Recently, I've rediscovered my love for a lot of things I haven't experienced in many years. Saiyuki and writing would be two of these things. I haven't written anything in however many years it's been, and when I re-read things posted here on my account, the writing sucks. Understandable, considering I was only 15 or 16 at the time, and hadn't ever tried to write a Saiyuki fic. So, to pass this time in quarantine, and trying to be a bit creative, coupled with my recent binge watching of Saiyuki… well, here we are!

This fic will be loosely based on Disney's Aladdin (specifically the genie concept), but still set within the Saiyuki-universe. Please review, and let me know if this is as terrible as I feel it is. I just couldn't seem to get the idea out of my head.

I don't own anything, except this story's Genie (not to be confused with Disney's Genie).

Chapter One

Flicking the lighter open, Sha Gojyo tilted his forwards slightly, a Hi-Lite caught between his lips. He watched for a moment, to make sure that the small flame encircled the end of the cigarette, before snapping the lid closed. He took a small drag, the cigarette caught between his index and middle finger, feeling the familiar smoke enter his lungs for just a brief moment before expelling back out.

"This sucks," he muttered quietly to himself, as he took a moment to survey his current predicament.

The journey west had hit a roadblock earlier, when fog had rolled in as the Sanzo party had tried to drive through the forest. What should've taken only an hour at most to get through, the thick fog had proved to be difficult to navigate the forest, causing many wrong turns and going in circles. When it was decided that they should just stop and wait out the fog, a frustrated Gojyo had hopped out of the jeep, commented that he wasn't sleeping without a woman beside him, and that he'd catch up with the others later before walking off to find his own way out of the forest.

Instead, only a short time later, Gojyo found himself running into the lip of the cave he was currently standing in, when a loud crack of thunder rumbled the dark grey skies. Now he was stuck where he was until the rain let up.

"Talk about your shit luck."

With a sigh, Gojyo turned away from the heavy rain and spun on his heel to eye the darkness of the cave. The darkness seemed to stretch out in front of him, seeming to never end, but never telling who or what hid in its shadows.

I wonder where it leads.

Taking another drag of his Hi-Lite, Gojyo let the thought enter his mind. Finding a way out of the forest was a possibility, he supposed. A long shot, but still a possibility. Coming across some wild animal, awaking it from its slumber and becoming its next meal was more likely, but a less desirable result.

Hell, for all he knew, the cave might just hold all of his favourite things: booze, a clan of virgin women, cigarettes and a winning hand of poker. That was his favourite possibility, but was an even longer shot than finding an exit to this damned forest that seemed to want to keep them its prisoners.

"Ehh, what the hell," he shrugged decidedly.. "I've got time to kill."

It's not like he would be useless in a fight, either. Having grown up on the streets since he was twelve, Sha Gojyo knew a thing or two about taking care of himself, no matter the situation. He would figure it out as he went. He hadn't had anyone then, and at this moment in time, he didn't have anyone now. His friends, if that's the word he wanted to use (and there were a lot of words he could probably use), were outside of the cave, probably taking cover under the giant oak tree he had left them under.

Pulling the lighter out of the pocket of his jeans, Gojyo flicked open the lighter again, and the flame sprung to life. It didn't provide a lot of light, but enough to allow him to see at least a couple feet ahead.

The sound of his shoes echoed off the stone floor, the clack clack clack ringing in his ears with each step. Coming to a forked path, Gojyo peered down the left side, before sliding his blood red eyes to the right.

Both paths were similar, both cloaked in more darkness. Impenetrable by the small flame of his lighter. He had no idea what each path led to, or didn't lead to. He had no way of knowing what lived in the shadows if he continued onward. But staying where he was, or going back the way he had come to wait out the rain, was boring.

Curiosity gnawed at his stomach, and seemed to make a decision for him. Shoving a hand into his pocket, Gojyo dug around for change, and securing a coin between his fingers, he pulled it out with a triumphant grin.

"Okay, coin. Heads I go left, tails I go right."

He expertly flipped it, letting it drop to the stone floor with a clink. Kneeling, he waved the flame closer to the coin and nodded in acceptance.

"Tails it is."

Pausing in reaching for it, Gojyo pulled back his hand. Hmm, he'd leave it. A sort of bread crumb, to determine his way back to the entrance of the cave. The last thing he needed was to get lost in here. While he didn't have issues with the dark, being forced to stumble through it was not how he envisioned spending his day. Exploring was one thing, being trapped was quite another.

Veering down the right path, Gojyo continued on, occasionally coming to a forked path and flipping a coin to decide his fate. After the fourth coin flip, a frown crossed his lips. Tails again. That's what he had gotten with every coin flip. Sure, the odds were equal with a flip, but this was just weird. This whole situation was beginning to make him feel uncomfortable. A sinking feeling settled upon him, and it wasn't a feeling he liked.

"Okay, maybe I should head back." he mumbled thoughtfully, twisting on his heel to peer at the way he had come. Surely the rain must've let up by now.

Bending down to collect his coin, Gojyo paused. There was that sinking feeling again. A bit more intense now than it had been just a few moments ago. There was something down the corridor, to the left. Tensing, he stood upright and listened for any kind of sound that might indicate what he was about to come across.

When the silence continued, Gojyo opened up his free palm, summoning his Shakujo. The cool metal of the staff grounded him, and he instantly felt a bit more prepared as he moved forward.

One… two… six… seven… ten. Ten steps. That's all it took before Gojyo's eyes caught a glint in the darkness, half-hidden behind a small boulder.

"Hn. What the hell is this?"

Kneeling, Gojyo set down the metal staff beside him, and reached for the shiny gold curve. Thrusting his long fingers in the small space between the gold curve and boulder, he tried to pull it free from where it was wedged. Bit by bit, it was tugged out, and with one final pull, and grunt, the object came free with such force that Gojyo was knocked off balance, and landed on his butt with a thud. The lighter skittered out of his hand, the flame extinguishing, and engulfing the man in total darkness.

"Fuck-"

Whatever thoughts he was about to voice were cut off when a rumble sound began to echo throughout the cave. A rumble that sounded a lot like thunder, which was impossible because he wasn't anywhere near the cave entrance and shouldn't have been able to hear the thunderstorm outside.

The rumble sounded again and it didn't sound good. Fuck, he needed to get out. Groping the nearby area for his lighter, he groaned in frustration when his hands seized nothing but air.

Okay, fine, he'd have to do this blindly because like hell he was dying here. He wasn't about to become a literal example of that old cat saying.

Grabbing hold of the object he had just freed, Gojyo held it tightly as he climbed to his feet, grabbing his Shakujo with his free hand. As he began to hurry back the way he came, bits of the stone and rock from the cave ceiling began to fall, and shatter around him.

Definitely not good. The whole thing was in danger of coming down, and with him inside, it was more and more likely he'd be going down too. Especially because he couldn't see what he was doing, or where he was going.

He tried to keep running, relying on his senses and the sounds of where rock met ground, to get him out, but Gojyo could only go so fast now. Gripping his prized treasure tighter, he ran but suddenly his foot caught something in the darkness, and he could feel himself falling forwards. Within only mere moments, he felt his face meet the hard stone, pain vibrating all throughout the muscles and bone. Pain shot up through his right hip, as a piece of rock fell, followed by what felt like a liquid, warm and thick. Blood.

Struggling to scramble to his feet, Gojyo held the object even tighter but only had a brief moment to think before he felt another sharp and heavy piece of rock strike him from above.

I guess curiosity really does kill the cat.