Summer Snow Rebirth
Disclaimer: I don't own Saiyuki. T-T I'm tired… okay? And tortured! (M.K. laughs in the background)
Chapter Six: Answers
Gab's reading glasses slightly slid off his nose as he peered closely at his computer screen. They were in their tree house hideout that morning and Rikku had left him in charge of current events and visual information gathering that day. It felt like a slow day since there was barely any relevant news for their information gathering. Before anyone could say anything, the platform they used to get there opened, carrying a man who was about in his mid-fifties and used a walking stick.
"Master Splinter!" Blue exclaimed imitating Michelangelo and was awarded with a bump on his head.
"For the last time, Benedict…" he said, glowering at Blue. "I am not a giant rat who knows martial arts!"
"But Uncle Stuart, you sound like him…" Blue muttered, holding the bump on his head.
The man ignored him and glanced at the others. "Anyway boys…" he began. "Am I, or am I not your landlord? Today is Sunday… give your work a rest for a while… we have church duties."
"Aww, man!" Gab whined. "Can't we skip this Sunday? Uncle…"
"No my nephew…" Uncle Stuart said sternly. "A day of rest is a day of rest Gabriel, you should know that by now…" He started his way onto the platform. "And besides, it would do you some good to listen to other people for a while."
Gab sighed as he took his post in the confession box and placed the voice changer around his neck. How come Rikku and Blue won for the sacristan duties? They were so lucky… they just had to follow the priest, hand him things and ring the bell. He, on the other hand had to deal with people who ask for God's forgiveness of their sins. It was boring! Hardly anyone goes to the box these days anyway. Even if they did, he might tell them to just tell their problems to God, or jump off a cliff...
The door to the box opened, then closed. The other side was silent…. Usually, people made lots of unnecessary noises when they come to the box.
"Okay… are you one of the three?" the person on the other side said quite calmly. He recognized it as the girl from the day before – Linlin Kazuya. "Or are you really a priest named Gabriel?"
He removed the voice changer. "Hey! No real name calling!' he hissed, opening the small window dividing his side from the other and hazel eyes met sapphire. "If you don't want to be called by yours."
Linlin leaned back on her chair. "Fair enough…"
"How did you know we were here?" Gab asked, looking at Linlin in a confused way. "What gave us away?"
"First of all, I saw Blue and Rikku with the priest." Linlin explained, then continued. "Secondly, the name on the box gave you away."
"You sound like a detective…" mumbled Gab and listened outside. The mass wasn't going to be over for at least fifteen more minutes.
He then remembered the information they were counting on about Kusanagi Hitome. "Hey, we have information on your… erm… 'enemy' and the feared Children." When he saw the guarded look on the girl's face he continued. "Meet us with your friends at the old tree house in Neri Park at three later… at least one of us will be there…"
Linlin hesitated. "Why should I trust you?"
"Do I look like someone who would fool another being?"
"Yes."
Gab groaned. "Come on… just be there… okay?"
"You might not even show up."
"I'll bet you my week's allowance we'll all be there way before then…" Gab drawled and was about to explain that it was their hideout, but Linlin was already gone. "Gee… it wasn't in her profile that she was trained like a ninja!"
"Where are we going?" Goku asked for the umpteenth time as they walked to Neri Park. "A restaurant?"
TONK!
"You idiot!" Linlin scolded. "For the last time, we're going to Neri Park and it has nothing to do with food!" she groaned inwardly. She shouldn't have agreed when the boy asked to come along. But those stupid, pleading big golden eyes were hard to say no to. Those eyes were so innocent – it was hard to believe that someone who was as innocent as him existed. It was quite unnerving at times.
Mili and Mayumi were behind the group to the tree house, and they couldn't help but be amazed at the closeness Linlin and Goku had developed in such a short span of time. They were supposed to meet with the boys they met at Aqua World about some additional information regarding that Kusanagi person. Whatever it was going to be, they wanted to know more why it gave Linlin so much rage.
"I'm worried for Linlin..." Mayumi muttered in her soft-spoken voice.
"Hm?" Mili muttered.
"I mean, when she finds out more about that person, what would she do?" It was an earnest concern, and Mili was sad to know that she didn't have answers for her either.
"Well the least we can do is be there for her. And didn't she say she'd train us? I think that's something to look forward to." Mili grinned with enthusiasm, patting Mayumi on the back. The red-haired girl was forced forward by the strength of the pat, but said nothing.
"They seem to be here already." A small machine hovered toward them and stopped in front of the nearest one – Goku. The screen on it blinked on, revealing Rikku's face.
"Wow…" Goku stared at the gadget, and poked it several times. It reminded him of a burger Shun once made for him.
"Hey! Cut that out!" Rikku cried, looking a little motion sick. "Anyway, come on up guys.." as soon as he said that, Goku took the machine out of the air and put it in his mouth. "HEY! SPIT IT OUT MAN!"
Linlin hit the back of Goku's head, forcing the boy to spit it out, sending it crashing onto the trunk of the tree. Some of its circuit sparked, and it soon produced smoke – it was out of commission. A flash of blue landed in front of it and picked it up. Blue looked at them teary eyed. "How could you do this to my baby!" he said, his voice breaking, hugging the machine protectively. "How could you?!" Linlin shrugged then said: "Hey, I'm sorry… okay?"
"Enough with the drama Blue!"
"Get up here already!" Linlin and Goku followed Blue up the tree house, to find it almost not a tree house at all. Blue waved one hand towards their "base". "Welcome to our humble "home".."
"You live here?" Goku asked, looking around, taking in the six computers and the giant CPU the totally blended with the tree house's design. "Not exactly homely."
"Stupid…" Blue muttered, taking out his repair kit. "I meant that we spend too much time here that it's almost like a home!"
"Alright… let's get down to business…" Mili interjected, sounding like an announcer. She looked at Blue. "Since Gab's not here… "
"I'm right here!" Gab's voice called out, coming from another one of Blue's contraptions. Another flying monitor hovered nearby, and it was Rikku again. They seemed to be busy cleaning somewhere.
"Nice place you got here!" the group looked at the entrance and found Jei Murikawa looking around the treehouse.
"BLUE! WHY WERE OUR SENSORS OFF?" Rikku yelled from the monitor.
Blue cowered, as if Rikku could reach him. "Because we were expecting visitors?" He reasoned. The three were arguing and there was no sign of stopping.
"ENOUGH!" Linlin cried out. "We aren't getting anywhere!" she looked at the junior detective. "What are you doing here? They said they were waiting for someone to explain about Feared Children."
"Because someone had brought something to my attention," Jei explained, glancing at Blue who coughed. Jei cleared his throat. "Feared Children…" he began. "Chosen ones with enormous power to stop the rising of Kusanagi Hitome, the evil spirit who feeds on man's greed, anger, hatred, etc. Right now, she's bent on revenge on whoever had sealed her two centuries ago…" he paused and handed Linlin the file. "She also needs that enormous power to finally gain a body of her own to destroy the ones who sealed her."
Rikku clapped his hands, the sound slightly alien in nature coming from a distance.. "Excellent work, partner!" he said, as Blue and Gab clapped with him. "We were right to tip you off about Kusanagi!"
"Tip? Isn't that the one you give to waiters?" Goku asked Mayumi who just gave him a sympathetic look.
Jei scoffed. "You guys used me…" he said, tossing to Blue a small mechanical bug. "And bugged my house, too." He scowled at the boys one at a time. "For rich kids, you guys aren't that bad… but it doesn't mean that I like you guys for doing what you did."
"Okay, the Feared Children part is explained… but where does the Sanzo-ikko come in?" Blue asked, using his anime terminology to use. "They aren't here by accident… I'm sure of that."
"I might be able to explain that…" Goku said, not entirely having his full attention on the subject. "There's this Prophecy Kanzeon told us about…" he could sense that everyone in the room hung on to his every word. "But I can't remember."
"You're weird…"
Linlin proceeded to recite the Great Prophecy.
"Twin stars that shine equally bright will be born on the year of peace. A smaller star, a kin, will follow them, born in the year of chaos. Sorrow will follow one after the other, for the twin closer to the small one will fade, only to reappear after the blue planet has circled the remaining two once more."
"Their powers will be revealed to perform a task no one else can accomplish but them. Four are destined to help, whose past binds them strongly together. Challenges will come to prove if they are worthy of their name as a legendary star. One long gone will soon return and a new star will be born."
"Where the heck do you get those things?" Gab cried in disbelief, wiping a bookshelf with a vengeance. "I've been trying to research on that stuff for over a year now!" he glanced at everyone in the room. "But the prophecy doesn't seem to apply anymore…"
"What do you mean?" Goku asked, his eyes filling with curiosity.
"He means that the prophecy no longer speak of the Kazuya siblings alone,"
"Okay, I got that part… but what do you mean the Kazuya siblings?" Goku asked again. This was more confusing than the last.
"The only reason that Kusanagi has been targeting Linlin and her brothers was because she and her men have thought they were the only Feared Children…" Jei explained. "And that was why she's been sending clues as to who she was going to kill… that Sapphire jewel from the bank.. the color of the siblings' eyes… the mechanical parts… meaning that she had divided, and would soon conquer."
"And they knew this too because?" Linlin asked in behalf of Goku whose head seemed too full to process anymore. "What do you mean had divided?"
"The boys were the ones tipping me off in all my cases… what I know, they know," Jei answered then hesitated to answer the other question. "Had, because Kusanagi had. " It was a finished sentence.
The group was quiet for a while, with only the sound of Rikku and Gab cleaning could be heard. Eventually, Linlin spoke up. "And? Now that we know this, what are we supposed to do?"
"We beat them all up!" Goku declared, clasping a fist in the other hand.
"Yes, that would be ideal, but plans need to be implemented first." Jei said, glancing at Mayumi and Mili. "Not to mention, you two need to be able to harness your powers too."
"Ehhhh? How do you know this?" Mili exclaimed, feeling violated of information she barely had about herself and her friends.
"You forget that I'm a detective. With the boys' help, we've managed to also track your backgrounds. We're positive that you're also part of the prophecy somehow. The faster you get the hang of your powers, the better chances we have against the enemy." The girls nodded, scared.
"It's okay, let's make sure that we get all the training we can manage after school." Linlin assured them. "We'll have time while waiting for Goku from detention."
"So, like what are your powers?" Blue asked curiously, eyeing the girls.
"I think I have magic.." Mayumi said shyly. "Though I'm a little afraid to use it since I don't know the extent of what I can do."
"I can hear animals.." Mili muttered. "Honestly, I don't really think it's anything." Linlin waved it off.
"I'm sure there's more to it and we'll find out soon." Linlin looked back at the boys. "Are there any hints to when Kusanagi would possibly attack again?"
"No.. not really.." Rikku admitted. "Jei and I might need a little more time this week."
"I didn't agree to continue working on this." Jei countered, sounding stern. "Like I said, I did not approve of the things you pulled on me. I could as easily turn all of you in."
"And what of your accomplishments?" Rikku countered. Jei realized his folly.
"Fine. But we're going to have a long talk at school tomorrow, Rikku." With that, the junior detective left the tree house.
Wrapping up their discussion about what they currently know about the enemy, the group parted ways and proceeded to make their way home. Along the way, Goku started sensing that they were being followed, instructing Mayumi and Mili to stay close in case something happened. Before they were able to exit the park, demons started appearing from behind the trees. The boy summoned his nyoibo, ready to defend. Linlin had to make do with close combat.
They were greatly outnumbered this time, and the demons seem to lack a sense of self, attacking mindlessly. They were different from the ones they fought at Aqua World. It made it harder to defeat them as they had to be completely immobilized. They were out in the open as well, with nowhere to hid for the two girls. Linlin ran at an approaching demon, tackling it and pushing it into two more that were approaching. Goku followed through with the final blow.
Moving to the next, Linlin grabbed a demon by the arm, throwing it off to another group. She was starting to feel exhausted, given that these guys were heavier, and not having a weapon was making it more challenging. "This feels endless!" she shouted, running back to Mili and Mayumi, making sure no one was getting near them. She had thought of using her ice, but she didn't want to overdo it. Ramming into another demon, she heard Mayumi scream, a demon having grabbed onto her hair and was trying to drag her away. Mili was trying to pull her back, holding onto her legs.
Without warning, someone struck the demon holding onto Mayumi, and it fell to the ground. Mayumi immediately stood up and held onto Mili.
"Are you alright?" it was Jei, sporting a baseball bat that was bent out of shape from the blow he did on the demon.
"Jei!" Linlin exclaimed, running towards him. "Thank you for the help!"
"I'm not quite sure what's going on, but it feels like a zombie apocalypse!" he said, whacking more demons going their way. Having Jei with them, Linlin moved forward for a wider range around their defense. Whatever it takes, she will kick and punch until she could.
"Can't we go any faster?" Gojyo demanded, as Hakkai drove within the speed limit. "We have to get to the kids before they do!" He said, pointing at the demons chasing the jeep, while Sanzo shot them one by one.
"I'm sorry, Gojyo! But this is the fastest it can go!' Hakkai replied, hitting the demons blocking the way. "Don't worry about them too much! Goku's with them!"
"True, but they're too many!" Gojyo replied then saw Linlin and the rest several feet away. "STOP!" he yelled and held on when Hakkai hit the brakes. He quickly jumped out of Hakuryu and immediately started taking out the demons. Linlin and Jei were busy protecting Mayumi and Mili while Goku fended off most of the attackers.
"What took you guys so long?" Goku called out to him. "I'm hungry already!"
"You're always hungry you monkey!" Gojyo yelled back and avoided the demon Goku threw at him. He struck his shaku-jo thru the demon's heart and aimed for another at a distance. He looked around for Linlin and Jei and found them fighting the demons with their bare hands, and a beat up bat. The demons seemed to just keep on coming. "Hey Sanzo! Isn't it about time you used that thing?" He glanced at the monk to find him starting to chant. The sutra seemed out of place without his priestly robes.
"MAKAI TENJOU!"
The demons were wrapped by the spreading sutra and soon, all were gone, as if they weren't even there. Gojyo sighed and sat on the ground.
"Tired already, Gojyo? You just got here!" Goku teased, and avoided his blow. "You might think of cutting down on smoking…"
"Shut up.." he mumbled, taking out one of his Hi-Lites. "I'm just relieved you guys are okay!"
"Hey now, it's not the time to get into an argument.." Hakkai said, raising his arms, as if stopping the fight.
Linlin sat on the ground, relieved that the encounter was over. She turned to Jei who walked over to her and sat beside her. She consciously scooted away a little.
"Now I get why you're good at the obstacles and everything else." He commented. "I don't think I would have survived without the bat I found." He said, showing off the broken thing.
"It was still super tiring!" Linlin complained. "They were heavier since they felt like dead bodies. Their momentum was different." She looked on as Hakkai checked her friends for injuries. "We need to train faster." She said, more to herself.
"I wish I could help more, but as a regular human being, I don't think I can do much in that aspect." Jei stated, discarding the bat in a nearby bin. "But, I'm glad I managed to be there for you this time." He smiled at Linlin and waved his goodbye.
She watched him leave, standing up and heading towards her friends. Hakkai healed some scrapes that Mayumi got from being dragged by one of the demons, and Mili's knees that got cut from the tug of war. "That should do it!" Hakkai declared. "Good as new!" The girls thanked him and the three hugged each other in relief.
"We really need to get that training started.." Mayumi agreed. "It sucks feeling helpless." Linlin nodded.
"We'll think things through better tomorrow after school." She mused, thinking of what could help with what she knows.
Hakkai nodded to Hakuryu who turned back into a jeep. "With all this excitement over, shall we get going and escort Mayumi and Mili home?" Sanzo was first to get into the jeep, and the girls piled into the back.
"What about us?" Gojyo complained.
"You can find your way home."
"LIKE HELL I'D LET YOU!"
"And I'm hungry!" Goku complained.
Hakkai decided on a solution. "What about this, we'll get the girls home, then we'll come back for you."
"I guess it can't be helped." Gojyo relented, sitting at a nearby bench, lighting a cigarette. "Come on Goku, we gotta wait here for a bit."
In the shadows, there was a demon that had witnessed everything. He slowly shrank back to the darkness…. the masters must know!
Mayumi stared at the puddle of water in front of her. It was Monday afternoon and she was at the rooftop of the school with Mili, and Linlin– trying to practice. With Goku still at detention, they had time to spare before going home. She had agreed to train, but she didn't like the idea of summoning her powers. Hakkai was with them as well, just in case anyone needed healing. He got himself a foldable chair and was reading a book nearby.
"Mayumi.. are you even listening to me?" Linlin's voice tore through her thoughts. "You need to focus more!" She looked at her friend then hung her head, mumbling an apology.
"Hey! Aren't you just a bit demanding here?" Mili burst out, stepping on the puddle and causing it to ripple. "You know Mayumi can't concentrate easily!"
"But she must try!" Linlin shot back, checking her temper. Nothing would happen if both of them flew into rage. "Goku and I won't always be there to protect you! The first step to controlling your powers is finding your center! If you find your center, mastery and control will follow!"
"And how do you know all that?" Mili asked, her voice still not toning down. "You don't have powers like us! You have no idea how we feel about having this kind of power with constant fear that we might blow up the next person!" she shook her head. "Kusanagi must've been misled all this time!" her friend wasn't reacting. "And you're not the boss of us either! What makes you think we'll follow you just because you say so? You're just a spoiled rich kid who can't get over her brother's death!" She clapped a hand over her mouth. She didn't mean to say that! To her surprise, Linlin just turned around and walked away. Only her footsteps and the opening and closing of the metal door were heard.
"Mili! That was plain mean.." Mayumi scolded. "It wasn't like you at all!" Mili just hung her head. "We don't really know what happened to her brother back then.. we don't know why she really is in so much pain." Mayumi felt her ears grow hot she had never been this angry about anything before.
"Yes, that's true, but you know, sometimes, I just can't help but feel that I envy her." Mili muttered, scoffing at the floor. "Despite all this pain, she's so lucky with what she has and she acts like this. It annoys me at times. Alex is dead, but we're not. It's like she buried herself with him already. It hurts to see her like this."
Mayumi mulled this over. "True, but that wasn't what you said."
"I know..."
Hakkai found Linlin sitting by the bottom of the staircase, her ice surrounding her, protruding through the walls of the stairwell. He sat beside her, waiting for her to say something.
"I feel ashamed to even try to lead them into this." She said. "I'm too impatient since I've already known mine since I was a little kid."
"I suppose that may be true.." Hakkai said. "But it's also true that they need to get a handle of their powers. Maybe a different approach could work? How about asking Sanzo for tips on meditation?"
"Geh." Linlin muttered in disgust. "He's the last person I'd want to ask help from. But he is knowledgeable about this kind of thing too."
"I do have a question for you.." Hakkai said, looking at Linlin. "Why haven't you told your friends that you also have powers?"
"I'm not sure myself," Linlin admitted. "I've always felt that I was already too much, what with the training my parents had me and my brothers already go through. Even if I do ignore the people around me who make those remarks, sometimes it's easier to just play it down."
"I don't think playing small in this case is helping anyone I'm afraid.." Hakkai commented. "Wouldn't it be better if they understood more of where you're coming from?"
Linlin was silent. She had always been afraid that no one really understood. And now, she had friends who could understand. Slowly, the ice surrounding them melted away, as if they never existed.
"Help!" Mili yelled, slamming the door open. "It's Mayumi!" Hakkai quickly ran up back to the rooftop, followed closely by Linlin. It turns out that Mayumi had somehow managed to turn her hair into a spectrum of colors.
"I can't turn it back!" Mayumi cried, tears brimming in her eyes. She was panicking. "What if it's stuck like this forever?"
Forgetting the current problems, Linlin started giving out instructions to her friend. "Mayumi… calm down!" she said firmly, holding her friend's hand encouragingly. "Allow yourself to relax and think of your hair back to normal! Take deep breaths, follow my breathing." She urged, taking a deep breath, counting in her head, then releasing. She did this a few more times to help guide Mayumi.
Mayumi followed what her friend was telling her, closing her eyes and took deep breaths. She wasn't sure if this was going to work, but her previous panicking wasn't going to help in any way. She tried to feel for her magic, and imagined her hair slowly turning back to normal.
"You did it Mayumi!" she heard Mili cry and finally opened her eyes, seeing for herself that she had indeed done it. She looked at Linlin who had already walked off a distance from her. She saw the she was glad, but she walked away from them for the second time.
"See you guys tomorrow!" Mili called out as they parted ways. It was cool what her friend could do and couldn't wait to try out her powers. She stopped. She didn't know how…. They needed Linlin. She sighed. She was wrong to have said what she had said and she had to apologize.
Mayumi walked dejectedly home. If it weren't for Linlin, she would've ended up shaving her head when she got home. Either that or her mom would send her to a boarding school. She absently patted a lamppost as she passed it. Her mother could be unfeeling sometimes….
Unknown to her, a demon had been on top of that post. He had been watching her since she parted with her friends. He had to have something to report to his masters. He moved to follow, but his feet seemed stuck. Looking down, he found that his feet had turned to ice and soon, half of his body was frozen. He could no longer balance himself and fell into the dumpster below.
TLEET TLEET! TLEET TLEET!
"Oh no!" he muttered as he heard the engine of the garbage collector come nearer. He couldn't move! The ice had crept up to his arms – he was doomed.
"Okay! Haul 'er in!" he heard them say. He tried to yell, but he was already muted by the ice. Only Fate knew what would happen to him.
When the ice finally melted, he found himself in the city dumpsite – thirty kilometers away. He sighed. "I should've taken up accounting…"
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