Drawn to the Light by Eline

Index

Chapter 1: Excessive Brooding
Chapter 2: Dreams and Eggs
Chapter 3: Sedation
Chapter 4: Moving without getting anywhere
Chapter 5: Underground
Chapter 6: Something wicked

Chapter 1: Excessive Brooding

It's been raining here for more 24 hours . . . While rain is sometimes nice and refreshing, more than a days worth of concentrated downpour gets rather depressing. And the bathroom ceiling has started to leak . . .

Drawn to the Light

By Eline (Kanzeon on ff.net)

Spoilers: A lot of them. At least until the first twenty or so episodes of the anime and most of the manga. And the Gaiden.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the fanfic idea.

Warnings: Serious possibility of shounen ai, bad language and Men Behaving Badly

Surgeon General's Warning: Smoking cigarettes may cause lung cancer.

* * * * * * * * * *

Rain. Coming down in torrents.

Gojyo heard the shutters creak inwards as the wind whistled past the small room of the roach motel they had the misfortune to be bunking in that night. The moisture wasn't helping the peeling paint either.

*Plop*. *Plop*.

Oh yes, not forgetting the roof that leaked in two places in this room. The landlord had ungraciously provided buckets on request.

After a while, all inns started to look like this. After a few trays of beer, all the women started to look the same too. But there were no women here in this one-horse town with this sad excuse for a guesthouse.

And the local beer tasted like piss. Gojyo had long given up on his last pint--a first for him.

But worst of all . . . most terrible of all, was the sodden packet of cigarettes lying on the table where he had tossed it after rummaging in his pockets for some relief in the middle of a joyless evening. It had obviously been soaked when they had been caught out in the storm.

He would have risked a limb or two to bum a cigarette off Sanzo, except he knew that the monk's stash was no drier than his own. Needless to say, Sanzo had been twice as irritable as usual and had gone to bed early rather than touch the local beer.

All in all, it had been a terrible day. When the storm had hit, Hakkai had suggested heading for shelter in the nearest settlement. Sanzo had wanted to go on, but Jipu had been abruptly mired in a knee-high slush puddle in the middle of the road. That had put a large crimp in any of their plans, whatever they had been.

They had had to get out and push Jipu out before the vehicle could resume its dragon form again. And then the white dragon had started sneezing pitifully. Hakkai and Goku were adamant that they find shelter immediately because, as Hakkai had whispered in his ear during the muddy trek to the town, Sanzo with a cold and Goku whining incessantly for food was the last thing anyone of them wanted to deal with.

Sanzo with a cold might have been better than Sanzo without his cigarettes. He had said precious little that evening, but if the persistent tick under his left eye had been any indication, he was more than a little pissed at losing half a day's travel time because of the downpour.

If Gojyo glanced a little to the right, he would see Sanzo's back. The monk was lying on one of the two beds in the room. There were two other futons rolled up behind the door. The inn, moldy as it was, had been the only shelter for travellers in the town. All five pathetic guestrooms in the inn were occupied that night, hence the necessity of sharing one room between the four of them.

It was an open invitation for a virulent case of cabin fever, seeing as how Sanzo hoarded his personal space the way a miser hoarded gold. Hakkai was taking care of Hakuryuu downstairs and Goku was searching for food, as usual. The stupid monkey had looked ready to assist in the washing up if it meant that he could lick the leftovers off the plates.

Sanzo and his moods . . . che! They pandered too much to those moods. Hakkai and Goku had consciously, or rather subconsciously on the part of the monkey, given the priest wide berth that evening. Gojyo had stayed out of sheer bloody-minded perversity.

But Sanzo had other weapons besides his Smith & Wesson and his acid tongue. Like the Eat Shit and Die Glare. And the Really Chilly Fuck You Silence. And the prickly Keep The Hell Away Vibes he generated like a barb-wire barrier. Currently the Keep The Hell Away Vibes were winning as Gojyo felt less and less welcome in the room. Sanzo was not asleep, but awake and brooding. A dangerous time for all and sundry.

At times like this, Gojyo found himself wondering why the heck he was here in Nowheresville, population: fourteen, beer: bloody awful. He had always been a loner and a drifter, but now he was heading off on some mission from the Powers That Be with an irritating monkey, a foul-mouthed priest and a man he had saved for reasons he could not fathom completely.

Sanzo . . . for someone who was supposed to be their leader, he was definitely not a people person, but Gojyo had to give him points for coming through in the pinch. No priestly pacific mutterings from this Sanzo, oh no. He was about six hundred miles clear of Gojyo's original concept of what a monk should be. And a lot prettier too. Sanzo had a face that would put a lot of women to shame and drew lecherous comments from bystanders. Not than anyone could get away with saying it twice. Sanzo had a *mean* left hook.

Just thinking about those guarded violet eyes led Gojyo down another mental path entirely. He sneaked another look at the monk's lean back and blond shock of hair that seemed to catch and amplify the feeble light of the solitary lamp.

Yep, he was definitely getting horny if he was actually checking out *Sanzo* of all people. He would have better luck finding some local sheep to bugger. The sheep at least would have been more accommodating and they did not swear like an entire barroom full of sailors.

Suddenly restless, Gojyo sprang up and conceded defeat. No point in staying up here with blondie and his invisible defences. He strode downstairs to what was supposed to be the common room of the inn to find it empty except for Hakkai and Hakuryuu.

"Yo, what's up with the little guy?" he asked as he stood over the makeshift bed Hakkai had made for the dragon in front of the fire.

The landlord, skinflint that he was, might have been less inclined to let a dragon recuperate on his hearth without some extra incentive. But Hakkai could be oddly persuasive in his own way. One would never think that behind that inoffensive mien lay a will of steel.

"Poor Hakuryuu . . . I think he got a little too much water in his engine," Hakkai said, tucking the covers around the white dragon and the hot water bottle more securely. "It'll be a while before he dries out."

Hakuryuu wheezed apologetically and Hakkai bustled off, murmuring something about badgering the innkeeper for more hot water.

Goyjo had never actually wondered about how the magical jeep/dragon functioned, but he could see that Hakuryuu was not its usual pure white, but a sallow, sickly shade instead. It must have been pretty serious malfunction/illness then. Jipu/Hakuryuu was Hakkai's pet, but it had carried them through miles of inhospitable terrain on minimal fuel.

"S'okay, little bud," Gojyo said, reaching down to pat the reptile's head. "You're sure to get better with Hakkai fussing over you like a broody hen." Heck, Hakkai *liked* to fuss. Some people might think he was being unbearably prissy, but those people did not know that Hakkai had killed over a thousand youkai and half a village of humans to date. Grown men and youkai would have shat themselves in fear if they knew who Hakkai was--or rather, who he had been.

Gojyo knew Hakkai better than Goku and Sanzo did, but that was saying very little indeed. The closest they had ever gotten was three years ago when he had fished Hakkai out of a mud puddle and brought him back home like a stray puppy. He grinned inwardly at that mental picture. He never had a pet when he was a kid--he must have been making up for opportunities lost during his childhood. (*What* effin' childhood?)

No stray puppy had ever stared up at him with a look that said "please kill me" though. These days, Hakkai's eyes rarely said anything. He could only suppose that Hakkai had chosen to come along on this crazy trip for the same vague reasons he had.

A movement caught his eye. An insect was fluttering close to the lamp that lit one of the dingy corners of the common room. Gojyo thought it was a moth at first, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a much smaller flying insect he recognised.

This particular kind of fly mated during the wet season. Especially rainy nights. They would grow wings longer than themselves for the courtship flight and then lose them once the deed was done.

Gojyo huffed mirthlessly. The damned flies were getting more action than he was at the moment.

He watched as the fly was joined by a second in their dance around the orange glow of the lamp. Yep, he, Sha Gojyo, was definitely bored out of his skull when he started to find the antics of insects amusing.

Well, voyeurism was something new after all . . .

* * * * * * * * * *

Back to index

Chapter 2: Dreams and Eggs

Drawn to the Light

By Eline (Kanzeon on ff.net)

Spoilers: A lot of them. At least until the first twenty or so episodes of the anime and most of the manga.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the fanfic idea.

Warnings: Serious possibility of shounen ai, bad language and Men Behaving Badly. Beware of the shifting PoVs.

Surgeon General's Warning: Smoking cigarettes may cause lung cancer.

* * * * * * * * * *

Lately, Sanzo had found that his aversion of rain was returning with a vengeance. Ever since this mission had begun, nothing had been simple anymore.

What had begun as a straightforward search and destroy mission from the Three Aspects had turned into the journey from Hell. It was not the first time he wondered *why* the gods needed a human messenger when they could chuck their own thunderbolts. The Talking Heads, as he privately referred to them, could take the mission and shove it up their presumably present but invisible collective arses. But the-world-as-they-knew-it hung in the balance, and so some celestial half-wit had probably suggested, "Send out the mortal errand boy to deal with it, chop chop--oh and bring along these three youkai (two and a half actually) for some obscure reason".

Turning over restlessly, Sanzo glared at the cracked and peeling ceiling. At that moment, he itched for a cigarette, but the last few sticks of his Marlboros were definitely the worst for the drenching they had experienced.

He resisted punching something--anything--to relieve the tension. For one, it would accomplish nothing and he was in no mood to deal with Hakkai's fussing if he bloodied his knuckles.

"Fuck . . . They always said abstinence was good for the soul . . ." That had been the way of the monks in the monastery. Abstinence to raise spiritual power and sustain the faith.

But that hadn't helped them in the end, had it? He had felt a pang of regret when Shuuei had told him about the youkai who had came back to raid the temple for the Maten sutra he had inherited. He had never really been close to anyone else in the monastery, but it had been his home until he had cut his ties with it. And the thought of any others else dying because of him . . .

He wondered sometimes if his master would approve . . . of what he had become. A pathetic creature who shunned attachments but could never truly pull away from the past.

Too many ghosts seemed to return on rainy nights for his comfort. There was nothing to bring temporary relief . . . nothing to grant temporary forgetfulness.

There were tales of a river flowing somewhere . . . A river filled with the Waters of Forgetfulness. If he had been offered a sip of that river that night, he would have taken it and to hell with the consequences . . .

* * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * *

It was dark here.

But where was *here*?

Was it the darkness of that seemingly never-ending night when his master had died in front of his eyes?

Or was it the darkness of those nights that had followed as he tried to exorcise his personal demons along with the youkai he despatched with something akin to joy?

There was someone else here.

Who are you?

*What* are you?

* * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * *

It was still raining in the morning. Drizzling, actually. The cold, wet and dismal kind that kept the slush on the ground at the right consistency for an unwary foot to slip on.

Hakkai braved the unsheltered distance between the privy and the backdoor of the hostel with an old hemp sack over his head. Nodding at the cook of the establishment--and receiving a grunt in reply--he made his way through the kitchen and out to the common room.

It was an hour after dawn, but no other guests were stirring. Granted, it did not look like it was actually *morning* or anything close to a day when any sane traveller would venture forth . . .

Hakkai shook his head and went to check on Hakuryuu. They would be going nowhere in this weather without Jipu. And Jipu/Hakuryuu was *not* going to go out in this weather with a cold or whatever it was that magical dragons/jeeps came down with if he had any say in that matter.

"Piuuu . . ." Hakuryu had popped his head up when Hakkai had came near the fireplace.

"Good morning. Are you better now?" Hakkai liked talking to Hakuryuu at this time. He was the only one capable of a coherent and relatively good-natured conversation in the mornings. The conversations *were* a little one-sided, but Hakkai was fairly sure he could tell one "piuu" from another "piuuu" by now.

"Piuuu . . ."

"Hungry?"

"Piuu!"

"Right! I will go arrange some breakfast for us," Hakkai said. "All of us." He glanced over to where Gojyo was slumped face-down at the table, snoring gently. Neither of them had slept that night, only dozing off an hour or two before dawn.

He had found Gojyo in the common room last night, bemoaning the lack of functional cigarettes and how some insects were probably seeing more action than he was. Hakkai being Hakkai had just smiled and nodded along. Privately, he wondered if nicotine withdrawal was detrimental to mental health. The conversation they had after that . . . had been *interesting* to say the least.

Then again, this journey had been "interesting" as well. Now Hakkai believed that getting a good breakfast between oneself and the interesting challenges of the day could make a real difference. For one, it might be the last meal of their lives, but that was being pessimistic. Or realistic if one was cynical. He left the cynicism to Sanzo and trusted in his own cooking.

Not that he was saying anything about the cooking at this establishment, but . . .

An hour later, Gojyo stumbled into the kitchen. "Oi . . . Hakkai . . . Where's the damned bathroom?"

"It's out back," Hakkai said from where he had commandeered the stove. "But it's raining, so be careful of the mud."
"Gah! Bloody rain . . ." Gojyo muttered as he slipped out the backdoor. Hakkai noticed that he was not going in the right direction of the privy and would have called out to tell Gojyo so, but a sudden thought came to him about the likelihood of the kappa going any further than he had to for a piss.

"Ah." After all, the backyard of the inn had not been all that sanitary to begin with. And the mud was not going to get any cleaner . . .

"I smell *food* . . ." Yawning but still moving at considerable speed, Goku appeared in the doorway. "*Good* food . . . I knew it! Hakkai! You're cooking!"

"Good morning! How do you like your eggs?"

"Err . . ." Goku appeared to be giving this simple question some thought. "Hakkai, how many ways are there to cook eggs and can I have them all?"

"Ah, I will try my best," Hakkai said. Goku had the constitution and appetite of a teenager and it never failed to amaze people how much food he could pack away. It was a *good* thing he had commandeered the kitchen then . . .

"Ne, Hakkai, I had a really weird dream last night . . . "

Gojyo chose this moment to join the conversation from the backdoor. "Really? Was it a *hentai* dream?" The red-haired man looked marginally more awake and lucid. Lucid enough to start the day's first quarrel with Goku at any rate. "You know, Goku, the type one where you normally wake up with a st--"

"Ewww! You're disgusting!" Goku yelled. "It wasn't like that at all! It was all dark and there was this girl--"

"Ooooh, that's the kind of dream I like!" Gojyo held Goku off with one hand as the monkey tried to punch him. "You're a normal boy after all--"

"Pervert--"

"Shut the fuck up!"

A few lumps of plaster rained down on the frozen tableau from the bullet-hole in the ceiling, caused by the shot Sanzo had used to emphasise his point. The monk had never been a morning person, but this was a little extreme.

"Erm . . . It's a little early in the morning for bullets, ne?" Hakkai ventured. The landlord was *not* going to be happy with the new hole in the already cracked and crumbling ceiling.

"Just shut up! And get me some coffee!" Sanzo barked and flopped down ungracefully on the nearest empty chair.

Goku and Gojyo, still frozen where they stood, exchanged a look. Even Hakkai was a little surprised. Sanzo was not usually that snappy . . .

"Okay . . . just a moment. Black as usual?"

His only reply was a grunt.

"What crawled up his butt and died there?" Gojyo muttered as Hakkai passed him a mug.

Hakkai shrugged as he turned to dish out the eggs. "He's probably still irritated at losing so much travelling time . . ."

But it was Goku who dared to venture a question. "Sanzo? Er, Sanzo are you okay?" he asked meekly. "I could go get your paper if you want to read it . . ."

And then Hakkai realised that Sanzo was not reading the morning paper but clutching at his head. What had originally looked like his early morning case of grumpiness was actually a pained expression.

"How much did he drink last night?" Hakkai asked Gojyo quietly.

"Eh? But we're out of booze . . . No more beer, whiskey or scotch--and there's none worth drinking in this dinky town," Gojyo replied, puzzled. "Oi Sanzo, have you been holding out on us?"

If looks could kill, Gojyo would have been a greasy smear on the floor by now.

"I. Am. Not. Having. A. Hangover. Stupid. Kappa." Sanzo was going for his gun again as glaring could not accomplish what his revolver could. Gojyo very wisely decided to duck.

But Sanzo staggered before he could pull the trigger again. "Shit!" he swore.

"What's wrong?" Abandoning breakfast, Hakkai came over the table, still wary of Sanzo's trigger-happy mood.

"My head hurts . . ."

"Headache? Do you want me to try and cure it?"

"Wow, you can do that too, Hakkai?" Goku asked.

In all honesty, Hakkai had never tried curing a headache before. Wounds, scrapes, burns, lethal life-threatening wounds yes--headaches, no. But giving it a try was a better option than to have Sanzo wandering around armed and in pain.

"Sit down." And he did pick the gun out of Sanzo's grip before he started to draw on his power and laid a hand on Sanzo's brow.

"It's . . . *not* working," Sanzo said after a few moments.

"Give it a little while more," Hakkai requested. "I think it's a migraine. Does it hurt on the right or left side of your head?"

"I can't tell! It just hurts!"

"So this isn't working . . . I guess this kind of problem is too subtle. We may need medication . . ."

"*Sedation* is more like it," Gojyo said, emerging cautiously when the threat of swift and permanent ventilation appeared to be over. "But where can we get any medicine in a place like this?"

"There's bound to be some sort of doctor out here . . ." Hakkai said. This area was rural, with scattered agricultural communities. There would usually be some local herbalist to consult. "Someone has to see to sick people. We should ask the landlord."

"I'll go," Gojyo volunteered. "He's still out of sorts--I don't want to be around when he tries taking pot-shots at anyone again."

It was a testament to just how much Sanzo's head hurt when he did not even attempt a retort.

"Hurry," Hakkai whispered. "And see if you can get something for Hakuryuu's cold!"

"All right!"

* * * * * * * * * *

End Part 2

Back to index

Chapter 3: Sedation

Drawn to the Light

By Eline (Kanzeon on ff.net)

Spoilers: A lot of them. At least until the first twenty or so episodes of the anime and most of the manga. And the Gaiden.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the fanfic idea.

Warnings: Serious possibility of shounen ai, bad language and Men Behaving Badly

Surgeon General's Warning: Smoking cigarettes may cause lung cancer.

* * * * * * * * * *

When asked to choose between Sanzo with a migraine and facing the rain with an old hemp sack, Gojyo had opted for the lesser of two evils. It had been easy to rouse the landlord. Using minimum force and almost no cuss words at all, he had pressed the old skinflint for directions and left the inn quickly.

It was still raining. The persistent kind of rain that would get into your boots and through your pants even though you knew you were avoiding the puddles. For once, he was glad that this town was small and had a grand total of perhaps three or four streets.

Goyjo was still rather damp by the time he got to the address on the outskirts of town. The house was small, but looked well-kept. He got under the scant shelter of the awning over the door and knocked.

The door opened a crack. "You're a day early."

The occupant of the house pushed the door open wide.

"Hmm . . . you don't *look* like the baker's youngest son." The speaker stepped out into the dim light. She was not old, but not that young either. Matured . . . that was the word for the dark-haired woman in the doorway.

"Eh?" Goyjo enquired brightly.

The woman leaned against the doorframe, one arm arching up melodramatically in a clatter of bracelets.

Goyjo followed the pleasing line of her arm up to the discrete little red lantern that was half hidden by the eaves. It was not lit.

Ah. His sleep-deprived brain finally caught up with the rest of him. While searching for a medicine shop, he had found the town whore during her non-business hours instead. The confusion must have shown on his face.

"Hey, I don't normally get disappointed customers, you know?"

"No offence to you, lady, but there's a time and place for these things and I'm looking for a migraine cure," he said with a casual shrug. He contrived to look inoffensive. "Mind if you point me in the general direction of the nearest herbalist?"

"Oh, then why didn't you say so?" she asked. "I've got willow-bark tea with mint and a few of my special herbs, or the local version of aspirin, if you want."

His nonplussed look set her dark eyes rolling comically. "This really is a two-bit town, if you haven't already noticed. I'm a provider of relief, in more ways than one."

"Multi-purpose, huh?"

"If I had a penny for every time I heard that one . . ." She shook her head and motioned him indoors. "Take off your boots and come in. Don't drip any mud on my floor--I just cleaned it. You don't look like you're the one with the migraine."

The town medicine woman/whore's abode was warm and had that lived-in feel that made visitors automatically comfortable. "Nope--it's for a friend," he replied and sat down on something like a kitchen chair with a home-made cushion tied on the seat. "Got anything for a small sized dragon suffering from overexposure to the rain?"

"Dragon? That's a new one . . . You'll have to wait a few minutes," the medicine woman said as she deftly tipped some dried herb mixture into a pot of boiling water.

"Sure. I got time." Which was not *entirely* a lie. Gojyo hoped that Hakkai and Goku could bear up with Sanzo a little longer. He settled down and took the chance to have a look around the woman's small kitchen cum living room. The furnishings looked mismatched and mended, but were mostly in good shape. Bunches of herbs and things he couldn't identify hung from lines strung across the room. And it was clean. Gojyo had seen the homes of less house-proud women before. It was rather reassuring to find a hygienic herbalist in this dump.

"Normally, I like to see my patients first, but I'll make an exception for a pretty boy like you."

Gojyo repressed a chuckle. Lady, you don't know what you're missing, he thought to himself. But considering the mood he's in now, the minute blondie opens his mouth, you'd be out the door before we could tackle you and offer practically *anything* to get rid of his migraine.

"The name's Gojyo. Under different circumstances, I think we'd be very good friends."

"Kailan. Under different circumstances, that line wouldn't even get you a discount." She sat down opposite him with a pouch that smelt tantalisingly familiar.

He watched, fascinated, as she rolled a cigarette from the contents of the pouch--a clump of shredded tobacco and a thin sheet of paper. Wetting one edge of the paper with her tongue, she sealed her roll-up with speed born of experience.

"Hmmph, that's the first time I ever saw someone drooling at my *cigarettes*."

"I'd kill for one right now though."

"Careful what you promise laddie," she said without mirth. She offered him the roll-up and nudged the lamp over to him. "That and the advice will be free."

At close range, Gojyo could see the markings on the bracelets she wore. Oh joy. She was a witch in addition to the village herbalist.

He lit the roll-up carefully with the lamp flame and drew in a much-needed nicotine fix. Her tobacco was interestingly spicy--he supposed that she made her own blend. "Is there anything you *don't* do?" he asked, wondering how he could have missed the astrology charts on the walls and the slightly more mystic looking marks inscribed over the threshold of every door.

"It pays to be generally indispensable and slightly feared." Kailan smiled slightly. "Now it's my turn. What is a half-youkai doing in this town? With other youkai, no less."

"Just passing through," Gojyo said cautiously. She was not youkai, not as far as he could sense. And she might actually have some gift of that *other* kind of sight if she knew that Hakkai and Goku were not really human. "Got anything against youkai?"

"Never knew many of them. But it doesn't rain here often."

"What?" The change in subject had puzzled him.

"I said it doesn't rain here that often. They use irrigation to fill the fields. This is the first time it has really *poured* in months. Nice coincidence, huh?"

"What's it to you?"

"Well, it's a fine line between being slightly feared and on the receiving end of a lynch mob," Kailan said calmly. "I have some small ability to bring rain."

So that was why they had not driven her out of town with the generic bucket of tar and a sack of feathers. Yet. Not while she still had some worth to the surrounding rice farms.

"But yesterday's rain was not my doing. It's beyond my abilities to produce something like that," she continued.

"So? It's probably some freak storm that'll blow over soon."

"No," she said firmly, "it's not natural. Furthermore, few humans can bring about anything like this."

"Any resident youkai around?" Few youkai had power to influence the weather on any scale . . . unless they were the powerful sort.

"None that I've heard of . . . But there are legends," the apothecary said, lighting a new roll-up. "Folklore about what used to be here . . . It used to be a site of elemental force of some sort. Very old and not for someone like me to fathom. But what I'm most concerned about is, that if this continues, the rice fields on this side of the river will flood. And I'll have to move. Just when I was thinking about settling down in my old age too."

Gojyo did not need to be a student of economics to see how the scales were stacked here. "You think there's a problem . . . So what are you going to do about it?"

"Eh, well . . . Strike a bargain, of course. It's what I do best," Kailan said with a slight smile. "It's along the way for you if you're going west across the river."

Ah, so this was what it had been leading up to. Sanzo would *not* like this. "We're in a little bit of a hurry--"

"It's along the way, I said. The disturbance is near the river crossing. Won't take five minutes to have a look along that zone. And you're not moving from this town until someone gets a migraine cure, right?"

"And a dragon with a cold."

"I don't do reptiles."

"Neither do I, but give it a try." Hakkai would definitely prefer to leave after Hakuryuu was cured.

"*Fine* . . ."

* * * * * * * * * *

It was not easy, keeping an ill-tempered monk like Sanzo down when all he wanted to do was spread a little of the pain around. Sanzo was generous in that way . . .

Goku had gone through the slightly overdone eggs in less than a minute and succeeded in irritating Sanzo within two minutes of clearing his plate. Sanzo still had his fan, which he used with maximum efficiency whenever Goku was in range. There had been a short chase around the kitchen earlier on, but his migraine had put a stop to it before any more havoc could transpire.

There was just the priest's belligerent attitude to deal with now. Just about all three other groups of guests in the inn had visited with kitchen and subsequently fled under a hail of paint-stripping curses that Sanzo had been directing at Goku, an absent Gojyo and even *Hakuryuu*.

Hakkai had seriously considered using the skillet on the priest, but refrained because the it was borrowed property and had a high chance of coming away second best against Sanzo's skull. After all, he was the considerate sort . . .

When Gojyo *finally* appeared with the medicine, they got Sanzo dosed despite his complaints that it tasted like shit, hauled him out of the kitchen and safely back into their room.

"Ah, that was . . . *trying*," Hakkai said carefully as the prescription took effect. It seemed that Gojyo had asked for sedatives in the mix . . . Which was good. Very good indeed. He checked Sanzo's vital signs and discerned that the monk was well on his way into some much-needed rest. Peace at last . . .

"What a grouch," Goku muttered, rubbing his head. "He'd better get well soon. *Hakkai* was ready to hit him just now."

"Why didn't you?" Gojyo asked. "We could've saved on the sedatives if you'd knocked his block off."

"Not in public," Hakkai said dryly. "I have a reputation to maintain. Besides, the kitchen utensils aren't mine. So how much was the medicine?"

Here Gojyo looked a little uncomfortable. "Er, well . . . It's like this . . . the apothecary made a deal. Medication for free if we check out this site near the river when we left."

"Huh? We're doing what?" Goku asked.

"She was some sort of weather witch--thinks there's something at the river that's causing the rain," Gojyo said with a shrug. "She said the medicine's free if we check it out. And I got her to make up something for Hakuryuu--no guarantees, she said, because she doesn't know what to do with sick dragons."

Hakkai adjusted his monocle and took the smaller flask that Gojyo had brought back. "I see . . ." He would rather not deal with self-proclaimed witches, but they were trying to get to the west as soon as possible. "The medicine seems to be working for Sanzo . . . I will go give Hakuryuu his then. Goku, please keep an eye on Sanzo. And don't let him anywhere near his gun if he wakes up."

"Saaaa, what a bother . . ." Gojyo said as he followed Hakkai down to the kitchen again. It was still very quiet as everyone in the inn was lying low in fear of gun-wielding homicidal monks. "Why'd he have to pick this town of all places to get a bloody migraine?"

"It can't be helped," Hakkai said calmly. "Human flesh is still fragile. Sanzo is only human . . . I suppose, sometimes, he doesn't like it because he thinks he's not strong enough."

"He's held up pretty well through all the shit we've seen."

"He won't be happy that a headache got him down though," Hakkai said as he uncapped the flask. "Hakuryuu, come on . . ."

"Piuu!" the dragon complained after he had stuck his head into the flask.

"Medicine doesn't normally taste good . . . What if I mixed it in your breakfast?"

"Ne, Hakkai, what about breakfast?" Goyjo asked as he flopped down at the table.

"Eh?"

"I haven't had *any*," Gojyo whined, watching Hakuryuu rather enviously. "The monkey ate it all, didn't he?"

"Ah, apologies, Gojyo. I'll just warm-up the coffee and cook up some more eggs. Toast?"

"Thanks . . . You know I'm only good at takeout and instant noodles."

"It's okay--I haven't eaten either." Hakkai busied himself with the skillet, kettle and more eggs. "We should be prepared to leave soon. Sanzo hates losing time."

"Yeah--he'd probably kick us out of here when he gets up if the landlord doesn't. You think the little guy can make it?" Gojyo asked and jerked his chin at Hakuryuu.

"Hakuryuu shouldn't change until the rain stops. Sanzo can walk if he wants to hurry."

There was a pause. And a wide grin spread over Gojyo's face. "I think you're not as nice as you make yourself out to be sometimes."

"I'm not trying to make myself out to be anything, Gojyo--though I'm probably not as trusting as I look. Do you automatically trust people who offer you cigarettes?"

"Uh . . ."

"I can smell it," Hakkai clarified. "Making deals with magicians isn't all that straightforward sometimes. For instance, how would she ensure that you kept your side of the agreement? You didn't swear anything . . . *binding* did you?"

"Um, no--not like that . . . We shook on it and . . ." Gojyo mumbled something into his mug of coffee.

"Pardon?"

The kappa looked slightly embarrassed when he looked up again. "She threatened to curse me with impotency if I didn't keep my end of the deal . . ."

Hakkai could not help the sudden snort of laughter that burst from his chest. After the events of that harried morning, this unexpected titbit was unexpectedly . . . well, *hilarious*.

"Oh dear . . . She must have read you very well then . . ." Hakkai said, attempting to stifle a grin.

"Go on--laugh," Gojyo said sourly. "*You* didn't see her collection of semen in little vials and the little wax dolls."

* * * * * * * * * *

Watching Sanzo sleep was not as boring as it sounded. For one thing, he was not frowning, scowling or calling Goku a stupid monkey.

It was sort of a nice change. Not that he would like it to be permanent though. Sanzo without his trademark scowl just would not be *Sanzo* anymore. For as long as Goku could remember, the monk was belligerent to the world in general and specifically *nasty* to anyone who tried to get overly familiar with him. The only times Sanzo had not been like that was when he had been incapacitated or comatose.

*Those* had been times when Goku and the others had worried over the monk, but this time, it was nothing particularly life-threatening. Sanzo looked like he was sleeping peacefully for once–the strained look that he had worn that morning had eased somewhat.

Goku leaned back in the not very comfortable chair to wait it out. He hoped Hakkai would bring lunch up later. Soon.

"Ne, Sanzo . . . I had a dream last night. It was weird," he said to the sleeping figure. The only way to make small talk with the monk was when he was not actually listening. "It was very dark, and I think there were two people there . . . This guy and this girl–sleeping or something . . . But not waking up. *Ever*.

"It was kind of sad . . . Like they want to wake up but can't . . ."

* * * * * * * * * *

There were two sleepers. There always had been. They had been there in the dark for a very long time now.

But only one of them dreamed. The other one had always been closer to waking.

* * * * * * * * * *

End Part 3

Back to index

Chapter 4: Moving without getting anywhere

Drawn to the Light

By Kanzeon

Spoilers: A lot of them. At least until the first twenty or so episodes of the anime and most of the manga.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the fanfic idea.

Warnings: Implied shounen ai, bad language and Men Behaving Badly

Surgeon General's Warning: Smoking cigarettes may cause lung cancer.

* * * * * * * * * *

Waking up and getting up had never been easy. Not even for monks with missions. Sinking back into he drug-induced oblivion had been extremely tempting . . . But no, he was awake now, sans headache and feeling as sluggish as cold porridge.

And still hankering for a long smoke in a quiet corner with maybe a few shots of whiskey as an accompaniment.

Wishful thinking.

Sanzo opened his eyes. It was close to evening already, if the long shadows on the ceiling were any indication of the time. He still had the vile aftertaste of whatever concoction the kappa had brought back in his mouth. Someone--probably Hakkai--had thoughtfully provided a pitcher of water and a washbasin.

His limbs felt as though they had been filled with lead, but he pushed himself up anyhow, trying to shake off the lethargy. Damned headache and all its after effects . . .

He made it to the washbasin and rinsed out his mouth. Marginally refreshed, he looked out the open window to check the weather. It was not raining anymore. There were hardly any clouds in the darkening sky. A day had been wasted in this hick-town.

Sanzo wanted someone to swear at. Gingerly, he set one foot in front of the other and moved. When the pain in his head showed no sign of returning, he quickened his pace and shoved the door open.

Goku was just outside on the landing--he was leaning over the railing and appeared to listening to the voices drifting up from downstairs. The monkey looked up when the door creaked open.

"Sanzo? You're awake! Hakkai and Gojyo are down there with the innkeeper. I think that man is trying to kick us out--"

"Like we would want to stay another minute," Sanzo retorted. He had wanted to call Goku a stupid ape as usual, but something in the monkey's eyes held him back. Relief. It was the Oh-Good-Sanzo-Really-Is-Okay look that was the first thing he always saw whenever he woke up from the sedatives.

He shunted that disquieting insight aside and started down the stairs with Goku trailing after him.

Hakkai's voice could be heard from the common room, still reasonable but a little impatient this time. "--I'm just saying that we--"

"You made me lose all my custom!" The landlord, sounding indignant. "All my guests got scared away today--"

"Hey, I think the exotic fauna in the bedding you provide probably factored into that." Gojyo, stating the obvious. "And it wasn't like a new hole in your ceiling matters. It already looks like Swiss cheese--"

"I already factored in all the damages in your bill--"

Ah, the landlord was trying to wring them for they were worth before kicking them out. Sanzo made a noise in disgust and deliberately let his footfalls be heard as he climbed down.

The landlord's tirade tricked to a standstill as Sanzo put in his appearance.

"Oh, Sanzo . . . You're up. We're trying to persuade the landlord to let us--" Hakkai began.

"Save your breath. We're leaving!" Sanzo barked, causing the landlord to back up a step and start looking for concealed weapons. "And where the heck is my gun?"

"But Sanzo! I'm hungry! And it's dinner time!" Goku whined.

If Sanzo had been the sort of man who was inclined to kindness, he would have thwacked the monkey and hauled them out of there as soon as possible.

"Ow! Sanzo--that hurt!" Goku yelled as he rubbed his head.

"Shut up, stupid ape," he said, shoving his fan back into his sleeve. "We'll leave after dinner."

Hope faded from the landlord's eyes as Goku started capering expectantly.

It should be noted that Sanzo was the kind of person who would use his fan on Goku and then inflict him on the hapless staff of the inn at dinnertime. After all, the innkeeper did not have to put up with the monkey's whining every day.

But there was one more thing bothering him . . .

"Oi, kappa . . . Where did you get the cigarettes from? I could smell it on you this morning, but I couldn't place it until now."

"Aw hell . . . a guy can't bum a smoke anymore without getting the third degree about it from everyone," Gojyo muttered.

"The local medicine woman . . . Which he made a deal with to check out a possible local disturbance," Hakkai informed Sanzo. "She was, um, very persuasive . . ."

"Were you thinking with your dick again?" Sanzo asked sarcastically. "Don't come running to us if it meets up with a chopper or whatever the women in this place use."

Meanwhile, Hakkai had covered his mouth and was trying very hard not to make a sound as the priest hit the mark . . . without really knowing the details about little wax dolls and assorted body fluids.

"That's it . . . No more charitable deeds for Mr. My-Shit-Doesn't-Stink Monk here," Gojyo exclaimed. "He can go blow his own brains out the next time he gets a migraine--"

"At least I have a brain, unlike certain people I could mention . . ." the priest retorted. "You didn't have the sense the Creator gave a cow to get the rest of the tobacco, right? I'm surrounded by idiots . . ."

Gojyo exchanged a look with Hakkai as the monk stalked off to curb Goku from reading off the entire menu to the beleaguered cook.

Yep, everything was back to normal . . .

* * * * * * * * * *

The dreamer was, for the want of a better word, excited.

A celestial soul, no less. Someone with the power to end the dream permanently.

The dreamer had lost sight of the light for a while. But it was there, just a little out of reach. Just outside the boundaries of unconsciousness.

But the dreamer was nothing but patient.

The light was getting closer.

* * * * * * * * * *

"Sanzo, is this a good idea?" Hakkai asked. It had been nightfall when they had set off from the inn. Now, walking down a rutted road that would have wrecked havoc on Jipu's suspension in the dark, the village seemed rather inviting again.

"Hmphh . . . It was part of that stupid kappa's deal to see this through. Why not now?" The monk looked irritated, yet somewhat preoccupied.

"Ano . . . You don't really think there's something out there worth checking out, do you?" Hakkai asked Sanzo's back. "I can't sense anything . . ."

The priest did not deign to reply.

"Kyyuuuuu? Piuuuuu . . ." Hakuryuu cooed from Hakkai's shoulder.

"I don't know either . . ." Hakkai sighed and walked on.

"Well, we're here," Gojyo said from up. "The river. Or the river bank. To the left of the road for a hundred yards or so . . ."

Goku hoped up onto the stones that lined the bank and peered over. "Whoa!"

"That is quite a drop," Hakkai murmured as they looked over the stony embankment and down into the swollen river below. "No wonder they have to use irrigation . . . The river must be practically inaccessible in the dry seasons."

"She said we may have to go down on the rocks . . . preferably in the day time," Gojyo said meaningfully. "It's suicide to try hopping around down there in the dark!"

"I didn't come all the way here on someone else's idea just to quit," Sanzo said curtly. "Hakkai, is there anyway to make a torch?"

An old dried out branch served as a makeshift brand to light the way as they climbed down the rocky slope to where the water lapped around large slabs of granite. Scattered here and there were clumps of vegetation that had hung on tenaciously throughout the river's fluctuations.

"Hmm . . ." Hakkai peered up at the rocky embankment. "The river must have been receding for quite some time now. But all the growth on the stones here seems to indicate that the water level has been dropping faster recently."

"Other than the interesting geography, there isn't anything else here," Gojyo pointed out. "Unless you mean the possibility of more rain. Can you smell it?"

"Don't see anything. Or smell anything other than the rain that's coming," Goku piped up. "Can we go now? It's getting cold out here . . ."

"So the weather didn't really let up," Hakkai said, glancing up at the gathering storm clouds. "I don't think we can sleep in Jipu tonight if it gets heavy . . . Guess we'll have to break out the canvas."

"Aw shit . . . And we came out here for *what*?"

"A wild goose chase," Sanzo said crossly. "Are you sure you got the right directions from that old hag? Or maybe there was too much rainwater in your ears--"

"Hey! Were you really expecting to find anything he--"

Whatever Gojyo had been about to say was cut off by the downpour that soaked them to the skin in seconds.

"Oh *crap*," Gojyo said succinctly.

All three looked at Sanzo for the telltale blood vessel. Yep, right there--throbbing away under his right eye as usual . . .

"Er, Sanzo?" Goku asked when the monk stayed silent for a full minute.

"I'm tired of this!" Sanzo hissed. "Someone's been fucking around with us and I've had it!"

"Um, I think the monk's gone crazy *and* paranoid, Hakkai," Gojyo muttered to Hakkai. "Come on, let's get out of the rain--"

The earth chose that moment to move. Right out from under their feet.

* * * * * * * * * *

One moment they had been standing in the rain with Sanzo getting madder as they got wetter by the second. Then the stones had started shifting as the storm picked up the pace above them.

They had barely been able to keep their footing, but they had managed to start scrambling for higher ground just in time. Then the river had started to churn. Whatever it was, it was not natural.

Goku could sense it, though he could not for the life of him understand why.

The wave that had washed them clear of the bank would have been impossible even in the most turbulent river.

Fortunately for him, Goku had rather liked swimming and he surface from the water, a little breathless but unscathed.

"Hakkaaaiii!" he yelled into the pounding rainstorm. "Gojyo? Oh wait . . . stupid kappa can't swim . . ."

The priest was nowhere in sight. Neither were the other two. He was bobbing alone in the middle of a churning river as the rain poured down in torrents.

"Oh shit . . ." Taking a deep breath, Goku dove back under again.

The undertow was strong, but it was pulling him downwards and he let it carry him deeper. It was dark and cold down there, but to leave without finding any of the others was . . . unthinkable. He started to search desperately even as his supply of air started to run low.

Neither mortal or youkai, Goku knew that he could withstand the pressure and lack of air for more than just a few minutes. But even that was not long enough as his vision began to blur. He almost thought he was hallucinating when he saw something in the murky depths ahead of him.

A glint of . . . gold?

Reckless impulse drove him on, regardless of the fact that no light could exist this deep down in the depths.

Hope gave his flagging limbs a kind of desperate energy as he cut through the water, following the flicker of light. And then he *could* see the priest, white robes and all.

His fingers snagged on one pale sleeve. Not a hallucination after all. But then--

The current had other ideas though. Try as he might, Goku could not extricate himself and Sanzo from the grip of the strong undertow. And they were being towed in deeper.

* * * * * * * * * *

Getting dunked into a river full of chilly water was not Gojyo's idea of an evening's entertainment. Getting dragged under by the unnatural current had never been on his list of priorities in the first place. He could have *sworn* that that wave had been unnaturally high when it had swept them off the rocks--

But shit like that always happened when one was on the road with Sanzo. Gojyo had always avoided deep water because he could not really float, much less swim . . .

Memory chose that extremely inconvenient moment to resurface.

Jien's hands ruffling his damp hair. Deep and gruff voice that was always and eternally "big brother" speaking to him. Amused. Always tolerant.

"Oi--I'm not going to be there to fish you out everything you fall in. I'll teach you to swim, okay?"

Blood. The smell of it. The sight of it dripping down the length of an old sword. The sword that Jien held in one slack hand. The day that everything went to hell in a hand-basket.

So the worst possible thing happened.

He panicked. He saw his own precious supply of air escaping from his nose and mouth even as he struggled.

And the darkness pressed inwards.

* * * * * * * * * *

Hakkai broke through the surface, gasping. He had remembered that Gojyo could not swim--which was really odd for a kappa--and had gone in after him. Gojyo had been in trouble--Hakkai could hardly get close enough to get a grip on him. The strange current had dragged them in quite for a distance before vanishing abruptly and he had wasted no time kicking for the surface with Gojyo in tow.

But when he had a good look at his surroundings, he realised that they were not in the river after all. They had emerged in a cavern. His youkai senses compensated for the lack of light instinctively. This was someplace underground. They had discovered an underground cave, most probably under the riverbank that they had been checking.

Or maybe "discovered" was not really the right word for this . . .

Decided that there was nothing for it but to brave the strange cavern, he hauled Gojyo out of the water and waded to the shore. He shook the kappa's shoulders and found him alarmingly unresponsive.

"Gojyo?"

The red-haired man was not breathing. He had probably lost a lot of air while panicking . . .

"Gojyo!"

There had been that first aid class at school . . . But they probably did not have the addition of ki to the technique in mind.

Two breaths followed by the application of carefully controlled ki to the sternum--repeat the cycle--

Goyjo started to twitch after three cycles.

Hakkai sighed in relief. Gojyo's youkai ancestry had probably saved him from prolonged anoxia. He helped to prop the other man up as the redhead coughed up a prodigious amount of water.

"That--that was too bloody . . . too damn close . . ." Gojyo rasped.

"Too close," Hakkai agreed.

A slight pause as they recouped after a near brush with death. Danger on a daily basis was just peachy, but they had got over the death wish phase already, thank you very much.

"Where is . . . this place?" The cavern stretched out before them for perhaps half a kilometre and the rest was shrouded in darkness.

"I have no idea. When I couldn't feel the undertow anymore, I swam upwards and we popped up in here."

"Wherever *here* is," Gojyo muttered. "Something stinks, and it's not the fish I have stuck in my boot. I hate to admit it, but Kailan and the stinking priest may have been on to something . . ."

"Definitely *something*," Hakkai said and pointed at the ceiling of the cave. Barely visible in the gloom were rough frescos of what looked like rivers, clouds and a depiction of a rainstorm. There was some kind of writing as well, carved deep into the walls--but the people who could read it were probably centuries dead. It was not a real cavern, but an ancient site of some power.

"She wasn't kidding about it being some elemental site . . ." Gojyo dumped a small fish out from his boot, changed his mind and chucked it back in the pool of water behind them. "But I can't feel anything. I mean, if it powerful enough to cause the storm, we should be able to sense it by now."

"I think Sanzo knew something," Hakkai said worriedly, "but he didn't say anything even though it was bothering him."

"Stubborn monk . . . D'you suppose he and the monkey wound up in here?"

"It's very likely. Have you recovered? We need to find Sanzo and Goku . . ."

"Say . . . did you kiss me just now?" Gojyo asked as he got to his feet.

"Ah, that was part of the method to revive--"

"As in lip to lip?"

Hakkai looked flustered. "It wasn't--"

Gojyo looked thoughtful. "Can you try that again when we're not so busy drowning?"

"*What*?"

The redhead grinned. "Because, Hakkai, your Frenching technique needs a bit of work in the tongue department. I'm telling you this as a friend--"

Hakkai's expression had gone from mildly embarrassed to that semi-blank look he sometimes had when he was not smiling. And then he demonstrated how his technique was, in fact, not lacking on a very surprised Gojyo.

"I concentrate better when I don't have things like saving a life on my mind," Hakkai said with a small smile as the kappa stood there, shell-shocked. "We should go find the others now."

When he could finally shape a coherent sentence instead of gaping like a dying goldfish, Hakkai was already halfway across the cavern. "Was that a joke?" he asked weakly. "Oi! Hakkai! It was a joke, right? Hakkaaaiiii!"

* * * * * * * * * *

End Part 4

Back to index

Chapter 5: Underground

Drawn to the Light

By Kanzeon

Spoilers: A lot of them. At least until the first twenty or so episodes of the anime and most of the manga.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the fanfic idea.

Warnings: Serious possibility of shounen ai, bad language and Men Behaving Badly

Surgeon General's Warning: Smoking cigarettes may cause lung cancer.

* * * * * * * * * *

Sanzo had been expecting something to happen. A vague, nagging expectation in the back of his mind. It had not been too hard to put two and two together after Gojyo had uncovered that last news of interest in this little backwater town.

When it did happen, he had been surprised to find the source of the disturbance so close. And drowning in this arid region had been such a ludicrous idea only a few moments ago . . .

This was not natural. But he could sort that out later. Survival came first. He could count on Hakkai to take care of the kappa and Goku could handle himself, so he was free to concentrate on getting out of the river.

Except that the confounded current was not letting him make any headway upwards.

Cursing at that point would do him no good.

There was another way . . . Focus . . . Inwards. There was this technique that could slow the metabolic processes down to the point where he would not need so much air–

His body had different ideas though. And he was sinking into a different kind of darkness.

Where had he heard *that* before? This was getting repetitious . . .

Still sinking. Sinking down to the place he seemed to know from the dreams.

Bad habits. Habits like living died hard. Somehow, it had came to him more easily than he had thought it would. This knack of living.

Just breathe and the rest is easy.

Because there were things he had to do. There was a ten-year long search that had not ended yet . . . He would have gone on this stupid crusade to the west without an order the moment the Three Aspects had told him that his Master's Sutra was involved. He *could* think about his improbable future after he was done surviving his past and present. If he wanted to. If he–

Just breathe–

"Sanzo . . . Sanzo? You've got to get up–"

Something was clogging up his nostrils. His body took over and he sneezed, expelling the blockage in his nasal passages. Which then triggered off the coughing fit to clear his throat as well.

Nearly drowning like that . . . would have been *pathetic*. He rubbed at his eyes and forced them open. To meet Goku's worried eyes directly above him.

Oh-Good-Sanzo-Really-Is-Okay.

He pulled himself up and away from that look. "Get off, stupid monkey!"

"Na . . . Sanzo, you--you're--"

He could hear the unspoken fear, see it in Goku's not-so-dumb-now expression. It rankled . . . Oh, yes it did--to have someone so . . . *dependent* on him.

"Don't look at me like that," he muttered irritably. "I won't die so easily."

Soggy robes. Soggy *everything*. Shit.

He picked himself off the ground and glared at the dripping rock walls. They were underground now. Apparently, this cave was not accessible from anywhere else besides the river. Something or someone had invited them in.

Whatever it was, it was somewhere down here. Sanzo started forward and heard his wet socks and sandals squelching as he moved. His robes were also heavy with accumulated moisture.

Whoever it was was going to pay for this . . .

"Fuck this . . ." This ridiculous waste of time. "Goku! We're going!"

"Uhh . . . okay. But where are we going?" Goku's eyes darted back and forth nervously–no doubt the dark cavern was stirring up some unpleasant recollections–but he looked as though he had his phobias under control. Yet he was not complaining that he was hungry, so he was more distressed than he let on . . .

"We should move. The faster we find Hakkai and Goyjo, the faster can get out of here." It would not be that easy, of course. It was *never* that easy. Which was why he loaded his Smith & Wesson and kept it in hand as they moved on.

It was a dank and hardly pleasant walk through the underground caves. Some kind of fungus grew in clumps on the walls, giving off a sickly pale glow in the darkness. But there was enough light to see that these walls had been cut into the stone and not hollowed out by subterranean waterways. The fungus obscured some of the markings on the walls and the cracks in the corners that could have been the result of some catastrophe that had sunk this series of caves even deeper into the ground.

The never-ending passages were getting on his nerves. Goku looked as though he was expecting something to jump out at them.

"Oi, does your nose tell you that there's anything down here?" Sanzo could normally sense most youkai–or rather more accurately, he could sense the violence or madness in attacking youkai. That sort of obvious aura was nowhere to be found here.

"I don't think so. It smells . . . dead. But it's still creepy," the youth said slowly. And then he whipped his weapon out in a flash. "Sanzo! I-I heard something . . ."

"Where?"

"Can't you hear it? It's coming this way!" Goku whispered urgently.

His own ears picked up on the noise a second later.

Footsteps. From behind them. Someone–several unknown entities–running along the passageway. Then voices. A man's voice. And a woman's as well. The words became clear as the speakers came into sight.

The man ran past them, towing the woman in his wake. They did not appear to notice Sanzo and Goku at all as they ran past them and vanished into the darkness ahead.

Sanzo straightened up from his defensive crouch and glared in the direction the pair had taken.

Frozen in his fighting stance, Goku's eyes were wide with disbelief. "Sanzo–they–they–"

"What? Stop stammering!" he snapped irritably.

"But they–"

And then other, louder voices could be heard behind them. Sanzo spun about to see several people dashing their way.

They continued running and up close, it was easy to see their panicked expressions.

"Oi–" It had been his intention to stop one of them and ask what the hell was going on. What he had not counted on was how the man ran through his arm.

"–they aren't real . . . Couldn't smell any of them. S-Sanzo?" Goku's voice echoed through the damp passage, the only noise to be heard other than the sound of his own quickened breathing. "What was *that*? G-ghosts?"

So, that had not been real people. There had been no one yelling. Just hallucinations.

"Illusions."

Correction: illusions of the past. Very strong imprints of something that happened here not so long ago, if the clothing that the non-existent people were wearing was anything to go by.

So, it was not that simple after all. He had felt something else during that brush with that visitation. A whisper of some fleeting presence. So elusive . . .

Realisation dawned upon him. He had been looking for the wrong signs after all. It was like being underwater and searching for the ocean . . .

"Goku–we keep going. Hakkai and Gojyo are bound to be blundering around somewhere in here."

"What if they're in trouble or something?"

"Who knows?" They would get to the bottom of this, by accident or otherwise. Sanzo hated that sort of feeling.

* * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * *

"Oh man . . . This place is huge!" Gojyo exclaimed.

They had been walking for some time now. The cavern had narrowed down into a passage that branched out regularly at intervals. So far, they had been following the main passage, searching for signs of the others but not daring to call out in case there were any other inhabitants in the catacombs.

In other words, it was spooky.

"Think it'd make a difference if we went down one of those?" he asked Hakkai, jabbing a thumb down one of the branching passageways.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I only hope that Sanzo and Goku are all right."

"It'll take a lot to kill that dumb ape and its master," he said as they crossed another intersection. "But we could run around here for ages and not fi–"

What Gojyo had been about to say was cut off as the walls started to tremble. A rumbling noise–the kind one got when stone was subjected to a great deal of stress–surrounded them.

"Shit! Not again!" They were stuck underground with the whole place about to come down around their ears–

No, wait–the ground was *not* moving. But his eyes were telling him otherwise–

"Gojyo–it's nor real! Shut your eyes!" Hakkai called out.

He shut his eyes and found his feet on firm ground.

"Hakkai?"

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Aa."

Gojyo opened one eye. The cavern still appeared to be moving, but he could see that it was an illusion now as the real thing lay solid and firm behind the shaking walls.

"What the heck was that?"

"I can't be sure . . . An earthquake. It probably happened some time–"

They both felt it then. A strange, choking miasma that chilled them to the bone. So *odd*. And definitely unwelcome . . .

Gojyo found himself sweating and gulping in large breaths of air. It was like that time with that bastard Chin Iisou. Something alien injected into his veins–the creepiest feeling in the world. Only it was as though his blood was boiling over with the strangest urge to rend, tear and kill . . .

It was the sound of voices that brought him partially out of the internal battle.

People. Panicked people running towards them as the ground shook under their feet. Some of them were screaming in fear. It was an awful, animalistic noise that seemed to resonate with the bloodlust in his mind. The next thing he noticed was that some of the mob were no longer human.

Not human. Youkai.

The transformation was overtaking them one by once. Ears growing and sharpening to a point. Elongated teeth bared in terrified grimaces. Their eyes . . . becoming blank with the loss of reason.

Swearing viciously, Gojyo got ready for a fight. With the youkai in this state, it was going to get messy . . .

His shaku jou flashed out at one youkai running straight for him.

And the youkai ran right through the scythe blade and then him.

*Through* him?

There was nothing, not even the brush of air from their passage and then . . . nothing. No youkai or humans. No miniature earthquakes. No strange bloodlust. Only Hakkai and himself in the dark passageway. It was okay now–just him and Hakkai–

Hakkai–who was almost bent double and clutching at his head.

Concern overrode his initial shock and he pulled his friend up hastily to check for the cause of his friend's distress. "Oi! Hakkai! You okay?"

And then he noticed that Hakkai had one hand up over his left ear--as if he was checking if his limiters were still in place.

Oh shit.

"Was that–was that a Minus Wave?"

"No . . . just a residue of one . . ." Hakkai said slowly. "Those . . . spectres . . . They were youkai who were trying to escape the Minus Wave."

Spectres. It was a good bet that those youkai had either gone mad or perished in the cave-in. Gojyo was not so inclined to believe in ghosts, but that encounter had been an eleven out of ten in terms of freakishness.

Hakkai looked mildly unnerved. In Hakkai, that translated to very-unnerved-and-hiding-it. "It's almost like–like–"

"Like a memory," Gojyo stated suddenly. "Someone else's very bad memory."

Gods alone knew they had enough bad memories to know what another one looked like.

* * * * * * * * * *

End Part 5

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Chapter 6: Something wicked

Drawn to the Light

By Eline

Rated PG-13 for swearing, violence and the like.

* * * * * * * * * *

The damp air was beginning to feel heavier by the minute. Sanzo could not place it as first, but he soon recognised the undercurrent of anticipation that was almost tangible.

Something was expecting them. Something really wanted them to continue along the path they were following.

Not that there was any other way to go. The appearance of other spectres along the path they were taking had led him to believe that they were on the right track. The mouldering piles of bones on the floor confirmed it.

When they reached an opening that resembled an archway, Sanzo had made up his mind.

"Goku."

"Eh--Sanzo?"

"Stay here," he ordered.

"But--"

"Stay put and watch the damn passage!"

Goku recoiled a little at the harshness in his tone, but in these kinds of situations, it was Sanzo who ultimately called the shots.

At Goku's reluctant nod, the priest readied his gun and stepped through the dark portal.

* * * * * * * * * *

They had barely even set off again when they heard the faintest noise in the subterranean gloom.

Hakkai and Gojyo froze simultaneously.

And it came again. The faint scraping of claws or nails on stone. There was no way to tell how close or where the noise was coming from. Any sound down here got amplified and bounced around the passages.

Without exchanging a word, they were instantly on their guard. Gojyo had his shakujou out and Hakkai was primed to release his ki-blast.

A low moan vibrated through the air. It sounded like a foghorn gone feral.

Something was down here. Something alive.

They could barely sense it at first as it shambled into view from an opening just ahead of them.

Youkai, certainly. But there was definitely something wrong with it, not merely the madness caused by the Minus Wave. Most youkai did not have foot-long claws, nor did they move as though they had forgotten how to walk on two feet. Rags adorned the hulking frame that seemed to be more bone than flesh. And it carried with it the scent of mould and things long dead.

The youkai or whatever it was let out another mournful howl. Only at this range, it sounded like a full-fledged bellow.

It was inevitable that the youkai would see them and they waited, tensed for an attack.

They could not be sure if the youkai had seen them or caught wind of their scent before it sprang at them with astonishing speed.

It had sniffed the air and the ground like a hound and its eyes were frighteningly blank; perhaps the madness had interfered with its senses. But there was nothing hesitant or unsound about its attack. They were forced to separate as the youkai made a spirited attempt to disembowel them. Together, they provided far too large a target in the small space.

"Gojyo! This isn't like any youkai we've ever seen!"

Tumbling and rolling to avoid the lightning-swift approach of the crazed youkai who had chosen to follow him, Gojyo snorted. "You think?"

It would never win a prize in a beauty contest. And it did not appear to have a personality to speak of. Definitely a youkai that had lost all sense of self. And yet, there was nothing really malicious about it . . .

Yellowed talons flashed past where Gojyo's head had been. They were viciously sharp and none-too-clean nails at that. If he had been just a moment slower, there would have been a really nasty mess sitting on his shoulders. As it was, he managed to get away with some shallow scratches. Hakkai would fuss over them later if infection set in . . . but at the moment, he was busy trying to aim his ki-blast so that it would not hit Gojyo as well.

No such luck there. The youkai kept close, hindering his attempts at bringing his shakujou into play. The chain and blade were not effective in an enclosed space this small. If the youkai knew this, it was probably smarter than it looked. But it had not attempted to wrest the shakujou away from him. It behaved like a wild beast, lunging and rearing while trying to take a piece out of him. Animal cunning, not guile, was its strategy.

The one thing Gojyo *was* certain of at that point was that the youkai was very, very hungry indeed.

* * * * * * * * * *

There was just a short passage, utterly pitch black, that opened into a much larger space.

It was like stepping into a cold waterfall. Ice washed through his veins, under his skin and up his spine like electricity. He was vaguely surprised that he still standing up. The shock of all that power concentrated here could kill and he had only brushed against the very edges of it. It was an entirely alien sensation--not youkai or human. But it was not natural either.

A kind of wrongness in the air . . . He could feel it--the elemental force tangled up together with the unnatural energy, making his skin prickle and his hair stand on end. He had been right to leave Goku outside--whatever species he was. Hakkai would not have made it pass the threshold--the malignancy of the Minus Wave energies trapped here was far too strong.

Gritting his teeth, he stepped forwards carefully, testing the boundaries. The air crackled around him, but it was nothing more than the vast aura of leased power. All that energy was not contained here--this was merely an aggregation. It was like a pillar stretching from floor to ceiling, coiling and twisting the elemental force of the river around it. And tangled up in it all, like a stray thread in the weave, was the sleeper. It was a barely discernible spark balanced precariously atop the amalgam of power--the disembodied awareness that had waited for a very long time for this moment.

The body was still there--a barely discernible heap in a corner of the space that fairly thrummed with those weird energies. Youkai. Female. If the spectral memories were anything to go by, this youkai had been one of those seeking shelter from the initial chaos when the Minus Wave hit this area. But it had gone wrong somehow and they had been trapped by the ensuing landslide. Trapped here since the first Minus Wave had swept the land.

Sanzo supposed that the youkai had been unfortunate enough to be in the right place at the wrong time when the Minus Wave had reached the elemental source of the river, probably at its peak during the diurnal cycle, to create a mess like this. Instead of instant death, the youkai had most probably became the lynchpin of the dam that was holding in all that warped energy. And the elemental power was accumulating here like threads on a spindle, which was why the river had been receding--

His gun came up. "You. It was you in the damned dreams!" He recognised that voice in his head. The source of that truly annoying migraine.

"You're projecting too loudly." And that projection of terror and grief had caused all the havoc down here, no doubt.

"You've knocked too damn hard." Sanzo felt his temper fraying. "So you've managed to drag us here. What the hell do you want?"

"I am not a fucking charity," Sanzo said levelly. That mental voice was calm. A little too calm. The disembodied youkai would have gone mad trapped as it was down here, Minus Wave notwithstanding.

"And what might that be?"

"So why *should* I end it?" he asked sardonically.

Ah, more threats. Even without the youkai's prodding, he knew that this particular problem needed resolution. It was like a bomb that needed diffusing before it went off by itself. By that time, the accumulated energies could probably take out a significant portion of the soon-to-be drought-ridden countryside. Sanzo simply hated it when problems like this landed up on his lap. He was actually expected to *solve* them. "I don't deal with youkai."

"Oi, where are the other two morons?"

Sanzo could have sworn that the voice was poking fun at him. "Hanshio?"

"You both really have gone mad."

"What?" Sanzo demanded.

There was a baying noise from the passages that echoed around the cavern.

* * * * * * * * * *

End of Part 6

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