I do not own Saiyuki nor do I make any profit from them.

Lynx: I have taken ASL for two years and learned it's culture. I cannot say I'm fluent in culture, but I think I get the gist of it. If anyone has anything to add or want me to correct, please do so in a review. No flames, everyone makes mistakes.

Chapter One: Learning and Signing

Sanzo rubbed his forehead as the monkey and the kappa practically ordered everything off of the menu. Though he had to admit, it wasn't technically a waste of money since they ate it all. What bothered him was the noise that was going to come soon. Every time without fail Goku and Gojyou would start arguing over the last piece of food or whose was whose. It got tiring and in the end boring.

"God is that girl annoying or what?" Though they didn't look it, their attention was caught by the other table's complaint. "What does she do with that book in her face? I tried talking to her, but she didn't even look up."

"Dunno dude, she's probably not into you, or perhaps she had some music in." Another shrugged.

"Oh yeah, totally." The voice was dripped in sarcasm. "Fucking lunatic if you ask me."

Gojyou rolled his eyes. "Of course they'd bad mouth her. She probably has higher standards."

"Too bad for you," Goku smirked and dodged his hand that was about to hit the back of his head. Curious to know, he looked over and scanned the cafe. Closet to the door was the only girl sitting alone. In her hand was a book and a cup of coffee on the table. He titled his head curiously when he saw one of the waitresses walk over to her and tap the table, making the girl glance up. The waitress handed her the pad she wrote orders on, and the girl responded…by writing back!

This confused him, but he decided not to bring it up. Perhaps it wasn't his business, but he hated secrets. He wasn't exactly nosy, but he just hated them. Secrets always meant trouble, he knew that.

Their waitress came back. She was a tiny petite woman with a bow tie around her neck and her cheeks were painted a pretty shade of pink. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail. She set the plates down with delicacy and grinned happily. Unable to hold back the question that was burning, Goku decided to blurt out what he was thinking. "Ne, do you know why those two send messages back and forth on the pad?"

"Oh." The waitress was surprised and looked over her shoulder. Her voice lowered considerably. "She can't speak and we don't understand her way of speaking, so…writing seems to be the best move."

"Way of speaking?" Gojyou rolled his eyes. "What? She speaks with an accent or something?"

"No, she uses…her hands oddly." The waitress shrugged. "So we thought it'd save time to write instead of trying to learn."

Sanzo snorted, but he didn't say anything. When the waitress left, he tapped into his cigarette and he placed it in his mouth. Goku frowned, "I don't get it. Why is it troublesome to learn? It sounds pretty exciting to me."

No one seemed to have an idea, and Goku started to get an idea in his mind. He stood up and walked over to the table where the girl was sitting. Feeling awkward all of the sudden, he had the mind to turn around and leave. She was really pretty with soft purple hair that was wavy and went down her shoulders like cotton candy. Her eyes were a deep blue as well. The book she was reading was in their native language, so she wasn't a stranger. Remembering what the waitress had done to the table, he tapped it.

Instantly she looked up and blinked a few times. She scooted herself close to the table and titled her head to the side. He did a timid wave and he licked his lips. He walked over here and wanted to learn, but he realized that he couldn't tell her that. She smiled warmly and waved back. Goku was relieved, but still nervous.

She gestured him to sit down next to her and he accepted the seat. She looked around and she leaned forward. Her voice wasn't pretty sounding, it sounded lower in pitch and broken. It obviously hadn't been used in a long time and Goku realized that this was probably why she used that "hand" language. Being made fun of wasn't fun at all. "I am Kali." While she spoke, she signed. "What is your name?"

"Um…" He pointed to himself and mimicked the sign for name. She nodded encouragingly. "My name is…." Now is he was stuck. "Goku." If she could read lips, which was what she was probably doing, she could read that.

"G-O-K-U right?" She finger spelled and signed. Her body leaned forward, but her eyebrows were raised up. He nodded energetically. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you…" She did a sign mouthed the word. He was really thankful that he had some skill in lipreading. Sanzo liked to mutter under his breath. "Too?"

She did the sign for RIGHT and he grinned. This was getting easier. She looked over at the table where he just came from. They were watching, probably trying to figure out if the monkey was going to come back or not. She felt him tap her shoulder and her attention snapped back at him. "Are they your friends?"

Goku looked over his shoulder and nodded. "Yes. Umm…." He motioned to his hair and groaned. He wished he could describe them to her so that she'd know who he was talking about. He gave her a helpless look and she giggled. She made a fist, but her thumb was placed by the forefinger. "A." She made the number four, but her fingers were closed in and her thumb was tucked. "B".

He followed along and when he messed up, she'd stop and position his fingers. Soon they went through the whole alphabet and he went through it by himself. His stomach growled and he realized that he should go back to the table. He had left /right/ when the food was there. Gojyou probably ate it all anyway. Great. It wasn't like Sanzo was going to let him eat more.

The girl seemed to see his predicament for she motioned to the table where he had been sitting. "There is a plate still." She told him. "They saved it for you I think."

"Really?" He finger spelled as well as spoke. She showed him the sign and he copied it exactly. She nodded and he smiled at her. He didn't know what to do. She motioned him to leave with a "go away".

He hesitated and asked, "Tomorrow…will you be here?" He couldn't finger spell that whole sentence quick, but he did get T-O-M-O-R-R-O-W, H-E-R-E? The idea of it seemed to convey. She nodded and he grinned. He waved and went back to the table.

"So, what did the monkey learn?" Gojyou asked as Goku sat down.

Goku stuck his tongue out. "I don't know what that language she uses is called, but it's fun."

Hakkai smiled. "That's sign language Goku. Those who are deaf and mute usually use it. There are those who are hearing who also use it to communicate with them."

"She spoke kinda funny, like her voice hadn't been used at all." Goku frowned. "But she was really nice."

Sanzo rolled his eyes, "Had I known you were interested in not speaking. I would have taught you that a long time ago."

"EH?" Goku's eyes were wide. "You know how to sign Sanzo?"

The priest tapped the ashes into the ashtray. It had to be his second one since he got here. "Of course I know how to sign." He gave Goku a look. "My master taught me how."

"What for? Just in case someone was deaf and wanted your holier than thou speeches?" Gojyou asked dryly.

Sanzo glared at him. "Because you never know who'll walk through the temple doors and speak a different language. Also because it was useful. We had a Brother who was deaf. My master was the only one who could communicate with him. He told me that if everyone learned, then it would be so much easier."

"Ne, ne, can you teach me?" Goku asked hyper-actively. "Are you really good at it?"

"I can /try/." Sanzo said.

"Why do you say try?"

"Because you monkey wear down my patience way to much for me to be an adequate teacher."

"That's mean!"