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Hakkai's Secret	By : TsuzukiM Category: Gensomaden Saiyuki > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 3026 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki, know the author, or make and money off this story. I do not own any of the characters except the ones I create.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
And now starts the OCs. There are a TON of OC characters here on out. I know a lot of you out there dislike them- but they are necessary to continue on with this kind of complex plot. Yes, it continues to get more and more complex. I need a flow chart to keep it all straight. Literally! Feel free to point out things like mistakes in the timeline and so forth- I don't want to screw it up and I'll change anything that amounts to plot holes or irregularities.

Chapter 15 Shinji

Hakkai found his way to what seemed to be a customs depot. It was the port at the edge of the desert that anybody who was going to or from the Oasis had to pass through. They were very particular about who traveled the only route from here to the place. He hadn’t expected to have to go through an admissions process. The youkai he dealt with kept questioning his use of limiters.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t realize it was such a big deal going out there!”

The place was run almost entirely by youkai. He kept getting funny looks from many of them. He was aware of their eyes on him.

“Why are you trying to pass yourself off as human?” the man behind the desk who was going through Hakkai’s things asked him. “We frown on that around here.”

“Well, I come from a very human village, and they probably wouldn’t tolerate me if I advertised.”

“Heh, well you’re far away from all that here, baby! You’re in youkai country. Humans around here won’t bother you.”

Over the past couple of days, since the youkai girl at the Inn, Hakkai had been getting the creeps. Hakkai had been in youkai villages before. However, these were not quite the same kind of youkai Hakkai had dealt with. They didn’t look too different from what he was used to- but there was something in their attitude that set them apart. They didn’t seem to carry the collective burden of guilt that had settled over the race after the events of the minus wave.

For one thing, in the outpost at least, youkai held all the positions of authority. He had to submit information and carry a form with him before he could enter. They wanted to know everything he carried and where he was going. He was told that he could keep his weapons- because he was a youkai, but they had to be inventoried.

It took most of two days. Hakkai had to pass through a lot of red tape, and lacked some of the documentation they wanted. However, in the end he procured pass card they generated for him. It was a tourist visa. It was strange seeing his name and face on it. He stepped into the terminal and wandered around. It was bustling with activity and he was soon lost into the crowds.

Hakkai had expected the ticket booths to be clearly marked. The youkai at the security check had given him vague directions that had sounded reasonable when Hakkai had listened to them. However, he soon discovered he was lucky if he could find his own ass in the giant, crowded place.

The place was huge- a microcosm of a city. There were hotels, restaurants, markets and living quarters all inside a walled compound. The place was dominated by huge hangars where they kept the caravans. It was hard to tell where he was going because of the constant crush of foot traffic. A hanyou passed by Hakkai and melted into the crowd before he could focus on him.

The security guard had told him there was a place he could go to get more information inside but he couldn’t find it. Hakuryuu, who had been aloft, flapped down to settle on Hakkai’s shoulders and on top of his pack. The little dragon leaned his rough body against the back of Hakkai’s nape and settled into the crevice between his shoulders and pack. He wound his tail about Hakkai’s neck.

“Easy, buddy. Don’t be too tight,” he snaked on finger up under the scaly tail where it was uncomfortable.

Hakkai’s eyes lit upon a red haired figure that was helping to load and handle baggage carts. He was thin and gawky, not quite as graceful as Gojyo, but he had that hair. It was cropped to the jaw line. He was a boy, probably in his early teens with gorgeous over large red eyes. Hakkai’s eyes grew misty looking at him. He imagined his son might look like that some day. He decided he’d approach the boy about just how in the hell he was getting on a transport. He was almost out of money, so a room was out of the question and spending a night in the terminal would be a horror. He didn’t want to join the unfortunates he’d seen camping in the hallways.

“Excuse me,” he said. When the boy acknowledged him he continued, “Do you know where I can buy a ticket?”

The kid didn’t glance at him, “Back the way you came.”

Hakkai’s eyes narrowed, “That doesn’t really help me.”

“Not my problem,” he hefted a suitcase and swung it up onto the pile on the cart in a way that made Hakkai feel sorry for its owner. It would be prudent to not place delicate things into this kids care.

Hakkai turned and glanced around, not sure of how to proceed. He had to admit he had managed to lose his direction more than once in his life, but this was ridiculous. He sighed, “What do we do, Hakuryuu? Everybody around here is too rude to help.”

The hanyou finally looked at him. He was not oblivious to the quip and he turned a perturbed look toward the stranger, “Look, I’ve got work to do.”

Hakkai frowned, “I suppose I shouldn’t disturb you then,” and he turned back the way he’d come.

The kid huffed a moment, cursed himself and trotted up into step beside Hakkai. “You’re going the wrong way.”

Before Hakkai could formulate a reply, a longhaired woman with slanting red eyes and long red hair walked past him going the other direction. She wore a dark crimson satin dress and her hair flowed out behind her. She was beautiful. Were all hanyous so pretty? Hakkai had never thought about it. Gojyo had been the only one he knew. She had disappeared into the crowd before Hakkai could fully appraise her.

The kid’s name was Shinji and he worked for one of the caravans. His life was spent on the caravans moving from the Oasis, where he was born, to the outposts and back. He prattled on to Hakkai, seeming to be able to talk and maintain a brisk pace simultaneously without losing his breath. He didn’t give Hakkai much opportunity to look around. He seemed intent on getting Hakkai where he needed to go and returning to his work. He told Hakkai about the place like he was giving a well-practiced speech

“This is the main outpost for anybody coming or going from the Oasis from the east. We’re in the main hangar now. Where you were before is the commercial part of the depot. You should be able to find food, gifts, whatever out there. If you want a ticket though, they sell those here.”

He led Hakkai through the crowd and down an entire wing Hakkai had somehow failed to see the first time he passed by. The kid kept up the brisk pace and it felt good to walk a distance. Hakkai had been sitting in Jeep far too much. The movement worked the kinks out of his back. They rounded a bend that opened out into an immense hangar. It was the moment Hakkai got his first glimpse of the caravans that transported goods and passengers in and out of the Oasis.

They were huge. Hakkai found it difficult to avoid slamming into people while trying to gawk at the scenery and follow Shinji at the same time. He was in constant danger of losing sight of him. The kid weaved in and around the crowds with practiced skill. Hakkai kept bumping into people and Hakuryuu would hiss and spit at them when he did.

“If that dragon causes trouble they will throw you out.”

The caravans consisted of huge multi-level trailer trucks on heavy wheels that were large enough to carry either a few hundred passengers each, or many tons of goods and supplies. Every caravan that came in or out of the Oasis consisted of multiple vehicles. The tires alone were taller than Hakkai. He doubted even Gojyo could see the top of them on his tip toes.

“I hate to break it to you, but don’t be surprised if there aren’t any tickets left.”

Hakkai blinked at him, huffing, he said, “Really? They might be sold out?”

Shinji glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah, most likely. The Lord of the Oasis is holding some kind of convention so we’ve got more youkai traveling out there than usual. This is the only way in, if you don’t have a flying dragon.”

The caravans were the lifelines of the Oasis, the kid explained. They could only travel nine months out of the year. The extreme heat of summer in the desert shut the caravans down for the months of high summer. During this time, most of the caravan inhabitants and all the permanent residents spent the summer in the Oasis.

.“You know,” he was saying, “I thought you were human for a bit. You should take the limiters off around here. Everyone expects you to.”

“I’ve never just walked around with them off before. I don’t think it would be wise for me to take them off.” Hakkai was actually creeped out by the sheer number of youkai crowded into the place. It was like being on the grounds of a youkai Lord’s castle- the only places left where youkai generally went unlimited. Everywhere he looked were long tipped ears and birth marks. And Hanyous. Flashes of red dotted his vision.

“You’re kidding? Heh, things are different out there,” Shinji shrugged. They had reached their destination. A long line of people, mostly youkai, stood before a single ticket booth where another demon was selling tickets. “Well,” he said and waved off at Hakkai, “Later!” In a second he had melted back into the crowd.

Hakkai stood in line behind the millionth hanyou he had noticed since he saw Shinji. It was the first opportunity he had to leisurely take in the bustling scene. He realized that there were hanyou everywhere, mixed in with the crowd. Some of them were not so noticeable at first, because many of them died their hair. They were at least equal in number to the full humans present. The red eyes were a give-away. Hakkai found himself staring from face to face, picking them out of the crowd.

Hakkai stood in line and eventually became bored with the view. After about three quarters of an hour his feet were beginning to hurt. That standing for long periods of time made Hakkai uncomfortable was another symptom of his pregnancy and Hakkai refused to give in to it. His dragon had settled into a light sleep on his backpack and become not so worried about the crowd. Then the ticket booth shut down before Hakkai could buy a ticket.

“Caravans filled up, sorry!” the youkai girl chirped at the crowd. People murmured their dissent.

“Wait! What do we do now?” someone asked, echoing Hakkai’s immediate concern. For some reason he was now hell bent on making it out there. Once the idea to travel out to the demon city had rooted in his head, Hakkai had become obsessed with seeing it. It wasn’t something he could readily explain, especially since he was having a hard time dealing with the site of so many youkai at the Outpost.

“Tickets for the next voyage will be available tomorrow.”

“When does it leave?”

“In one week!”

“A week?!” Hakkai cried, “I don’t want to wait a week!” He was aware he wasn’t the only one. The girl shrugged and disappeared through the back door of the booth. Hakkai couldn’t even argue with her.

Despondent, he began to wander about the terminal again. He had become enamored of the rumors about this Oasis. The closer he had gotten to the depot the bigger the stories had gotten about the place. However, a week sleeping in a terminal sounded unbearable and Hakkai did not have the money for a hotel room. He didn’t even know if he could have afforded a ticket had they been available.

He retraced his footsteps until he found Shinji again.

Shinji’s words were harsh, but he had a jovial smile across his face when Hakkai approached him again.

“You again? Baka, I told you, you probably wouldn’t be able to get a ticket!”

Hakkai scratched his head, “Is there any other way to get on this caravan?”

Shinji thought about it for a few moments. “Not really. The only shot you have is to talk to the Captain about working for a ride. Sometimes he does that for people, if he likes you. It’s kind of a long shot though.”

Hakkai barely considered a moment before he said, “Can you take me to him?”

Captain Jiki was a big youkai. He towered over Hakkai. He had to have been taller than Gojyo, and was made up of seemingly impenetrable masses of lean muscle. His hair was short and contained under a cloth cap. He wore a jacket that Hakkai had come to realize was the uniform of the superior staff on the caravan. It seemed too small for him, and he wore it mostly open and unbuttoned. Despite the uniform he managed to look too casual for a position in which people called him captain. He sat in a chair beside a large window that faced out the front of the lead truck and was placed above the helm of the truck.

Shinji had left Hakkai quickly once he had announced to the captain his presence. With a curt nod to the kid from Captain Jiki, he scooted down the stairs out of his quarters like a rat abandoning the ship. It was obvious the hanyou child did not want to remain in Jiki’s presence.

The Captain favored him with a curious smile, “How may I help you?”

Hakkai plastered his nicest smile across his face and said, “I need to go to the Oasis and there are no tickets left. I was told you might allow me a position in the crew for this trip.”

Jiki pursed his lips, “We don’t generally do that for people unless there is good reason. If I made it a habit, people would be constantly harassing me for passage.”

“I see,” Hakkai shuffled a bit. “I hope that maybe you might sometimes make an exception?”

The Captain looked Hakkai up and down and smiled. Chuckling, he said, “And why should I make such an exception for you?”

Hakkai considered. He decided a simple answer was the best one, “Because I can work hard.”

“Hmph, and you will work hard and not make me regret your presence on my caravan? If you disappoint me, I will leave you out there as food for the obake,” the words were said with a smile that belied the threat. Hakkai got the feeling he was being baited.

Hakkai grimaced, “If you allow me on your caravan, I will work hard.”

“Hmmm, it’s not my usual habit to take on temps. Do try to not be a burden to my crew. I am sure they will take good care of you.”

Captain Jiki stood and stepped up close to Hakkai. Hakkai had a disconcerting feeling as he had to crane his neck up to look Captain Jiki in the eye. He had a smile on his face. His eyes seemed to be climbing all over Hakkai, and it was making him uncomfortable. When the Captain invaded his personal space, Hakkai had to make an effort to not step back.

“I’ll be doing you a favor,” he said.

“I appreciate that, sir,” Hakkai said.

“Well, I can’t just let a beauty such as you remain stranded at the Outpost, can I?” Jiki reached out as if he was going to touch Hakkai’s face, and Hakkai felt his features tighten. He had to work to maintain his neutral expression. But Jiki pulled his fingers away before he made contact. Hakkai looked him in the eye, but a blush wanted to spread across his face.

A funny expression crossed the youkai’s face. He looked quizzically at Hakkai and Hakkai recognized the look. Jiki had picked up on Hakkai’s condition. So far, few people had been able to identify it right away. Most of them just got a confused look about them and pretended they hadn’t noticed anything. Hakkai looked away.

“There’s one condition,” Captain Jiki said, “You take dinner with me tomorrow, in my cabin.”

“Hai,” Hakkai agreed quickly, and immediately regretted it.

“Good! I’ll summon you when the time comes,” Jiki’s face had difficulty containing the smile that spread across it. “Until then, I put you in Shinji’s hands. He’ll show you the staff quarters and get you settled.”

The Captain turned away from him and spoke into a com system. Moments later, Shinji was back, smiling at Hakkai.”

Hakkai was following Shinji again at the same break neck pace he’d set earlier. The kid gave him little opportunity to look around and get his bearings. He spoke ceaselessly the entire time and Hakkai only heard a portion of what he said to him.

The Staff’s quarters were a series of dorm style rooms that contained double bunk beds. Hakkai would not be afforded any privacy on this trip. Each bed had a lock box for personal items at the foot of it. Hakkai felt like he had just joined the armed forces.

He settled Hakuryuu into a top bunk and hung his pack from the edge of the bed. He had no lock to make use of on the box. He stuffed his pack into it anyway.

“Well, I guess you can relax for now. There’s not much for you to do because we leave soon and most everything is done until we get going. ‘Sides, you probably don’t know how to do anything! Captain Jiki must have been impressed to have let you on like this. Tell you the truth, I think he had seen you talking to me earlier and liked you then. I was told to bring you to him if you didn’t get a ticket.”

Hakkai had a pretty good idea why Jiki had taken him aboard. He thought it prudent not to voice his concerns. Hakkai settled onto his bunk. It felt good to get his weight off of his feet.

“You think I can take a nap?”

“Yeah, there’s time. I’ll come wake you when I need you.”

Shinji left Hakkai to his own devices then. He wasn’t so sure he’d made a good decision, by accepting the Captain’s offer. He was pretty damn sure there was a hook in that bait, but on the other hand fending off one youkai’s advances couldn’t be worse than living in the terminal until he could afford- and procure a ticket.

Hakkai was tired. The opportunity to lay back in something other than Jeep’s vehicle form was too much to pass up. He dozed lightly until he felt the caravan move. When the caravan moved out, it woke him up. H he was overtaken with motion sickness until he located a window to look out.

The desert the Oasis was in was a barren thing consisting not of flat sand, but rocky outcroppings, scrub lands and deep valleys and gorges. There was a reason there was only one route from the outpost to the Oasis. The going was treacherous and the huge caravans moved slowly. Smaller vehicles forged ahead continually to make sure the path was clear.

Hakkai couldn’t help but note that the scouts he saw were armed youkai. Demons sporting big guns stayed on the roof of the great trucks in shifts. Shinji had explained that bandits often tried to raid the caravans and the armed escort was a necessary protection.

It was not long after they pulled away that Shinji came for Hakkai.
- 14
- 15
- 16
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Hakkai's Secret