Synopsis
The guys are waiting on the top of a mountain for Sanzo, but there's no sign of him. We see that as it was too steep for Hakuryu, Sanzo decreed they'd climb it on foot, and Goku promptly suggested a bet on who'd reach the top first: loser to buy barbecue for the ikkou. He'd thought that would be Gojyo, but the hanyou comes in third; so where is Sanzo?...
Below, the footsore monk has stopped for a break, and has just lit a smoke when Lirin careens out of nowhere. Sanzo gets off two shots [and realizes that's all he had; he wasted too much ammo shutting up a quarrel] before the demon princess lands such a blow to the rock he's on that the whole cliff-edge avalanches into the valley below. (Hakkai hears the noise, but Gojyo says he's just imagining things. Though it did seem that they all heard the gunfire...)==UH-oh; there's the Maten Sutra caught on a tree branch, lost in Sanzo's fall!
Sanzo reaches the bottom a second before Lirin and instantly aims at her; she grins wryly and says she's failed. So shoot, baldy, she dares him. Brat, he retorts, aren't your guardians around? She begins to say she's tough enough alone, but her stomach growls so loudly that she halts in embarrassment. I'm all out of meat buns, he says with his dry evil grin; just go on home.
But she snaps back that she can't give up and go home this time; and we see again the Kou-tachi rescuing her from Dr. Ni's experiment in ep. 6. Afterward, her brother had warned her to stay away from "all of them" from now on, even her mother, and promised to protect her no matter what. She said she would, and Dokugaku and Yaone looked on, smiling, as prince and princess sealed the promise with a pinky-swear. [Awwww. =)]
--Now Lirin grits her teeth; big brother did his best for me, she thinks, so I have to do my best for his sake!--Baldy Sanzo, she yells, give me the scripture! Kyoumon?--he glances at his shoulder, registers that the priceless sutra is gone, and reacts with admirable composure. Stop calling me that, he says, and anyway I don't have it. Don't lie to me, take it out! she demands, and they trade retorts. He's definitely hoping she'll give up and get lost before he has to prove he's out of bullets [sigh, this is so counter to the 'concentrated will' theory...]...and then Lirin spots the spreading bloodstain staining his robes. [Hurt falling down the mountainside, we assume.]-- Hey, you're bleeding, she says, but he snaps "don't move!", pistol still trained on her. His face is resolute but his hand shakes visibly, and she grins. Na, hage-Sanzo, why don't you shoot? she asks; does that thing have bullets? --He says nothing, and her grin gets crafty; she licks her lips. Blood runs down the side of his boot. Shoot me already, she taunts, and gathers herself to pounce. He raises the gun and grins coldly. Honestly, I'm not even sure it's loaded, he says; I had to waste quite a few bullets on those idiots. That's a lie! Lirin says. Sanzo replies that whether or not she believes him is up to her, but at this distance there's no way he could miss. [--ooh. Nice psyche, houshi.]==Want to try me? rasps the priest. (Lirin holds her place, glaring.) If you're gonna come at me, be prepared to die: I only need one shot. --The princess clenches her fist, but doesn't move. Sanzo chuckles, sensing she's lost her nerve, and--switching gun hands--rips his black tunic-shirt-whatsit with his teeth [a thousand fangirls swoon] to bind up his wound.
And there they sit, still in their Mexican standoff, as a cabbage butterfly alights on Sanzo's gun (nice touch) and his breathing gets harsher and harsher. How much longer can you stand that? Lirin taunts; Sanzo growls "Damare." When you lose enough blood you'll be tired out, she replies, and then it's the end. She grins carnivorously; Sanzo snaps "I told you to shut up", and there they sit.
On the top of the mountain, H, H, G & G are still waiting; Hakkai, Hakuryu and Goku are starting to worry, but Gojyo insists Sanzo is fine and will show up if they wait. Goku's had enough, though, and sets off to look for him. ==[Now, watch this maneuver.]== Is it OK to leave them? worries Hakkai. It's fine, says Gojyo, about to light another cig--but his lighter's out. He asks Hakkai for a light. I don't smoke, says Hakkai, but I know of another person who probably has one. How annoying, grouses the redhead...
Back to Sanzo and Lirin; he's now sitting in a puddle of blood. Give up and take out the sutra already, she says. Have you not been listening to me? I don't have it, he retorts. Come and get it then--and he tries to light another smoke, but his cheap lighter is also out of fuel. [At least Gojyo can refill his when he gets a chance; Sanzo buys the cheap disposable type...]--In the windy silence of the riverbank all we hear is the repeated clicking of the empty lighter; then Sanzo cusses. Do you want me to light it for you? asks amused Lirin; Sanzo shushes her, and Lirin says 'they sure are taking a long time'. They?--asks Sanzo. Omae no nakama, your friends, she says; aren't they coming to help you? ==[Note her use of 'omae', the least respectful form of 'you'. She's a youkai princess; she sees no reason to defer to a human monk, even a monk of the highest degree.]== Sanzo snorts, and Lirin says, they're pretty cold, aren't they? not like my brother. ==Sanzo finally manages to coax a light out of his cheap lighter. Lirin says "that's what's been irritating you, isn't it?" [We mustn't underestimate this demon girl; she's quite evidently got her brother's gift of reading character at a glance.]==Sanzo snarls that they have nothing to do with this...
Goku passes by overhead, calling for Sanzo, while the monk adds to his pile of cig butts. Hearing his cough, Lirin asks why he doesn't quit smoking. They trade some more barbed retorts, but she can see he's still losing blood at an alarming rate, and when the cigarette falls from his teeth she gets to her feet. He draws down, but she grins and says "if you don't hit me with one shot you're through". Sanzo is gasping for breath; his vision blurs and doubles...
Hakuryu, cruising overhead, spots the sutra flapping from its branch. He kyuu's in surprise, while at the same moment Goku smells tobacco--must be Sanzo!--and charges off. Gojyo, descending the cliff with Hakkai, announces that from now on he's always going to carry two lighters; and then Hakkai hears Hakuryu's chirp from above.
Goku is galloping to Sanzo's rescue, yelling his name, and Sanzo thinks he's too damn loud even as he holds off Lirin, who's saying she'll give him one more chance. Stop making me lose my concentration! shut up! inwardly snarls Sanzo, who of course, of course, hears Goku more clearly than anything else, and he fires his (apparently) last bullet at Lirin just as she leaps. She easily dodges it, but he's in the air to bring her down, and stands over her as she lies on the rivershore out cold, ejecting the empty cartridges from his gun. We can hear all three of the ikkou calling his name as he stands there, and he thinks, shut up already; are Sanzos on sale or something?--and he falls back to lie full-length by Lirin.
And at the barbecue house, as Sanzo pays off his loss of the bet [he's wearing the sutra, so Hakuryu must have retrieved it, good dragon! AND his black top is intact as well; wonder how many of them he has...], there's the usual whose-food squabble between Goku and Gojyo, settled by the usual barrage of gunfire. (Bad habits are hard to break. =)
