the cat creature, and Shun was attacked by demons last night."

"What?" Mili was incredulous. "Why haven't you been telling us these things?"

"In my defense, I thought it was a family issue in the beginning." She admitted. "I didn't see the point of getting my friends involved. But both of you manifesting powers must mean you two are somehow included."

The two were silent for a while, the sense of confusion and anger bubbling in the tension. "And? How's Shun doing now?" Mayumi ventured to ask. "How come there was no mention of the things that happened last night when your mom was mad at you?"

"We managed to cover his tracks and his injuries from last night, cleaned off any blood and such." Linlin stated. "And Hakkai used his healing skills a little too well, so it was as if Shun's wounds and broken bones never happened."

"Why does it feel like such a convenient plot twist?" Mayumi mused, eating the last of her toast.

Linlin shrugged. "So, with all the things that happened last night, I decided to steal away a bit of time for myself, just waited for the sunrise at Neri Park, then went back home." She scratched her head sheepishly. "It wasn't the best thought-out plan.."

A soft knock came to the door, and they heard Shun's voice from the other side. "Lin, it's time to leave for church." He slid the door open. "Are you girls coming with? We'd look like one big extended family." he joked and got chuckles in return. "Well, it's up to you guys. Those who are coming, be down in ten minutes."

Once the door closed again, Mili stood up. "Well, I for one want to make things less awkward between you and your mom, so I'm coming." she said proudly, as if she was some hero. "And I don't think we're done talking about things either."

Linlin nodded. "Agreed. We'll have to meet again for this, and probably when you two would start your training."

A/N: As much as I tried, I couldn't bring myself to edit much of the flashback bit. And the reason why there's mention of church is that fact that I was active in church back then. Felt like something I should keep.