A/N: This was originally intended to be longer, but I realized that it's no fun to read an uber long chapter, since it can hurt the eyes.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Saiyuki, but I own Naoru and everything connected to her but was unseen in the anime and/or manga.

Chapter 2: Confusing

What's that…?

I hear the chanting of the parade…

Sis? Sis!

Where are you…?

oOo

Naoru looked out into the streets outside, where the preparation for the festival was continuously progressing; she was staring from one decoration to another, noting that the trinkets, lanterns, banners, and whatnot were fast increasing in frequency of being sighted, and, though she did not mean to, at the back of her mind was studying the patterns on the materials of the objects. They were of rough paper, she mused, to have such leveled areas that shadowed whenever light hit them.

The colors of red and yellow were overwhelming the town by now; they had to be almost done with the preparations, what with all those lights and papers covering all the houses. Plus, the chit-chat was just ever-growing, along with the music of the band that only paused at intervals.

She blinked at the excited faces of the villagers, furrowing her eyebrows at the scent of joyous air in the atmosphere. She was not like those other sadistic demons such that she would prefer morose expressions instead of this happiness, but what she heard earlier when Hakkai had asked the innkeeper about the celebration was something she would never expect at a time of chaos.

A week-long thanksgiving… Goku had literally begged Sanzo tolet the gang take the same amount of time for a vacation before getting back into the road again, something no one in the group was looking forward since they would be, again, passing a desert for two weeks—the idea of being on the verge of a heat stroke plus having no one to talk other than your fellow mind-impaired companions would be enough to drive anyone crazy if they did not get to prepare themselves well. And by prepare meant to enjoy the coincidentally upcoming feast.

It's a good thing Sanzo agreed… Naoru smiled softly, laying her head sideways on her left arm that was draped along the windowsill, her eyes softening as it unfocused while she recalled how the monk had steadfastly refused Goku, who had been joined by Gojyo. In all honesty, a little more push from the two, and Sanzo would have ceded. The trio just looked too cute that she had found herself joining in, adding another pair of puppy dog eyes for Sanzo to resist.

And resist he did not, for after his eyes glued themselves at Naoru's pair, the milky-white man just growled and turned around, snapping at them to do whatever they wanted. What Naoru had expected to last a little longer suddenly ended in under a minute, and she giggled with Gojyo and Goku at how great they cooperated in forcing Sanzo to yield.

Sometimes less ass remarks and more tame requests were all that was needed.

She had not noticed that her eyes had been closed all the while she was recalling that moment, when Sanzo had stared back at her for a brief moment before giving up. She shook her head, realizing that she was too happy for that little fact, and straightened up. Subconsciously she was wondering whether it was she who had sped up Sanzo's already wavering conviction, but she quickly dismissed the thought, shaking her head. Rather be stuck as a dog for eternity than end up with a false conclusion and a big head. It was not so difficult to find out who had the monk's favor.

She chanced a glance at Sanzo, who was the only other one in the room, and her smile returned as she looked back out the window. Hakkai and Goku had gone out to look at the town while Gojyo was, of course, looking for pretty women to pick up for a one-night stand. Naoru was not in the mood to wander, much less did Sanzo, and so the two were left at the inn. It was a good thing Gojyo had been the first to leave; otherwise, he would have gone for a perverse remark before going and Naoru would have been left to explain to the innkeeper why a bullet was stuck to the wall outside the room. Stupid but sexy monk had a knack of leaving it to his companions to explain for the gunshots when nobody would see him fire.

Still, Naoru found it kind of lonesome without anyone to talk to at this time of a feast (the attitude was rubbing in on her) and just had to have a companion. She had knocked softly into Sanzo's room, had come in, asked whether she could stay while the others were out, and had been accepted with a terse grunt. She had crept on one of the beds, the one that was beside the window, had the place farthest away from bothering the monk, and had Sanzo's scent on it, the fact that might have had the most attraction to her in the first place. No offense to Hakkai, but Sanzo smelled just too good, she could even care less if she fell asleep on that bed, although she knew a certain person might contemplate on pulling the trigger.

Her eyes half-closed, relishing the moment: the scent, the warm feeling, the knowledge that she was with him. Whether or not Gojyo burst open that door with a kick, or Goku and Hakkai with an explosive greeting, which would either way ruin the silence, she did not care. It just seemed so right to be in the same place as him, that the moment alone was enough…

She blinked, this time shaking her head with more ferocity. What had she just been thinking for the past thirty minutes? Wait, had she just thought the word, "SEXY?" Did she just spend TEN minutes reflecting on Sanzo's scent?! She was getting out of hand. Her thoughts were getting stranger and stranger. More…unfitting for the association she had with Sanzo.

Naoru shook her head for the third time, this time with so much force that she was sure her head would have flown had it been a simple wooden ball attached to a block by a nail. She had to clear her brain. Maybe a mental scrubbing would do, if only she knew how to do that. ANYTHING just to get the nonsense out of her brain. This is just the animal in me…This is just the animal in me…This might be how I react to my new tamer…

But it was too weird, to the point that it was making her feel warm for no reason at all!

"Have you lost your head?"

She spun to find Sanzo looking at her above the rim of his glasses, sitting on one of the chairs of the only table in the room, and realized that she had been pounding her forehead before he had called her. She jerked up from her nearly insane position, straightening up, and blinked. "Huh?"

She could already see a rigid movement around Sanzo's jaw as the monk lowered his paper, and she knew her "airhead" technique of lying was down the drain, but she kept it up. His initially relaxed mouth was on the process of scowling now when he sighed, fixing his amethysts on her; it made Naoru swallow thickly but stealthily, knowing that if she showed any reaction whatsoever, it would only increase the curiosity, if not suspicion. So what if she was a natural liar, even if her techniques were stupid and easy to see through by a sharp person? It had always saved her in every sticky situation she got herself in, however that happened. "What?"

Sanzo continued his stare, his gaze becoming more piercing by the second; Naoru was feeling more intimidated as she held her ground. This was Sanzo, after all. Since he did not believe her, and she was holding back on her answers, there was a fair chance that he might throw his harisen at her.

It was understandable when the person would immediately resort to violent measures out of annoyance—it was Sanzo, so much such that Naoru just had to half-smile, half grin in amusement. "What's wrong?"

His scent was intoxicating. His eyes were mesmerizing. His skin was so smooth. His body was…

…

What was wrong with her?

oOo

The monk knew he would sooner or later give in to Goku's and Gojyo's puppy dog eyes, no matter how offending the small spark in the redhead's gaze was. But, he had not foreseen Naoru joining in on the little triviality, much less actually trying his temper by putting on those luscious—he mentally slapped himself—stupid, annoying eyes. He had meant to hit her on the head, too, if not for the fact that his brain had suddenly stopped working when he looked at her.

What he had intended to last about five more minutes turned into a moment as he found himself automatically giving consent to the trio's request. And when Naoru had turned away to celebrate with Goku and Gojyo, Sanzo found his brain functioning again, and he immediately left the three demons to enter the inn.

The grin-like smile Hakkai had given him as he passed him by had never been more annoying.

And now here he was, alone again with the ice demon, and regretting inside that he had even let her enter, because instead of reading his newspaper, his gaze would stray away from the article he was reading to the woman sitting there on his bed, poised in a way that had him desiring to just hold her down and get to work, and oblivious to the way he was outlining her—an outlining that would turn into memorizing until he would gain back his consciousness and drag his amethysts back to the paper. Not even a minute would pass and he would find himself staring at her again.

He had not even thought he would have these images on his head by just lookingat her.

Damn it.

Why the hell was he thinking such things in the first place?! He had not had these forever, and suddenly they were bouncing into his mind from the very second she had become real comfy and cozy with the group. Oh yes, he was aware of how she had suddenly looked a lot more attractive during the times she would doze off on any of the men's beds while they played cards or mahjong (It had even ticked him off a little when she had done such a thing on Gojyo's bed, but she did seem to have learned not to lie on the redhead's sleeping area after she had seen him grinning at her when she woke up.). Oh yes, she was becoming more and more teasing and taunting, mostly with Gojyo and Goku, and the bad thing was he could not get angry, nor could he hit her with the harisen (Gojyo, Goku, and Hakkai had each commented on this little observation, but he would merely shut them up with a glare or a gun click.). And yes, these faint images playing in his mind that were getting stronger with each passing day from who knows when were not for the innocent.

Definitely not.

He had not thought of them when he met her; and they had merely been senses acting up during the first few times his skin made contact with hers, those times he had carried her, when he had met her and when he had found her slumped beside that herb (he had made Hakkai and Gojyo lie about rescuing Naoru when she had been poisoned), and those times when they would simply bump against each other.

His eyes almost softened at the memory of her touch, but then he mentally slapped himself.

Scowling as he continued to try to erase the thoughts and read again, he remembered that at some of the times he had managed to pull his attention away from her, Naoru would either glance at him or shake her head for some strange, unknown reason. Apparently, it had something to do with him. He raised an eyebrow, watching incredulously as the demon shook her head for the umpteenth time that day, and finally decided to speak up. "Have you lost your head?"

The demon evidently jumped before turning to him, answering a stupid, "Huh?" that immediately told him she would not be telling what she had been thinking anytime soon. Sanzo's jaws tightened unconsciously at the feeling of not being trusted, with something at the back of his mind asking him why the hell he was getting angry at the secrecy the demon before him was making.

"Whatever." He ruffled his newspaper again and buried his face with it. Moments later, he heard movement in the room, the shuffling of feet as someone stood up, who would be no one else but Naoru. He sensed her presence moving towards the door, and he was about to think that the demon might have become depressed, if not for her footsteps stopping before him. He let a moment pass before finally looking up past his newspaper, at which the demon visibly jumped before smiling sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry…" she smiled. "I dozed off a little…"

Sanzo scowled. He did not have to be keen to know that Naoru had been staring at him with a dreamy look that had him burning up. That was not just an absent-minded stare. There had been something more in it. What was more annoying was that he wanted to see it again.

"Ah…anyway," Naoru finally looked away. She might have been scared by his scowl, or she was just trying to hide her thoughts. Either way, she could still not hold his gaze, as usual. "I'm going out."

She sent him one last smile before exiting the room.

Sanzo had to give her credit for being able to act like nothing was wrong, despite how innocent she looked, at a degree that made it such that one had to find the smallest clues just to read her. Then again, she was a trained demon; of course she would have also been taught how to be composed. The times she let up would merely be similar to how she was on a day-to-day basis. They would only be a little different, if the person looking could find the difference. Maybe that was one reason why she was how she was, a seemingly passive woman, to cover up the little slips of secrets as moments at which she would become clumsy or idle or dull.

Sanzo took out a cigarette and lit it. Naoru was not like Goku. He could see the thoughts behind her actions. He knew that her passive and sometimes child-like nature were tricks to hide her real self.

And he had yet to figure that out. Hakkai and Gojyo most probably knew it, too.

oOo

Naoru left the village, shaking her head. Talk about insane thoughts…

And she had to think of them, too, right in front of Sanzo!

Naoru, you idiot! She lightly punched a tree beside her, her strength still big enough to create a dent on the poor creature's trunk. Stop thinking of him like that or you're going to regret it later! She put a hand on her forehead, breathing heavily. Stop it…

She stayed like that for a while, leaning against the tree trunk, until her ears picked up the sound of rustling. Naoru snapped up, her eyes flashing to the source of the noise…

…to see a pure white cat come out from behind the bushes and mewl at her.

Naoru blinked at the cat. "A-re…? A stray cat?"

One of the cat's ears simply flicked as the animal just stared back with this cute face that made the young woman smile like a child. It was a slender cat, friendly-looking, and appearing to be well-taken care of. Its fur was shiny and obviously brushed; it was not a stray cat, it was a pet.

It's so cute… Naoru found herself thinking, but she was not at the least bit surprised. She was already an animal-lover from the very start, with or without her having the nature of a dog. Scooting, she gestured the cat to come over, hoping it would.

However, instead, the cat simply stared at her a bit more before turning around and going back to the woods.

"Ah…wait…!" Naoru breathed before following the small creature away from the village.

A/N: It'll be continued in the next chapter. Arigatou gozaimasu.