A/N- Well, it’s about time for an update. Terribly sorry for the delay, but it’s been hectic since we updated last. Also, a couple of us realized what terrible writers we used to be, and have been working to fix/rework/tweak, call it what you will, most of the previous entries. But anyway. Here is chapter five.

Sha Gojyo- Ava

“This isn’t it.”

“I KNOW this isn’t it.”

“Then why are we slowing down?”

“Because I have to turn around, and I can’t turn around until I slow down.”

“We’re going to be late.”

“I know we’re going to be late. If you hadn’t spent half a day at that spa in Thailand, we’d be there by now.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. I knew that masseuse, it would have been uncouth not to greet him.”

“I daresay you spent much longer ‘greeting’ him than propriety dictated.”

And so it was. The four-day trek across the sundry landscape of Southern Asia was finally drawing to a close, and not fast enough. We were late. Not a good way to start out a relationship, that was for damn sure. As little as I knew about this High Priestess lady, I had a very thorough knowledge of high-ranking religious mortals. If that was anything to go by, she’d be drab and boring and fanatic and haughty and not appreciative at all of me being late. We were nearly there, hopefully. Of course I’d said that for the past two hours as we drove in and out of tiny Chinese towns looking for something called the Buddha’s Belly Inn. Curse me and my not paying attention as the Lord on High had given me my orders.

Orders, pah. I’d grown very accustomed to not taking orders from anyone over the past century and a half. It was hard shifting back into the servile demon once more. I brought my fingers up to my mouth, nervously gnawing at them until I realized that the nails had already been clipped to the quick by my nervous habit. Killer flapped in circles around my head, and I was sure she could feel the anxiousness pouring out of me.

“Here!” Renee called triumphantly at last, her mechanical voice obviously stressed to the maximum. I did spend a moment feeling bad for her poor metal-alloy nerves. But not a very long one. She’d pulled to a rumbling halt in front of a disheveled-looking place. It seemed very old, but the white paint upon the exterior walls was fresh and the rock gardens lining the front were groomed to within an inch of their lives. Only the water damage on the roof and the peeling gold paint that spelled the establishment’s name bore evidence to its long past.

Without further introspection, I made a hurried grab for my reed sandals and hopped toward the tank’s door, slipping them on between leaps. “Thank you, Renee!” I managed to exclaim as she lowered the hatch. Killer zoomed out just before the door closed again, coming to rest on my spiky pink head.

“Well, off with you lot!” I called to the several patrons who had stopped and stared with mouths agape at the sudden, rushed arrival of a fully outfitted celestial army issue battle tank. Of course they did not know of her celestial origins, but that mattered little since it was obvious that the thing could demolish the small inn with a single bump. I need not say that they hurried to obey.

The interior of the Buddha’s Belly was cool and pleasant with strategically placed greenery in pretty glazed pots and the sounds of several small fountains. Off to the right of the main lobby was the tavern where a handful of patrons partook of the sake and local delicacies. I daresay my stomach rumbled at the sight. Canned rations I can only stand for so long.

From the other direction I could smell baths, and ahead, a modest stairway leading to the rooms for rent above.

The High Priestess Meike was not hard to find. She sat in the lobby near a pristine bunch of green stuff in one of the aforementioned glazed pots, this one with stripes of azure and dark green, and was apparently concentrating very hard on the book she was holding. I wondered fleetingly whether it was a text on the domination of other hapless religions, and considered asking. But that was not a good way to initiate conversation with strangers. Especially potentially important strangers such as she. Instead I headed down the generic route.

“Hem,” I said as I approached, inwardly agonizing over the level of obeisance she should be shown. I opted for the casual. “Take it you’re Genjo Sanzo. I’m Sha Gojyo, though my friends call me Ava.” I held out my hand, praying (now isn’t that ironic?) that she would fail to notice the distressing state of my fingernails.

She raised her eyes from the book she was holding and leveled them on me. An awkward moment passed in which I am certain she tried to ascertain every minute detail about me in a single stare. On any account, she eventually took hold of my proffered hand and shook it briefly, the old up-down-release people who don’t like shaking hands use. Information noted.

“I am she, though you may as well call me Meike,” she said. I nodded. “Thank you for coming. Before we begin, let me introduce you to the third of our party.” And without further warning, she shouted out a name. I jumped a bit, I confess.

The creature who came to her call skidded to a halt when it saw me. Seki, it was called. And though it seemed very pretty for its gender, I gathered that it was a male. The pair passed a few words between them, resulting in a simultaneous declamation of animosity and snuggle on the part of the monkey boy. Harmless indeed, he seemed, and perhaps even cute. But I had seen the recognition in his great golden eyes. He knew what I was. Well, and who wouldn’t, with my species written in my own eyes.

“Nice to meet you, Seki,” I said formally, offering a hand to him as well. The boy merely stared at it for a minute, looking perplexed. I managed to turn it into an awkward scoop for the small dragon atop my head and introduced them to Killer, who chirped her own greeting. Then we lapsed into silence.

“Well then,” I offered, speech stilted by unfamiliarity. “Who’s going to tell me why I’m here?”