Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ A Simple Kiss ❯ Trouble Awakens ( Chapter 11 )

Title: A Simple Kiss - Chapter 11: Trouble Awakens

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Hakkai opened his eyes as the first hints of daylight crept over the horizon. He yawned and sat up, stretching his arms above his head. It was going to be a good morning, he told himself, whether the others liked it or not. He got up and glanced at his roommate, who was snoring softly, hair spread out over his pillow like a red river. Hakkai smiled at him and headed to the bathroom to get dressed. Coming back, he took a minute to pack his things, then shook Gojyo's shoulder gently. "Gojyo, time to get up."

The half-breed opened his eyes slowly and looked up at him. Blinking the sleep away, he glanced towards the window. "Damn, Hakkai. The sun isn't even up yet. Stupid monk doesn't know the sacrifices I have to put up with on this mad journey to hell."

Hakkai laughed and stepped back to give him room. "Don't let him hear you say that unless you don't like living."

Gojyo grinned at him and stood up, grabbing his clothes and heading to the bathroom. "You going to wake up the monk and his monkey, or do you want me to?"

"I think you did enough damage putting them in the same room together. I'll take care of it. You might want to watch it this morning. I'm sure Sanzo realizes you did that on purpose."

Gojyo's grin widened. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be good."

Hakkai smiled as he walked across the hallway. He could hear Goku snoring through the thin door, but knew Sanzo was probably awake already, so he knocked lightly. He waited until he heard Sanzo call for him to enter, then did. Goku was still asleep, arms and legs stretched out into a position that no one but him could sleep in. Sanzo was seated in the windowsill, robes already on and a cigarette in his hand. He did not remove his gaze from the window, but something in his posture made Hakkai pause. Sanzo radiated tranquility, which was totally opposite from his normal morning attitude.

"Good morning, Sanzo."

Finally looking at him, Sanzo replied, "What's so good about it?" His words were part of their regular morning routine, but this time there was no bite to them. They were calm, as was his expression. Hakkai was taken aback, but made sure not to show it.

"It's a beautiful day, and we're still alive. Isn't that enough?"

"Ch'," Sanzo replied, then extinguished his cigarette and stood up. Striding over to the bed, he grabbed Goku's shoulder and shook him roughly. "Wake up, saru."

Goku went from dead asleep to wide awake faster than Hakkai had ever seen. Seeing who had woken him, he flashed a brilliant smile. "Good morning!" Sanzo let go of the boy's shoulder, but not before giving it a little squeeze that did not escape Hakkai's notice. Sitting up and seeing Hakkai in the room, Goku greeted him as well. "Morning, Hakkai!"

Hakkai smiled at the young man's cheerfulness. "Good morning, Goku. Are you ready for breakfast?"

This got an immediate reaction. "Oh yeah! I'm hungry!" He made a dash for the door, but Sanzo grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

"Get dressed and pack your stuff first, stupid monkey."

Goku complained a little, mumbling "Don't call me a monkey," but when Sanzo's hand moved in the direction of his fan, he grabbed his stuff and took off, muttering "I'm going, I'm going."

Sanzo shook his head at Goku's retreating back. "Damn monkey."

"I heard that! Don't call me that!" Goku yelled as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Hakkai could not hold back a chuckle at the interaction. Sanzo shot him a glare and he wisely decided it was time to retreat. "I'll grab Gojyo and we'll meet you downstairs." Not waiting for an answer, he walked out and shut the door behind him. Still chuckling, he entered his room to find Gojyo waiting for him, dressed and packed. Hakkai grabbed his bag and gestured towards the door. "We're meeting them in the restaurant. Ready?" Gojyo nodded, and they walked downstairs talking about nothing in particular.

They headed out after a quick breakfast, both Gojyo and Goku sporting new lumps on their heads after complaining about being rushed. The two were huddled together in the back of the jeep, muttering to each other and rubbing the sore spots. The muttering got louder until Sanzo turned around and pointed his gun at them. They shut up immediately and sat back, pictures of innocence. Sanzo eyed them suspiciously for a moment, then finally turned back around and tucked his weapon away. There was silence for a short while, but Hakkai knew it would not last.

"Ne, Hakkai?" Goku leaned forward and looked at him. Sanzo reached for his fan, but did not pull it out yet. Noticing the movement, Goku shrank towards Hakkai before continuing. "How far to the next town?" Sanzo relaxed, and Hakkai knew he had been expecting a declaration of hunger.

"Not too far. We should hit one around lunch time, then there will be another where we can stop for the night."

"Good." Gojyo put in. "One less night in the wild."

Goku took advantage of the chance to tease his friend. "Oh, is the cockroach afraid of lions and tigers and bears?"

Said cockroach took offense and pinned Goku in a headlock. "The only one to be afraid of is me, monkey."

Goku struggled, shouting "Don't call me that, water sprite," but his struggling was in vain. Gojyo rubbed his knuckles roughly over the boy's head before releasing him. Goku started to leap on him, but they both froze at the gunshot that split the air.

"God dammit, will you two give it a rest?" Sanzo's voice was quiet, and all the deadlier for it. Gojyo and Goku both knew that tone and separated immediately.

In the sudden silence, Hakkai chuckled and murmured "My, my, what a peaceful day." He ignored the look that Sanzo shot him and kept his eyes on the road. He was pleased to see that everything was as it should be today.

After being threatened twice in such a short time, Gojyo and Goku had learned their lesson, at least temporarily. They kept quiet, and the next time Hakkai looked in the rearview mirror, they were both asleep.

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They neared the next town right about when Hakkai had predicted they would. Goku and Gojyo were both awake, and the closer they got to the town, the edgier Goku got. By the time they began to see the buildings on the outskirts, he was practically quivering with suppressed tension. His apprehension was getting to the others as well, and by unspoken agreement, they stopped for lunch before entering the town. They all ate quickly, and to Hakkai's surprise, Goku ate nearly nothing. The younger man kept getting up to pace around the group, eyes swinging from side to side as if he was looking for something. After the tenth repeat of this performance, Sanzo had finally had enough.

"Damn it, saru. Quit pacing around like that."

Goku did not answer him right away, instead standing stock still and ogling the town in the distance. "Something doesn't feel right. I think there's trouble here."

The solemnity in his voice shook all of them. Appetites effectively killed, they packed everything up and drove slowly into town. Even without Goku's warning, the place would have been creepy. As it was, they were all jumping at shadows… And there were plenty of those. The town was small, but Hakkai's map had indicated at least a decent population. Instead there was no one. Not just on the street; there was no one in the entire town.

"It's a fucking ghost town," Gojyo muttered.

Hakkai agreed with that summation. It did seem like the only inhabitants of this town might be ghosts. Doors swung back and forth with the force of the midday breeze. Dust and weeds covered the main road, as if no one had been this way in a long time. How could that be true? This was the main road through this area, and while they had not seen any other vehicles during today's drive, there had been other people. Had they not gone through this town? Hakkai stopped the jeep, and the group looked around them. The place had a deserted air to it that further confirmed Gojyo's declaration. Despite that, there was something in the atmosphere that was putting them all on edge. Goku hopped out of his seat and jogged into the nearest house before anyone could stop him.

"Damn ape. Get out of there!" Sanzo shouted. He turned to Hakkai and snarled, "This place fucking reeks of youkai."

Sticking his head back out the open door, Goku called, "It doesn't look like anyone's been here in ages. Everything is really dusty. There's furniture, but not much else. Anything that could easily be carried is gone."

"So they left hurriedly enough to take only the small stuff," Gojyo stated. "Is it just me, or is there something seriously wrong with this town?"

"It's not just you," Hakkai said. "It feels like we're being watched."

"Hakkai," Sanzo ordered impatiently, "get us out of here." Standing up, he yelled, "Goku, get your ass out here. We're leaving."

Goku sprinted out the door and jumped into the jeep, but it was too late. With precious little warning, they were surrounded. A virtual army of youkai poured out of every door and window, circling the jeep and the four in it.

"Welcome, Genjo Sanzo. Glad you have arrived for our little party. We've been waiting so very patiently for you." The voice did not come from any of the youkai around them, and they looked up to see the speaker standing on the roof of the building across from them. A woman. No, not a woman, Hakkai corrected himself, a cat youkai. She stood tall and proud, her long tail flicking back and forth behind her. With her black bodysuit and orange hair slashed with black, she looked every inch the wild tiger. Even from this distance they could see her piercing green eyes.

"Hey, she's pretty hot," Gojyo murmured.

"Somehow I don't think she's here to ask you on a date," Sanzo replied. Muttering, "I hate this shit," he stood up. "What the hell do you want?"

"What do we always want? The sutra, of course. I'd ask you just to hand it over, but we both know you aren't going to do that. Besides, it would take the fun out of it," she called back.

"Brains as well as beauty. I like her already." Gojyo was practically drooling.

"Keep your damn mind on the fight," Sanzo hissed.

The youkai around them had not attacked yet, but had started closing in, so they all got out of the jeep, allowing Hakuryu to transform and land on Hakkai's shoulder. Keeping his eyes on the youkai in front of him, Hakkai scratched the little dragon under the chin. "Hakuryu, go find somewhere safe to hide. This could get messy." Hakuryu seemed reluctant to leave, but Hakkai was firm, and the dragon gave a final "Kyuu" before flying off.

Gojyo called his shakujou and Goku already had Nyoi-bou out. Though he could not see it, Hakkai was sure Sanzo had his Smith and Wesson in his hand. Preparing himself for the battle, he brought his hands together and began to call forth a powerful ki ball. Without speaking, Gojyo and Goku backed up, keeping Hakkai and Sanzo between them. Sanzo faced west, Hakkai east, and Gojyo and Goku covered north and south. Prepared for an attack from any direction, they stayed still, waiting to see who would move first.

"Are you ready?" The youkai on the roof cried. "Now you die."

At her words, the youkai swarmed towards them. Goku and Gojyo ran to meet the enemy, making sure to leave themselves plenty of room to work. Hakkai backed into Sanzo, knowing the monk would need protection when he reloaded. Hakkai fired off blast after blast as the retort of Sanzo's gun echoed off the buildings. Keeping part of his mind on the sound, he counted off the shots in his head. Three, four, there it was, the fifth. Hakkai raised a barrier, and waited until he heard Sanzo cock the weapon before dropping it. It had only taken seconds, but the youkai in front of him had taken advantage of the time to press closer. Gojyo's blade screamed into them, and half a dozen fell, blood spurting through the air.

"Oi, monkey boy. I've got twenty! Can you top that?" The half-breed taunted.

"Already have," Goku retorted. Swinging Nyoi-bou in a wide arc, he brought down another three. "And that makes thirty-two."

"Ah shit, I'm behind again," Gojyo cursed. "But not for long!" With a powerful flick of his wrist, the crescent blade spun away from him.

"Hey, Hakkai!" Goku called. "Watch this!"

Hakkai turned just in time to see Goku release a powerful ki ball, smashing into the group in front of him and frying them instantly. The boy let out an excited whoop at his success.

"Damn monkey. He never listens." Sanzo grumbled from behind Hakkai.

"Don't call me that!" Goku yelled as he pressed into the crowd.

Moving the way he was, it did not take Hakkai long to lose sight of Goku in the swarm of enemies. Another shield, another chance for Sanzo to reload. The action was automatic, and Hakkai had lost count of how many times they had done it already. No matter how many youkai they killed, there seemed to be no end to them.

"Gods, this is getting fucking tiresome," Sanzo groused. "How many more bullets do I have to waste on these bastards?"

Hakkai laughed as he threw another blast. "We are popular today, aren't we?"

"You know, Hakkai, you really are too cheerful for your own good," Sanzo responded as he fired off another quick round, then paused again to reload.

Hakkai realized suddenly that the whine of Gojyo's blade had become dimmer, and he glanced around to see that the redhead had vanished into the press of bodies. The movements of the two strong fighters had left space for youkai to press all around them, and it was becoming harder to hold them off and protect Sanzo at the same time. Hakkai whipped out his knife and took a few steps forward, using his blade to force those closest to him back. Losing himself in the fighting, he alternated between the knife and energy blasts. The feeling of blood running down his hand brought back bad memories, but the repetition of slash, duck, blast drove them away. It was not until a long moment later that Hakkai realized he had left Sanzo quite a ways back, and the attackers had filled the gap.

Gojyo twisted his arm, slinging the chained blade in every direction, slicing at every youkai he could see. Twisting the staff, he lashed out with the curved blade, using both ends of it to his best advantage. The screams of dying youkai filled his ears and he shut them out, concentrating on the task at hand. Whipping in a circle, he was disconcerted to find that he had lost sight of his friends, but he knew they could take care of themselves. If he listened carefully, he could still hear the crack of Sanzo's gun, the hiss of Hakkai's ki blasts, and Goku's energetic war cries. He grinned and kept track of his quickly rising body count. He knew it was probably bad to turn their killing into a game, but he was enthused at the idea of comparing scores with Goku later. His young friend had beat him last time by two kills, and he was determined it would not happen again.

Nyoi-bou blurred as Goku spun his staff, knocking away every youkai that came close to him. It had been awhile since they had encountered this many opponents, and he could not help but enjoy himself. Converting Nyoi-bou into its three-segmented form, he had an idea. Glancing around to make sure Sanzo would not see him, he charged the ends of it with a little ki, and let out a war cry as it worked more effectively than he could have hoped. He was still whooping a few minutes later when a disturbing thought caused him to pause. He could not see Sanzo anymore. He could not see any of his friends anymore. He could still hear them, but he could not see them, and he did not like Sanzo being out of his sight during a battle. Changing directions abruptly, he fought his way back towards where he had last seen the monk.

Sanzo fired off his last shot, and when the expected shield did not materialize, he whipped around to see that he was now alone. Cursing loudly, he put his martial arts training to good use. A knee to the gut or a foot to the face would not kill a youkai, but it would put them out of commission long enough for him to reload. Keeping the crowd at bay, he reloaded and snapped the chamber closed, wishing, as he had many times before, that his shoureiju was more than a five-shot weapon. Seeing a hand reaching for the sutra on his shoulders, he whipped around and fired a bullet point blank into the youkai's skull. What he did not see was the one coming up from behind. Turning around a second too late, Sanzo felt the blow to the back of his head and cursed the carelessness that had allowed him to be separated from the others. And then he knew nothing, as darkness overtook him.

Goku did not see the blow, but he saw Sanzo crumple to the ground. Filled with sudden panic, he called his guardian's name. "Sanzo! Sanzo!" Getting no answer, he continued fighting his way over to him. "Sanzo!" With every step he took, he cried out again. As he got closer, he saw a youkai rise from next to Sanzo's body, sutra in hand, blood dripping down his arm. His panic melted into fiery rage, and he lashed out at those around him. "Sanzo!" He was beginning to quiver with anger. With every youkai that he killed, another stepped into its place, and he was no closer to where Sanzo lay. He could feel pressure beginning to build in his chest, and his head started to ache. Anger clouded his vision, and he swung Nyoi-bou wildly.

Gojyo did not see Sanzo fall, but he heard Goku cry out. Pausing during the first free moment he had, he turned his head to see Goku fighting his way towards Sanzo's last position, but no sign of the monk. Worried for the man, he was further alarmed at the rage in Goku voice. If Sanzo really was down for the count, would Goku… movement out of the corner of his eye distracted him from his thoughts, and he ducked barely in time to avoid having his head removed. Goku was still calling Sanzo's name, but the tone had changed, building towards a fever pitch, and Gojyo felt a cold finger of dread draw up his spine. Swinging the blade of his shakujou around, he cleared enough space to turn towards Hakkai. "Hakkai, we have to stop Goku before he snaps!"

Hakkai had heard Goku's cries, but had been too busy to investigate. At Gojyo's yell, he raised a quick shield and whipped around. It was not hard to find the boy; every few seconds another body flew up out of the crowd, knocked away by his increasingly wild swings. "Goku! Listen to me. Calm down!" There was no response.

Gojyo added his voice to the plea. "Goku! Damn monkey, calm the fuck down! Going nuts isn't going to help Sanzo!" There was still no response from the boy.

Hakkai tried to move towards him, but there were just too many youkai in the way. Clearing out as many as he could at one time, Hakkai edged towards the youngest member of their group. He had not gotten very far before being pushed back again, but he had gotten a glimpse of Goku. That quick look had not been reassuring. The powerful youkai's face was twisted in anger, and his golden eyes burned with rage. Blood dripped from a cut above his eye, and even as far away as he was, Hakkai could still see the obvious crack running through the center of Goku's diadem. The young man's hands were starting to pulse with green light, and Hakkai could feel an enormous build-up of ki in the area. "Gojyo, it's too late. He won't listen!" He tried to keep the panic out of his words. Sending out a blast of ki to clear his way, Hakkai ran to Gojyo's side and raised his thickest shield.

"This is going to be really bad, isn't it?" Gojyo asked, fear in his voice.

Hakkai could only nod. The increasing ki that centered around Goku suddenly exploded out in a circle around the boy. Youkai three deep were immediately incinerated, and those a little farther back were tossed like rag dolls. The shock wave hit Hakkai's shield and rocked him backwards, only Gojyo's support keeping him on his feet. It was like a bomb had gone off. When the blast cleared, there was sudden silence. Everything seemed to stop, and the only sound heard was the crackling of divine power as Goku's limiter crumbled into pieces.

As they hit the ground, howls of pain filled the air, and Goku sank to his knees, hands pressing into the sides of his head. As his friends watched in growing horror, Goku's image seemed to flicker. His hair lengthened, nails became sharp claws, ears stretched out to points. The howling stopped abruptly, plunging the area into silence again. All eyes were on the figure on the ground as he slowly stood, then straightened to his full height, a stance full of confidence and mockery of the weak enemy before him. Golden eyes snapped open, surveying those surrounding him with feral glee, and he laughed, a mad, blood-curdling laugh.

Seiten Taisei had arrived.

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A/N:

And on that note, I'm off to ACEN! Don't ask me why I'm driving 12 hours to an anime convention, I don't know myself. But I know it's going to be great! To those who said they are going to be there, I hope we can meet up and chat! I'm dying to fangirl with someone about our gorgeous Saiyuki boys!

Those who don't already know, the 10th Saiyuki DVD came out this week, and it has episode 39 on it. What a great episode for some drool-worthy Sanzo images and some great SanzoxGoku moments. Homura's comments towards the end just had me swooning! I think I squealed through the entire episode.

Thanks to stitcher2ficcer for your great work, as always. If you haven't read her wonderful story, 'Awakenings', you really should! It's just awesome!

My greatest thanks to all my reviewers. You guys make my day!

TJ: I got your review as soon as I posted chapter 10, so I hope you liked that one and this one as well. Thank you for your wonderful comments, I like to hear that my reviewers think I'm doing a decent job.

bleedformeee: You're such a sweetheart! That's quite a compliment, I'm happy to hear it!

SuGaR aNiMe FrEaK: I love your little conversations, they always make me laugh. And you pulled Goku in this time as well! Don't worry, I'm weird too. It makes life more fun!

Mei Yanohi : I can't wait to meet you at ACEN! We are going to do some serious fangirlish squealing together! I can't wait to see what there is to buy, I need more Saiyuki stuff!

Me-Nuriko : I always love to get your reviews. You have such wonderful things to say about my writing! I love Goku this way too, he's just awesome!

dragon keeper: I'm glad I don't have to hide from you anymore! Though the cakes make it worthwhile. Thanks! They're yummy!

Merf: You reviewed ch. 9 after I had posted 10, so I hope it lived up to expectations.

Mitsko: I have all the DVD's as well, and I can't wait until they all come out. I am just dying to have the whole collection! I haven't gotten to see all of Reload yet, but I've read the manga, so I know the kami-sama arc, and I'm really looking forward to seeing it. Have you seen any of Gunlock yet? They are just great! Some wonderful scenes of Sanzo, Gojyo, and Hakkai with no shirts on!

gallatica: I'm trying to avoid using stars since ff.net gets rid of them for some reason, or I would glomp you back! I'm glad you liked the nature scene. And yeah, poor Goku didn't get his lemon. But we aren't done yet, so you'll just have to wait! Yeah, I know I'm a meanie, bleedformeee keeps telling me that! ;-)

Pervasive Threnody: I hope we run into each other during ACEN. I'll be looking for you as Goku. I'm glad you are still enjoying my story so much. Stick around, I think the next couple of chapters are just great! (Of course, since I wrote them, I may be kind of biased!)

Iapetus: Another friend to meet at ACEN! This keeps getting better and better. Yeah, it is going to rock! I was worried that my readers would be disappointed with the way ch.10 turned out, so I'm glad you liked it. I'm really trying to build a solid foundation for their relationship. I'm looking forward to the next chapters of both your wonderful stories as well.

Eclipse45: Don't worry, the end is still a little ways away. I have to get them out of the situation I created here first! I think with Goku's background he really would have a deep bond with nature, and it's just so much fun to write. I really get to pull out my descriptive skills for those scenes. See, I didn't forget to update before I left! Hope you enjoy it!

Saiyuki G.H.S.G: I'm glad you are liking my story. Thanks!

Nikki: <hehe> Sanzo can be so clueless sometimes, can't he? It's part of what makes him so much fun to write. I really think Goku is this mature, especially after seeing him in the kami-sama arc, and I love him for it. Harmless addictions like this are just so much fun, aren't they?