A/N: Helllo everyone! Welcome to my AU. I was supposed to wait a while before posting the prologue, but I couldn't help myself. I'm going to be overworked with all the stuff I'll have to update, but I'll deal. This story begins in modern times, wherever you want to see it, before it slips into my weird little world of my own making. This is SanzoGoku and GojyoHakkai. Yes, I will work on both parrings, though there will be more SanzoGoku then there will be GojyoHakkai. Mostly because I know how to write it better. And I apologize to any 58 fans if I write the parring wrong. This is my first attempt at really writing it, and developing a relationship between them.

Anyway, enough of my babiling. I hope you enjoy the Prologue! This is up in celebration of my birthday tomorrow. Happy birthday to me!

Reflection

Prologue: Your Destination

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" demanded a powerful voice. Only a second later a bottle was hurled towards him. Goku nearly dodged, not even bothering to pull his left shoe on. Instead, he grabbed it, quickly exiting the large house, slamming the door shut behind him and hurrying out into the barren streets.

After he was a fair ways down the street did he bother to wipe the blood from his nose, grimacing when his nosebleed continued. Damn, this was a bad one. Turning back towards the house, he half expected to see his uncle come charging out after him. After several moments of waiting, and nothing appeared, Goku shoved his foot in his shoe, before turning to head down the road, allowing himself to breathe a shaky sigh of relief.

Why did he put up with this? Day in and day out it was the same. He had to deal with his abusive uncle as he beat and threw things at him. Every day was the same and the bruises never seemed to fade. He'd been forced to live with his uncle shortly after his thirteenth birthday. His parents had both died in a car accident, and his uncle was the closest relative who would take him in. The man seemed happy to take guardianship for the boy, though it was only a farce. His uncle took him in for the sake of having something to beat when his raging temper got the better of him, which seemed to happen a lot.

Goku was in high school, though he could've possible passed for a junior high student. He was very small for his age. After finally turning sixteen he looked no more then twelve with his small size. Sometimes it was a good thing and sometimes it was a bad thing.

The only thing that seemed could take his mind away from the troubles of life was his best friend Gojyo. The man was a year older then him, and loved to tease and torment him. But they were the best of friends, brothers even. The redhead always seemed to know what was wrong, and how to fix it. Goku sighed, running a hand through his hair. But his best—and only—friend was moving halfway across the country. His father had gotten a transfer and in two months his friend would be thousands of miles away.

It seemed his life was slowly falling apart.

Goku's footsteps echoed off the empty air. The entire area seemed to have been swallowed by the darkness of the night. There was not a sound to breach it, and Goku felt as though his heartbeat suddenly rang out loudly through the barren streets. It was as if any person passing by would be able to hear its regular rhythm. But there was no one passing by. It couldn't have been past midnight, and normally the streets were buzzing with people. Drunken adults in cabs, teenagers heading to parties or people just trying to get home. It was unnatural to see this stretch of road so empty.

Goku's knee suddenly rammed into something, and he cursed, backing off and clutching the injured joint. He hadn't realized he'd been walking so long. Letting a string of curses loose, Goku realized he'd ran into a bench. A bus stop bench. He knew the busses stopped running at eleven, so getting any sort of ride away was utterly pointless. Defeated, Goku slumped down on the bench, hugging his arms to his chest as a cold wind swept over him. He'd forgotten his jacket as well. Great. It was going to be a cold night.

He knew that eventually he'd have to go home to his uncle, though he didn't want to. He'd probably smell like alcohol again, spiced with the taste of cigarettes. Goku still had the scars from where his uncle had found joy in burning him with his finished cigarettes. Closing his eyes, Goku tried to block the man out, only to have the image of him come back full force.

I wish I didn't have to go home, he thought. I wish I could get away. I wish I had a place that was all my own…

A strange wind blew over him, and Goku had to brush his bangs from his eyes, while attempting to hug his arms closer to his chest. It was beginning to get colder out and Goku's teeth began to chatter lightly. The sudden chill was forcing him back towards his uncle's place earlier then he'd initially wanted. With a sigh, the young brunette pulled himself to his feet, but not before the sounds of a bus caught his ears and said vehicle pulled up in front of him.

Goku could only stare at it critically. It looked like a normal city bus, but the paint had long since faded and chipped, and rust was creeping up from every side of it. Mold crept along the edges and dirt clocked the vehicle so heavily it was almost impossible to distinguish which kind of bus it was. But Goku recognized the design. The old doors creaked open, revealing a dark haired man that looked somewhere in his thirties. The Bus driver smiled, nodding towards him. "You getting on?" the man asked.

Unsure, Goku leaned towards the bus, trying to spot the route number. Scrawled across the front in faded letters, an "Out of Order" flashed dully, threatening to go out at any moment. "Uh," Goku said awkwardly, turning back to the man before him. "It says out of order."

The Bus Driver frowned softly. "Is that so…?" he mused, before flicking different buttons. "There we go."

Leaning back towards the front of the bus, Goku blinked. In place of the fading, 'Out of Order' a bright florescent 'Your Destination' had replaced it. Goku could only raise a brow in speculation. Your Destination? If that didn't spell horror movie he wasn't sure what did. Shrugging, Goku decided he needed to get away from his uncle and stepped onto the bus. Once on, he openly gaped. The bus was so clean on the inside you could practically eat off of it. There were only two other people on the bus, a young girl looking to be a few years younger then himself, and an old man who seemed to be entering his fifties. As if suddenly remembering the fee, Goku shoved his hand into his pocket, only to find he had no money. "I don't have any change," Goku explained. "Sorry."

The man smiled brightly. "Don't worry about it. Your fee has already been paid."

Confused, Goku stepped back into the bus, taking a seat relatively near the front. He glanced back at the girl behind him, and watched as she blushed, turning away to avoid eye contact. The man paid him no mind, simply staring out the window and waiting for his stop. A small red light lit up near the front of the bus, and the driver cursed softly. "Hannah? Sweetie?" the young girl in the back looked up once mentioned. "I'm afraid I've got to pick up one more stop, and then we'll drop the boys off. Your stop is next, I promise."

The young girl smiled brightly. "Okay. It's fine."

Confused, Goku looked between the girl and the driver as the bus suddenly lurched forwards, heading down the street rapidly. They drove for a good fifteen minutes, all the while Goku had his attention drawn out the dusty window, taking in all the familiar twists and turns. He didn't much care where the bus went, as long as he could get away from that horrible house he called home for a little while. Goku let his eyes slide closed in peace, and was surprised as the bus gave a sudden stop. Opening his eyes, he looked towards the driver who was intent on staring at the bus' newest passenger. "Well?" the driver said. "Are you getting on?"

Soft footprints followed and a flash of red caught Goku's attention. A second later Gojyo stepped into view, and Goku jumped from his seat. "Gojyo!" he cried.

After a quick confirmation that no fee was needed, Gojyo turned towards him, grinning. "Pipsqueak? What are you doing here?"

Goku frowned at the nickname, but none the less let it slide for today. "What am I doing? What are you doing here?"

Gojyo placed his hands in his pockets, shifting his weight. "I got in another fight with the folks. My dad still thinks moving is a good idea, and I've been pretty unsuccessful on proving him otherwise." The redhead's expression softened slightly. "Hey, you get in another fight with him?'

Goku's hands flew to his bloody nose, which had stopped bleeding some time ago. The dried blood caked most of his upper lip. He'd forgotten about it. "Uh… yeah. It's no big deal."

The Bus Driver then cleared his throat, turning to face them. "Excuse me boys, I hate to break up the reunion, but you'll need to sit down. If I start it and your standing, you could get killed." At this, Goku raised a skeptical brow. He'd stood on busses many times before, what made this one so different? "And the last thing I need is to get fired."

Casting each other a confused look, the pair slid into the nearest seat, watching as the bus driver closed the doors, before flicking a button. A panel above the windshield lit up, and the words 'Searching…' appeared in bright red letters. Finally, it beeped, and the word 'Mirror' appeared. Hannah gasped behind them. "The mirror!?" she cried out, horrified. "Karl, you can't take these boys to the mirror on their first trip. They don't even know how the bussing system works!"

Goku and Gojyo shot each other another confused look. Karl sighed, turning in his chair to face her. "Sorry Hannah, but I don't pick the destinations, the customers do," his gaze then fell on the two boys seated near the front, and he shook his head in a sympathetic way. "You boys must've done something bad in a past life to get stuck with the mirror."

Without listening to any further questions, Karl flipped around in his seat, switching switches and pressing button. It sounded as though a jet engine was starting up, before he pulled another switch and everything went silent. "Hold on boys, the mirror's a bit tricky to get to."

With a burst of speed, Goku and Gojyo were shot back into their seats. Managing to pull himself forwards, Goku tried to figure out what was happening. They were going far too fast. They were definitely going to crash into something! But as he turned his gaze out the nearby window, all he saw were colors swarming by him and images blurring. Goku jumped when a bug like creature attempted to crash into the window. It was easily three feet high and Goku could see into the hundreds of eyes perched atop his head. It made him sick. "Damn insects," Karl swore. "They just won't leave my bus alone."

He slammed his foot down on the gas and the bus shot forwards. Goku was thrown back into his seat, and closed his eyes, wondering if this was really real or some creation of his diluted mind. Goku opened his eyes in time to watch Karl drive straight towards a bright light, which engulfed them all.

They had just slipped down the rabbit hole. And they were headed for Wonderland.