-100-
Houmei- He was a youkai!
Third Story: Get square
her worst nightmares reliving themselves, Houmei screams in terror. first youkai took her best friend, now they seemed intent on stealing her father and the Guys…
-101-
more webs come shooting out, further tangling everyone. Hakkai wraps both
arms around Houmei, keeping her out of the line of fire. the price of that move
is several threads wrapping about his throat, tightening quickly. strangling,
Hakkai claws at the webs. Houmei backs clear, still more than half in shock.
Houmei- AAAaah!! Hakkai-san!
-102-103-
steady hands brace a small silver gun and a shot rings out. one of the Were
Spider's eyes explodes in a messy splut and the monstrosity shrieks in pain.
the webs go slack immediately.
Goku- Whoa. They break now.
apparently, without concentration, the webs won't maintain their strength.
very grateful for that particular fact, Hakkai gulps at air. more on the ball,
Sanzou and Gojyo spin around, looking for the shooter. blood still seeping from
the cut on his head, the Innkeeper leans against the doorframe, a gun that looks
suspiciously like Sanzou's in hand.
Innkeeper- Are you okay, Houmei?
Houmei- Daddy!
Guys- Innkeeper!
-104-
suddenly feeling a whole lot better, Houmei rushes into her father's arms.
Houmei- Daddy!
Innkeeper- Houmei!
understandable, I guess. a familiar and trustable face has finally arrived
on the scene, lending a little bit of confidence to the poor girl.
Gojyo- Oi. Ain't this your gun? ::a Smith & Wesson
M10::
Sanzou- I owe him one for picking it up.
so everyone chats and relaxes and generally does what is a fairly large no-no
in any fight-- giving the opponent time to recover.
Were-Spider- …damn human trash!
casting about for a means to heal the gaping hole that used to be one of
her eyes, she finds a solution. amongst the thoroughly trashed corpses of the
other youkai there is one Poor Sap Youkai who is, yes everyone, still alive.
somehow. who knows how, but he is. is it just me, or is there a pattern starting
to emerge here?
-105-
however, that's going to change in a minute. since her henchmen proved utterly
useless in straight out attacking the Guys, she thinks to put the one remaining
survivor to another use…
seeing something other than the concern of a commander in his superior's
eyes, the Poor Sap figures out quickly that things are about to get ugly. unfortunately,
he's too wounded to do more than scrabble a few feet…
Sanzou- Houmei, don't look!
picking up quickly on what's about to happen, Sanzou puts himself in front
of Houmei, blocking her view. now, if he were something other than stick-skinny,
the plan may have worked. it doesn't take much for Houmei to peek around him
just in time to see…
CRUNCH
any confidence or calmness Houmei might have gotten from her father's presence
there goes flying out the window the second she sees the Were-Spider bite into
the Poor Sap Youkai.
-106-
in a few seconds, wounded eye starts repairing itself. everyone else stares
in mixed shock and revulsion.
Goku- She's … eating her friend? ::si~~iick::
Hakkai- She needs the energy to heal her eye.
Gojyo- A man-eater, huh? She's a black widow, all right.
Houmei just stares in shock. the revulsion takes a little bit before it hits,
but when it does, it's aimed at more than just what's in front of her.
-107-
Houmei- …no…
the memory of seeing her best friend get eaten by youkai flashes through
her mind…
--You know that girl? She was eaten
by youkai.--
Houmei- NOOOOOOO~~~~~~~~!! I HATE THEM!! I HATE THEM!! I wish… I wish…
-108-
Houmei- I WISH THEY'D ALL DIE!!
now it's Goku's turn to be shocked, sweet Houmei's harsh words striking hard.
the Were-Spider's leg strikes harder. better pay more attention to the fight,
hon.
-109-
he crashes to the floor some feet away.
Hakkai- Goku!
another spider leg swipes out, this time smacking Gojyo hard across the face.
he doesn't go rolling like Goku did, but he is knocked back a couple feet.
Gojyo- Shit!
-110-
finally realizing that the Guys aren't the easiest of targets, the Were Spider
sets her sights on a pair that she might actually be able to do significant
damage to. not like she hasn't already. Houmei's probably going to have nightmares
for weeks, if not months.
another leg rears up and flies out…
and falls to the ground in a bloody splat, no longer connected to anything in
particular. the Were-Spider screams, again.
-111-
Houmei and the Innkeeper look up at their savior… Goku.
Houmei- Goku-san?
Goku- YO! You stupid BUG, cut it out! These two aren't involved!
Were-Spider- Exactly, boy. So why do you go to such trouble to protect a pair
of powerless, worthless humans? Why, when you and your friends--
-112-
Were-Spider- --are youkai! Just like us!
Houmei's world freezes and one more piece of unbelievable information, in
a night already overrun with incredible events and revelations, tries to sink
all the way in.
Houmei- //thinking// What?
-113-
memories flash through her mind, Goku acting normal, nice…human.
Houmei- //thinking// What…was that? "Youkai"? Goku-san and his
friends are…? Human-killing… human-eating… "Mankind's Worst
Enemy" youkai? That… can't be right… can it?
Goku- So? Human, youkai, what's a little thing like that got to do with anything?
…a naked young boy stands staring at the moon, the ruins of a once huge
boulder shattered around his feet, now-useless warding papers floating on the
wind…
-114-
Goku- She just makes real good food. That's the only reason!
Houmei blinks in shock and maybe a little understanding, and the Innkeeper
sits back on his heels in thought.
…all in all, way too much seriousness. Hakkai saves the situation with
a well placed smart remark.
Hakkai- Well, that was a truly Goku thing to say, don't you think?
Sanzou- Food's always top priority to animals.
…I know there's someone I'm forgetting…
Were-Spider- FOOLISH TRAITORS!!!
…oh yeah.
-115-
Were-Spider- I'LL DEVOUR YOU ALL!!!
completely unconcerned by a 20 foot ravening spider threatening to have them
all for dinner, the Guys have a quick huddle so Sanzou can hand out orders.
Sanzou- Hakkai, watch Houmei and the Innkeeper. Goku. Gojyo. Buy me some time.
he pulls the square-ish wrap with all its intricate calligraphy off its customary
place on his shoulders. it instantly reforms into a wrapped scroll.
Sanzou- I'm going to seal her.
Goku- Gotcha!
the Guys scatter.
Gojyo- Over here, Spider bitch!
-116-
a giant leg slams into the ground again, but this time Gojyo is well prepared.
it doesn't strike anywhere near him.
Gojyo- Heh. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase " 'Ware the webs that
women weave," don't it.
time bought aplenty, Sanzou begins to chant. the scroll has grown, unrolling
and multiplying, dancing and waving like kelp in the sea.
-117-
Houmei and the Innkeeper watch, baffled.
Innkeeper- Just who are you four…?
Hakkai- To make a long story short, we're looking for the cause to the youkai
Frenzy.
he turns to Houmei.
Hakkai- Please remember this. It's not right to discriminate because of race.
Houmei- //thinking// Such kind… sorrowful eyes…
the chant starts winding to a close…
Sanzou- on ma ni hatsu mei
-118-119-
Sanzou- UN. MA KAI
TEN JOU.
seemingly miles of scroll streak forward. in the small confines of the room,
there's no way the huge spider could dodge them. in seconds it's well tangled.
-120-
Gojyo- Go pin that bug-bitch, Goku!
Goku- Right!
pushing off the floor with a strong shove, Goku arcs easily over the back of
the trapped were-spider.
Goku- Nyoibo GO!!!
-121-
obediently, the magic staff lengthens in a quick burst, quite literally pinning
the spider to the floor. there's a flash of light…
-122-
and then nothing but smoke that wisps away in the dawn light coming through
the windows. it's not too long before the Guys are packed and ready to leave.
the Innkeeper comes out to see them off.
Innkeeper- So you're leaving already?
Hakkai- Yes. It's best we don't stay too long.
-123-
Gojyo- Sorry about kicking up a ruckus, pops.
Innkeeper- Don't worry, the damage wasn't all that bad. ::hahaha::
Hakkai- Do you mind if I ask you something. You weren't very surprised when
you found out what we really are. Have you known since we first…?
Innkeeper- Yeah. Somehow. There's just a different feel to you folks. I knew
a youkai once, a long time ago. He was my best friend.
-124-
Innkeeper- "These four can actually do something to fix our crumbling world."
That's what I thought when I saw you. Was I wrong?
Sanzou- Don't lose sleep over it. Favors are meant to be repaid.
the door to the inn opens slightly and a shy Houmei shuffles out, a large
and neatly wrapped lunch box in her arms.
Goku- Houmei…
-125-
she hesitantly holds out the box.
Houmei- …uhm, I made a lunch for you. If you don't mind, you could take
it with you…
Goku's week is made.
Goku- Awesome! Thanks!
to him, the harsh and hurtful words Houmei said the night before are long
passed under the bridge. but to Houmei, his answer to them still rings in her
ears.
Houmei- …uhm…
--Human, youkai, what's a little thing like that
got to do with anything?--
Hakkai- Well, we must be going.
Innkeeper- Take care.
Hakkai- We will.
-126-
--She just makes real good food. That's the only
reason!--
Jeep soon disappears, only a trail of rising dust marking where it went.
Houmei stares after them helplessly.
Houmei- I… didn't get to apologize. I said all those horrible things…
Innkeeper- Houmei. I think "I'm sorry" and "thank you" were
wrapped together in that lunch box you made.
-127-
Innkeeper- I'm sure they understood. //thinking// May the gods smile on their
path, from now until its end.//
who knows how far down the road…
Sanzou- So they did decide to send assassins after us directly.
Hakkai- Gyumaoh's resurrection. That "Kougaiji" person. Right now
far to many things are unknown to us, but…
-128-
Hakkai- …things are certainly much larger than we had originally believed.
Sanzou- That's for sure. However, first…
Goku- HEY!! I SAID THAT'S MY
CABBAGE ROLL!!
Gojyo- QUIT HOGGING ALL THE
MEAT, YA RUNT!!
Goku- YOU WERE THE ONE TO EAT
ALL THE OKAKA RICE BALLS!!
Gojyo- MONKEYMONKEYMONKEYMONKEY!!!!
Goku- LETCHKAPPALETCHLETCHLETCHLETCH!!!
Sanzou- …can't we do something about the two morons in back?
Hakkai- My feelings exactly.
Sanzou- ALL RIGHT, I'M CONFISCATING THAT!! ::Give
it!::
Goku- Uwa! My napolitan!
Goyjo- Bastard! Don't you dare eat it all, Sanzou!
Hakkai- This fried chicken is excellent.
Get square/ END