（最游记同人）镜里镜外(37)

The heat felt good on his skin. The excess of it breaking the tepid balance of sensation in this unsensaitonal place. And he liked the feel of cold metal against his skin. The excess of it reawakening the part of him that lived for bloodlust. Hakkai unsheathed the sword and headed for the door that lead to the demons' wails and screeches...

Burn them into nothing...so that you cannot even mourn the ashes.

Burn everything into nothing...so you cannot convict me for an act you were too cowardly to commit yourselves.

Burn everything down...and feel the heat from Down Below that you have so ignored.

The heat of karma is very sweet, is it not?

****

They rained down upon them like locusts, appearing to be a gray smear on the darkening sky. One after another, whenever a youkai was killed there was always another to replace it. Hundreds and hundreds of them...and those that were shattered remade themselves.

"Can't. They. Just. Stay. Dead?" Sanzo spat out between shots.

Gojyo ducked as one swept down to decapitate him. "Hey, monk, don't you have a sutra to take care of things like this? Or are you just waiting until we're totally fucked up?"

"Like trying to swat a fly with a hammer." the priest replied.

It wasn't the same; fighting without Hakkai. He had to watch his back more because...and he hated to admit it so he didn't...Hakkai took it upon himself to ALWAYS be at Sanzo's back. The feeling was as reassuring as having an extra set of his own eyes behind his head- maybe even better because he didn't have to think too much about what was going on beyond his line of vision.

There was no way in Hell that he'd give Tenpou that responsibility.

Energetic shouting over to his far left indicated where Goku was having his fun. Just a bit over the hill must where Gojyo had run off to; the glint of whiplike metal shining through the snow was an assurance that the man was still going at it. Now where was the other idiot?

They were starting to get separated. Not that it worried Sanzo any. Everyone could take care of themselves, but still...if he had his choice of battle scenarios...it wouldn't be anything like this one because:

#1. He was running out of bullets.

#2. He needed bullets.

#3. He needed TIME to load the fucking bullets

Then there was something warm and solid against his back. Green light like fireworks shot in all directions and not a youkai could get within five feet of either of them. He reloaded, as usual taking his dear sweet time. "Mmh. Thanks." Sanzo muttered.

"Am I doing a good job being Hakkai?" Tenpou smiled. It was almost starting to look like a Hakkai smile too.

"I'd give you a 'B+' for effort."

"That's cruel, Sanzo. Is there any way to get extra credit with you?"

The implication was there. Sanzo hadn't missed it, but he pretended to anyway because Hakkai never suggested things of the sort. And when Hakkai came back, he wanted to see Hakkai...and not think of any idiocies of the sort. Especially not THOSE types of idiocies.

No wonder Tenpou and Gojyo had taken to each other.

"Yeah."

"Oh?"

"If you figure out a way out of this. That's a Hakkai thing to do."

"Really? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Really, he could have shot him in the head, right then and there. "Spit it out. What do you know?" Sanzo went to shooting again, noting how tired the other man was getting.

"Well...these youkai seem to of a primitive species, their thinking capabilities closer to that of pack animals than of more reasoning creatures. But better to compare them to insects, their existences revolving around the life span of a single queen who reproduces an heir once in a generation. The rest are simply pawns...their energies feeding off hers. And so therefore..."

"We have to kill the queen bee, am I correct?" interjected Sanzo, his patience wearing very very thin.

"You are correct."

"So which one is she?" Sanzo scanned the sky, but it had already gotten dark and all he could discern was the cloud of buzzing youkai...then there...a little ways off was a single youkai hovering in the air emitting a pulsating light from the chest. With the wings of a butterfly, she hovered, her eyes closed in meditation and her mouth moving in an instinctive battle chant- the words of resurrection. Sanzo narrowed his eyes and aimed.

"I'll kill the bitch."

Bang.

But it hit one of her pawns instead. Another shot. Another pawn. "Fuck." With each bullet, a youkai appeared to block. It was a living shield, easily replaced. "Are you just going to stand there!? Fight like the rest of your kin..." Sanzo taunted. "Or are you so stupid of a beast that you can't even do that?"

That got her attention. "Uh...Sanzo..."

"What?"

"Perhaps you should have chosen a more...how shall I say...tactful way to go about the situation." Tenpou pressed closer. The youkai had stopped in mid-flight and were simply hovering there...hollow ice blue eyes that stared into nothing...limbs that hung limply...like forgotten puppets...