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Never No Answer	By : animegher Category: Gensomaden Saiyuki > General Views: 8695 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Gensomaden Saiyuki, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
Disclaimer:
�Saiyuki� and all characters being ill-portrayed in the following belong to

Kazuya Minekura. And if you still want to sue, beware: my
roommate is the mock

trial team captain! She�s ready to fight over that cup of
noodles.

Hakkai studied the miserable reflection in the bathroom
mirror. Mornings were still not his best hour, not until he managed to wash his
face off and actually look decent enough to face the world. He rubbed at his
sore and swollen eyes, which one night of solid sleep had done nothing to
relieve. Healing Sanzo had almost been the death of him, but Hakkai hadn�t dared
say so out loud to the rest of the team. They�d all worry far too much if he
told them he�d been coughing blood on the drive back from using far too much of
his own life force in order to save Sanzo. He was perfectly fine now, so there
was no reason to concern anyone, especially not Gojyo or Goku, who would be
ridiculously loud about it now with two members
in recovery.

Even worse, he would probably have to try to heal Sanzo a
second time if the priest didn�t show any better signs of recovering soon. The
blonde had finally been coherent for several hours and walking around before he
passed out yet again, gaining a few more bruises before anyone could catch him.
Hakkai knew his sluggish recovery was mostly due to the large and swollen lump
on the back of Sanzo�s head� And, also because he�d simply been beaten so
severely, but Hakkai wasn�t about to dwell to long on that. Hakkai would prefer
to wait it out and see if Sanzo healed on his own with his survival streak that
had to be at least a mile long. The monk should have died seven times over by
all fair accounts, but neither human, youkai, nor Gods had let Sanzo slip into
the afterlife yet. There was no reason that this would be any different.

Hakkai sighed heavily and Hakuryuu
chirped worriedly behind him, its delicate, little wings flapping as the dragon
flew around behind him in the bathroom. He supposed Hakuryuu had full reason to
be worried about its master looking so ragged and strained in the dull mirror.
Sanzo had made a very close call that Hakkai would rather forget, but he knew
it would haunt his dreams for nights to come. They had come dangerously close
to losing Sanzo, even though Hakkai had been trying his best to save the
priest. It had only been a few nights ago, far too fresh in his mind to think
about now.

He decided to comb his hair into
some sort of order out of a bedraggled tangle rather than think about how he had
to pump that thin chest to demand the heart start beating again. Hakkai had
discovered a large amount of complimentary soaps and brushes in his room, and
was more than ready to use them. Hakuryuu fluttered and cooed every now and
then behind him, a white blur in the mirror as Hakkai cranked the handles above
the sink. He was pathetically grateful for the hot water, far too used to the
remote villages that only had one well in the middle of town.

Soon enough, he looked decent enough
to pass as faintly ill instead of half-dead, so Hakkai turned off the faucet
and placed the complimentary comb back onto the top of the sink. Thank goodness
for Miss Mei. She had provided their room with a clean pair of pajamas and
anything else they could have wished for, including toothbrushes. Goku had
little appreciation for it, but Hakkai hadn�t been able to brush his teeth in
days. That was enough to let Hakkai tolerate Miss Mei�s overtly flirting smiles
and painfully obvious hero worship. He couldn�t appreciate a woman who was only
looking at his reputation as they passed through this nameless town, unlikely
Gojyo, who was more than willing to shamelessly get between the sheets.

Hakkai rubbed irritably at his eyes,
his arms and legs numb and tired from overexertion. He wished Sanzo would get
better soon, not only because he was a dear friend, but so they could also get
moving again as soon as possible. Hakkai didn�t like to stay in the same placer tor too long, almost as little as Sanzo did. It made him dull quickly, the
homely life of a small and familiar town always tempting him when they stopped
long enough to enjoy the peaceful life.

Hakkai smoothed the front of the
borrowed white shirt and hoped that their clothes would finish being mended
soon. At least they had clean clothes, but Hakkai felt a twinge uncomfortable
and indecent wandering around the place in pajamas. Goku didn�t mind and Gojyo
couldn�t care less if he was wearing anything or not, so there was no one to
share the same compliant with but Sanzo�who was probably unconscious right now.
It was by far too early in theningning for either Sanzo or Gojyo to be awake.

Goku�s empty bed on the other side
of their shared room told Hakkai that the boy had probably already gone down to
find something to eat for breakfast. That might not be a bad idea, considering
how thin Hakuryuu looked right now. It might not be noticeable to anyone else,
but Hakkai could tell that the poor little thing was still exhausted from the
run through the forest. Hakkai knew that the dragon didn�t mind it in the least,
more than happy to be of service, but he couldn�t help feeling guilty for the
lack of weight that had happened in such a short time.

Well, he might as well go down to
make sure that Goku didn�t eat the whoel inn out of
their business. Even though Sanzo was seriousily
weakened and barely recovering, Goku
wasn�t about to let it ruin his appetite or sleep. It was a skill Hakkai was
envious of, feeling dead on his feet and the thought of food only slightly
upsetting this morning. Hakkai had
barely been able to stomach a thing, even though his body desperately needed
the nutrition. Sanzo had given Hakkai a scare that was still giving him the
shakes. He had never thought that Sanzo would be able to die not once, but twice in a single night. Hakkai would
rather forget that nasty incident as soon as possible.

Shaking his head to free himself of
such troublesome thoughts, he offered his shoulder for Hakuryuu and the dragon
stopped flying around to eagerly settled down. Hakkai
had found that a perched pet was accepted much easier than a flying one, even
if it was a dragon. Once Hakuryuu settled down into a comfortable position,
Hakkai went to the door and ventured out into the hallway.

Surprisingly enough, another patron
of the inn blinked at Hakkai as they stepped out of their rooms at the same
time. It was a slightly older man with the faintest hint of a belly starting
and the pinching of wrinkles in the corner of his eyes. Hakkai nodded
pleasantly to the other man as he peered curiously at the creature; most likely
trying to decide if Hakuryuu was a bird or a well-trained lizard.

He continued down the hallway with
the sound of footsteps following behind him as they both seemed to be
going to the same place. Hakuryuu twisted its long and slender neck around to
chirp at this new stranger in confusion. That, of course, earned them a gasp
and the footsteps came to a dead stop while Hakkai went to the stairs at the
end of the hall. People didn�t seem to want to get friendly with the owner of a
dragon, no matter how small it was.

Hakkai could hear Goku�s loud voice long before he even
entered the main dining room at the bottom of the stairs. He was probably
already causing trouble, even though it was rather early in the morning. Hakkai
had a smile on to greet the usual scene of Goku stuffing his face with what
looked to be eggs, and with a large amount of empty plates and bowls stacked up
around him. The boy didn�t even notice Hakkai as he entered; concentrating on
finishing off what was left of the meal on the table while the sparse morning
crowd stared.

As usual, all the other patrons stopped what they were
doing to glance at the newcomer. Hakkai hated the reputation that spread long
before they even had a chance to show up. He could only hope that Goku and Sanzo would be able to keep from destroy the
place as they did every inn and town that crossed their path. It was a
predictable result with youkai hunting them since day one no matter where they
traveled, but even so, Hakkai wished they could leave at least a single building standing for once.

What was even less expected was that Sanzo was sitting
down as well, cigarette lit up and smoking before he�d even had breakfast.
Gojyo smiled and waved at Hakkai to come to their table, in a light yellow
shirt that he was sure Gojyo was not happy with. Sanzo was in a white shirt was
that two sizes too big, but thankfully managed to hide most of the bandages
underneath except for a few noticeable bulges on his arms. Sanzo looked like
death rolled over, though that was what he looked like most of the time anyway
with such pale skin and bad temper. Today seemed particularly bad with the
harsh bruises under Sanzo�s eyes and the way his cheeks had hollowed out.

Yet, Sanzo had never cared about his looks before. Only
Gojyo and himself seemed to have any appreciation for that delicate complexion
despite the fierce mouth and the Smith and Wesson. Sanzo would have a bullet
for both of them if he ever caught wind of it. Hakkai wouldn�t even have the
chance to explain that it was pure aesthetic value, since a relationship with
Sanzo was pure suicide. Goku was the only one Sanzo tolerated�didn�t outright
hate out of all of them- he corrected
himself quickly- and Hakkai still didn�t understand why. Goku seemed to get the
most curses, glares, and hit with a fan directed his way more than anyone,
except Gojyo.

��kkai!� Goku greeted happily around a full piece of
toast crammed in his mouth. Hakkai could see the vein popping on Sanzo�s
forehead from across the table as the blonde sat with a deceiving calmness. A
cigarette was hanging between his lips on the opposite side of his mouth where
a small strip of medical tape was just starting to peel off. Sanzo�s eyes were
closed and a half-empty cup of coffee was the only thing in front of the priest.
Beyond the furrowing of his brows, Hakkai would have thought he was dead. Sanzo
hadn�t eaten anything again, typical of Sanzo to skip breakfast the first day
he had woken up coherent and able to walk unassisted. Hakkai knew better than
to mention that though, since he enjoyed his body parts all together the way
they were now.

�Good morning, Goku,� Hakkai returned, mustering up the
energy to sound cheerful somehow as
he took the last empty seat between the boy and Gojyo. Hakuryuu dug its small sharp
claws into his shirt for a moment to keep balanced until he nodded to the
redhead as Gojyo only shrugged back in response, not about to exchange
pleasantries this early in the morning. In fact, Hakkai would venture to say
that Gojyo looked even worse than he did. At least the taller man had the
remains of a meal on his plate, sprinkled with a few crumbs or small pieces of
the crust along with the yellow smear of eggs. Hakkai wondered just how late he
had slept in if they had already finished eating. He hoped they didn�t start to
suspect how exhausted he was.

�Sanzo, you look well,� Hakkai ventured, knowing it was
unwise to greet Sanzo in the morning when he was recovering but trying anyway.
Sanzo tended to get a bit�volatile after he mended from any sort of serious
wound, though it was Sanzo�s ego that had taken the heaviest blow. Hakkai could
understand why the man might have a bit of a wounded pride, but there was
certainly no need to threaten the most painful murder possible when someone
said �good morning.�

A grunt told Hakkai to stop efforts at conversation more
clearly than words ever could from Sanzo. Hakkai shrugged, rather used to
everyone�s sour moods that happened every now and then. They all had certain
burdens to carry around, and sometimes it got to be too much. It was only
reasonable to expect someone to get a little flustered. Only Sanzo seemed
determined to make everyone feel as miserable as he did about this trip. Sanzo
may be a High Priest, but he would never be called any sort of saint.

�Oh, good morning,
Hakkai,� Miss Mei�s high voice scratched at his ears and a hand landed on his
other shoulder. Hakuryuu peeked up over Hakkai�s head and hissed territorially,
which earned them a startled scream as the girl jumped back in surprise. Even
though she had seen the little dragon before, Hakkai supposed it still took
some getting used too. He couldn�t say that he didn�t appreciate the discomfort
Hakuryuu caused either as he shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably.

Her scream had been enough to make the entire common room
quiet as all the other guests stared at the commotion. Hakkai grinned politely
to the unsettling attention, far too used to being gawked at to be ruffled now.
Hakuryuu huffed close to his ear, obviously not understanding why Mei had been
so frightened at his little warning. Hakkai smiled apologetically to the
creature, knowing that the dragon didn�t mean any harm.

�Sorry about that, Miss Mei. But, could I bother you for
some breakfast as well?� Hakkai asked cordially. �Please,� came as an after
thought when he realized he might have been a touch too rude. Miss Mei�s pale
face broke out into a weak smile as she nodded and sidestepped around their
table, her eyes fastened to Hakuryuu the whole time. Her relatively calm exit
caused the rest of the room to look about at each other before grudgingly
turning their attention back to their own meals and conversations.

�Mmm? Hakkai, what the hell did you do?� Gojyo asked in a
tired voice as the red eyes slowly opened to blink around in confusion. Hakkai
rolled his eyes away from the man, because he knew it wasn�t even worth
explaining right now. Sure enough, Gojyo slumped forward and was lightly
drowsing again. There was no way he could carry on decent conversation this
early in the morning.

�Goku, how are you doing?� Hakkai asked for lack of
anyone else to talk to. The boy paused in the middle of putting a muffin in his
mouth, blinking like he was caught committing a crime. There was a small
silence where Goku chewed his mouthful carefully, for once remembering the
manners Sanzo had beat into the boy. Sanzo opened up one violet eye at the
quietness to study the boy.

pan>pan>�I had the best dream
last night that there were these huge pork
buns were attacking us and I had to eat them all,� Goku rush out
enthusiastically, making a large circle with his arms to show the size of these
dream pork buns. Sanzo snorted scornfully at that, a large cloud of grey-blue
smoke drifting up as the blonde began to smoke with vigor. The ridiculousness
of it was enough to wake Gojyo up with a small, badly-hidden bout of the
giggles.

�What are you laughing at, stupid kappa?� Goku demanded
angrily as Gojyo shook his head and laughed only harder at the reaction. Sanzo
grimaced at the noise, obviously becoming angrier as Goku started to growl and
make fists at the dining table. Hakkai groaned, wishing that not every morning had to start out with a
huge fight between the two.

�You�you dumb�ass ape,� Gojyo wheezed out, pausing in
smoking to point at Goku. The ape�s face reddened and the boy shot up out of
his chair with a fist raised. Gojyo immediately sobered up and sat up straight
in his chair, more than ready to take on a fight now that he was wide awake and
ill-tempered. Hakkai sighed, glancing around the common room that hadn�t
stopped staring at them now that those two were causing a commotion, yet again. Why couldn�t they ever behave themselves in public?

�Shut the fuck
up!� Sanzo barked, slamming a hand down on the tablrd erd enough to make all
the plates and silverware rattle. Hakuryuu squeaked in fear and hunched behind
Hakkai�s head, hoping to hide from the priest�s fury that even it had learned
to be afraid of. Sanzo glared at them all with his teeth bared as he spat out
the remains of the filter from his cigarette with unerring aim onto Gojyo�s
plate.

�What the hell did you do that for, you moody little
bitch?! We save your thin ass from every single youkai that wants to eat it and
all you do is piss on us!� Gojyo snapped right back, which was not a wthinthing
to say at all when in public. Sanzo�s pupils sunk a focused rage and Hakkai
knew that if he didn�t do something quick, the priest was likely to tear all of
that tender and healing scar tissue. He wasn�t sure if it would be any good at all
as Sanzo reached down for the gun that thankfully wasn�t there.

�Ah, Sanzo, your gun will be ready by today,� Hakkai
announced as he held up a hand in front of the infuriated expression, suddenly
reminded. The Smith and Wesson had needed to be taken to a shop after being
soaked in the river along with its owner. Thankfully they had found a man who
was more than willing to do work on the legendary High Priest Genjo Sanzo�s gun
and had promised Hakkai a speedy repair.

�Stay the fuck out of
this, Hakkai,� Sanzo snapped over at him with eyes that were promising death. �I�m
going to kill you, you half-breed
bastard,� Sanzo swore, his eyes narrowing with the promise to Gojyo over
Hakkai�s hand. Wasn�t he supposed to be wounded
right now? Shouldn�t Gojyo have the slightest amount of respect for the
fact that Sanzo was alive and well right now after almost dying only a few days
ago? Hakkai glared openly at Gojyo, siding with Sanzo for this little spat,
even though he usually tried to stay detached from these arguments.

�I�m so damn sick of that line by now, Sanzo,� Gojyo sneered
in the front of Sanzo�s anger despite the crowd that they had gained the rapt
attention of. There wasn�t a set of eyes in the house that wasn�t staring at
their table in astonishment. Sanzo and Gojyo didn�t even seem to mind, but
Hakkai could tell that they had noticed the sudden interest and weren�t pleased
with it. They were too busy glaring across the table at each other hard enough
to cause sparks to fly.

�Gojyo, please,
we�re trying to eat breakfast,� Hakkai let a bit of ice slip into his voice,
the warning hanging clear in the air. Gojyo glanced away from Sanzo�s staring
match to ta goa good look at Hakkai�s expressionless face. He didn�t have to
look angry to get the point across. Gojyo swallowed and scratched the back of
his neck guiltily. Hakkai supposed he should be happy with that, knowing it was
the best sort of resolution he could hope for.

�Shouldn�t you be finding some slut who�ll spread her
legs for you right about now?� Sanzo growled out irritably at Gojyo as a plate
slammed down in front of Hakkai. Toast, eggs, and burned sausage spun to slow
stop on the table. He blinked up from the presentation in confusion at Miss
Mei�s flushed face as she glared at them all. It vaguely felt like being caught
doing something bad by the nuns when Hakkai had been much, much younger.

�If you could please keep that out of my inn,� she hissed
in a thankfully small voice for just their table. She had enough sense to be
aware of the whole common room listening intently to their conversation.
Besides, Hakkai couldn�t think what the consequences might be if Mei had
lectured Sanzo in public. She was too nice of a girl to die young. Once again, Hakkai
was grateful the gun was safely out of reach, being repaired in the shop a few
buildings down.

�Oh, they�re just fighting. Please, don�t mind anything
they say,� Hakkai laughed before Sanzo or Gojyo had a chance to say anything. It
wouldn�t do to get thrown out of the place before they had their clothes
returned. Miss Mei looked down at Hakkai as she stood close to his shoulder,
her angry expression softening for him. Hakkai smiled back with a little less enthusiasm,
wishing that she hadn�t chosen him
out of the bachelors in their group.

Hakuryuu chirped before launching off of Hakkai�s
shoulders and landing gracefully next to Miss Mei�s hand by his plate. Hakkai
couldn�t blame the little dragon since sausage was its favorite, but once again
Mei drew in a short breath and launched back from the white reptile with a
mangled squeal. Hakuryuu didn�t even mind as it reached down with a long and
slender neck to snatch up a sausage between delicate but sharp teeth.

�Miss Mei, I assure you that Hakuryuu is completely
harmless,� Hakkai told her in an apologetic voice, feeling a bit guilty for her
pale face. Miss Mei nodded weakly, but it was obvious that she didn�t believe
him yet. He supposed that a miniature dragon could look a little frightening,
but Hakuryuu was as docile as any house cat.

�Yeah, Jeep wouldn�t hurt anyone! You should watch out
for Gojyo instead, Mei!� Goku
suggested before shoving the last muffin into his mouth. A fist slammed down on
the top of the poor boy�s head and his mouthful popped right back out as Goku
gagged and clamped two hands over his hair. Gojyo sat back in his chair, openly
snarling at the other customers as they stared at his violence with the kid.

�That hurt! See, see? Gojyo�s a lot worse than some dragon,� Goku whined, rubbing his head
fiercely. Miss Mei smirked at that and raised a hand to her mouth to hide the
laughter. Gojyo growled at the insult and shook another fist in Goku�s face
threateningly. Hakkai grinned at it all; for once a real smile was gracing his
face instead of the usual mask. Goku reminded Hakkai of the students in the
first class he�d taught, if a bit more violent.

�Would all of you just shut- the- fuck- UP?!�

Sanzo�s irritated roar rang out through the entire
building and likely the rest of the town. Every living creature within a mile
must have gone silent then, not even the wind daring to blow against the
windows. A set of dangerous but beautiful violet eyes glowered at them all, a
strange and rare color for such an ill-dispositional man. Sanzo didn�t care
what kind of commotion he made, as long as everyone was quiet.

�If�If you�ll excuse me, then,� Miss Mei stammered in a
thin, light voice before sidestepping away from the table and fleeing to the
kitchen. The other men and women sitting at their tables looked around to each
other, having no such excuse to leave the room. Conversation started up again
reluctantly along with the dull clang of silverware as people resumed eating. Hakkai
sighed, still able to feel embarrassed after all this time if only out of a
sense of politeness. He�d long forgotten humiliation after being in Goku,
Gojyo, and Sanzo�s respective company for little over a year now.

Goku started to eat again, slowly working on a muffin as
he warily watched Sanzo. Hakuryuu blinked with two, small, red eyes before
working on the last of its sausage as well. Those two were not about to let
their appetites be ignored because of the usually irritable priest that had
finally snapped and was positively fuming now. The priest closed his eyes in
irritation before leaning back in the chair and rubbing the bridge of his nose
with his long, slender fingers. Sanzo wasn�t even supposed to be out of bed
right now, and he was arguing with anything stupid enough to open its mouth to
boot.

�Way to scare the living shit out of the locals, Sanzo,�
Gojyo complimented sarcastically. Really, Gojyo was the only one dumb enough to
keep provoking Sanzo when it was obvious he should leave things alone. Hakkai
calmly picked up his fork as the priest swatted Gojyo so hard on the back of
his head that the poor man had to be seeing stars. Sanzo had enough right to be
allowed another slap as Hakkai unfolded his napkin and laid it out on his lap.

�Gojyo, please try to restrain yourself at the table. I
just want to have a nice meal for once,�
Hakkai stressed the last part, narrowing his eyes so that Gojyo would know
exactly what he was talking about. This was the one and only warning that the
man would get before Hakkai would no longer be able to restrain himself as
well. Usually Sanzo did a good enough job punishing Gojyo own his own, but the priest
was injured now, after all.

�Fine, whatever, let�s all pretend Sanzo is a nice guy,�
Gojyo snapped back, going down for once instead of screaming his innocence to
high heaven like usual. Hakkai caught Gojyo as red eyes fastened onto Sanzo
when the priest wasn�t looking, concerned and staying for far too long.
Something wasn�t normal between the two, but since Sanzo was no longer in any
danger of dying in the middle of the night from the cold, he could get Gojyo
his own room. He knew the redhead would appreciate that and was probably the
root of Gojyo�s moodiness this morning.

Hakkai shrugged, deciding that there was nothing else he
could do to change the atmosphere at the table. Sanzo had already effectively
ruined it by yelling earlier. Now, everyone in the whole room was nervous of
making the slightest noise, some trying to glance over surreptitiously, but
were only more painful obvious for it. Hakkai wished that they didn�t have to
be the center of attention when they were simply eating, but there was no
helping it. The rumors surrounding their names were enough to be treated like
near gods; and Sanzo always managed to do a good job instill the fear of one
into poor common folk.

�I think every meal is nice,� Goku announced with them
with a look of honest confusion on his face, covered with crumbs from his third
helping. Goku just didn�t understand how a sour mood was supposed to work,
effectively breaking Sanzo�s authoritive silence with his pure naivety. Even
Gojyo laughed out loud despite Sanzo�s warning glare. Hakkai shrugged and
smiled, pulling out his napkin to lie down in his lap. He was more than ready
to eat after giving so much of his life force to Sanzo earlier, as well as
plain exhaustion. He had to recover, and eating was always the best option.

�See? Why do you have to always ruin a perfectly good
meal, you damn monk?� Gojyo teased at the worst time, despite the look Hakkai
shot his way. He even mouthed �shut up� to the oblivious kappa who went on to
lean closer to Sanzo with his elbow on the table. Sanzo�s eyes narrowed on the half-empty
cup of coffee in front of him, once again skipping breakfast. If there had been
a plate in front of him, Hakkai was sure the monk would have already sent it up
into Gojyo�s face. He grimaced at the fighting, unable to deal with the
everyday occurrence of the blonde skipping another meal and smile like nothing
was wrong. Sanzo should be especially careful about eating properly after
recovering from such an assault, but he was always so damn stubborn. Hakkai
didn�t understand it, since the priest was always extremely sensitive about his
weight, more than prone to draw on the fool who mentioned his slender size.
Only Goku would dare say that Sanzo was too skinny and still be left standing
at the end of the sentence.

�Come on, Sanzo!
You never eat, that�s why you�re so thin and tired,� Goku argued, picking up an
untouched bowl of rice from his own meal and shoving under Sanzo�s upturned
nose. Violet eyes widened dangerously and a vein bulged in Sanzo�s forehead as
if the monk was about to implode. Hakkai waited for the usual explosion of curses
and fan to come out and Goku to be a mess of bruises.

Surprisingly enough, it was pure silence that met the
food offered. For some reason, that was even worse. Gojyo acly sly snickered,
unable to hold in his humor when it was very
inappropriate. Hakkai turned to snap at the man before Gojyo�s words could
arouse Sanzo�s anger, but winced and froze at the scrape of Sanzo�s chair as
the priest stood up slowly. Dangerously. It was
already too late to try doing any damage control on this one.

His movement was enough to make a fearful, quiet ripple
throughout the room as the other patrons trying to enjoy their breakfast went
into a hush. Sanzo�s eyes were dark shadows underneath his bangs, but Hakkai
could tell that he was now in a rare mood�certainly beyond any usual fury that
took the blonde of late. It was amazing Sanzo was even holding his restraining
himself at all, but it was like looking at the eye of the storm.

�I�d like to see a youkai try to get a decent meal out of his skinny ass,� Gojyo said to no
one in particular, but Hakkai was sure he meant for Sanzo to hear. The monk was
out of the front door of the inn and into the street before Hakkai could even
get a word in. Goku stared after Sanzo, the rice forgotten in his hand as the
front door slammed shut. A hushed murmur started up after that, no doubt
everyone talking about them.

�Where do you think he�s off to now?� Gojyo wondered out
loud as he picked up a piece of toast and stated chewing on it without concern,
still smiling at his latest joke. Hakkai managed to pull himself away from
Sanzo�s exit and back to Gojyo in disgust, the precious seconds giving the monk
more time to get away. He was still far from full health and was more than
likely to pass out from walking too far before Sanzo calmed down enough to head
back. It was rare for Sanzo to storm out, but when he did, it meant a long time
before civil conversation could be attempted.

�It�s not funny,
Gojyo. Wherever it is, he doesn�t have the sutra or his gun,� Hakkai snapped irritably,
his voice loud enough to seem like he was screaming in the quiet gossip going
through the common room. Gojyo�s face seemed to fall at that as he stared back
at Hakkai in sudden realization. Of course Sanzo was in no shape to walk around
the town by himself, not after being in bed for the past several days. No
matter what the priest would like them to believe, he wasn�t any sort of super
human that could bounce back from such injuries. Nothing had healed yet beyond what Hakkai had forced to, despite
using herbs and medical lotions from the local doctor.

�I�ll go get him,� Goku offered merrily, even though it
meant leaving a meal behind. The boy was more than happy to trot after Sanzo,
but Hakkai doubted that he�d be able to bring the monk back. Goku would do what
Sanzo wanted without a single complaint, because in the end they all knew where
the boy�s only true loyalty laid. Hakkai didn�t really want to chase Sanzo down
so they could have an argument in the middle of the street as the blonde loved to do. He pursed his lips, but
figured it would be the best instead of worrying about Goku and Sanzo being
alone together after such a blow-up.

�I don�t think you�ll want to get in Sanzo�s way right
now, Goku,� Hakkai wanted quietly, glaring over at Gojyo purposely. The man
just had to be aware of how badly he
had pissed off Sanzo. Gojyo�s brow twitched and that scornful smirk on his face
faded away as he realized he was in serious trouble.

�Sit down, ape. I�ll get the bitchy priest,� Gojyo
ordered as he stood up before Goku could and dropped his napkin beside his own
plate. Hakkai opened his mouth to protest but Gojyo was already walking away
from the table as well. The rest of the common room was staring at them, dozens
of strangers completely absorbed in their conversation. It wouldn�t do to yell
across the room in front of a rapt audience.

�I suppose it�s just you and me then,� Hakkai tried to sound
happy about it, but he was more worried about Gojyo running off after Sanzo. He
better be ready to get on his knees and apologize to Sanzo, because that would
be the only way he could manage to get the blonde to even stay in the same room
with him. The younger man had already walked out on breakfast because of the
redhead. Sanzo could be very stubborn, especially when it came to his sensitive
pride. Hakkai had yet to figure out just what made Sanzo so angry all the time,
but he would hazard to guess it was everything. Gojyo had a way to make it all
worse though, finding every button to push. Hakkai had tried to talk to him
about it once and only got a cold and extremely drunk shoulder.

Goku said something back, but Hakkai couldn�t catch it
through the food shoved in the boy�s mouth. The last time they had accidentally
left Goku behind when youkai had attacked, a house had burned down. Besides, if
he was going to stay with Goku, that meant eating. Still, it didn�t put Hakkai
at ease in the slightest. If anything, he was even more worried about Sanzo
killing Gojyo. Now that the redhead was chasing after Sanzo, it was lucky for
Gojyo that the priest wasn�t armed when the man caught up. Sanzo had been very
touchy the past few days when he had actually been conscious, even more so than
the usual abrasive attitude. It was no small wonder either after how badly mauled he had been when Gojyo and he had
found Sanzo.

Goku slurped down the rest of the noodles he had been
working on, completely oblivious to Hakkai�s dark thoughts. The only small
blessing was that Goku hadn�t seen Sanzo before they had a chance to heal and
cover up the worst of it. There was no doubt in Hakkai�s mind that Goku would
have gone berserk if he had stumbled in on the scene Hakkai had found when they
had finally tracked Sanzo down again. Despite wishing to forget it all, he
couldn�t help but stare down at his hands in wonder as he recalled saving
Sanzo�s life several times all those
nights ago.

* * *

Hakkai�s
first clue that something was wrong was when he heard Goku scream out Sanzo�s
name. He couldn�t look immediately, but slammed the edge of his palm into the
chin of the youkai coming at him with a large tree branch. Thekai kai howled in
pain and dropped the stick to clutch at his face in pain. Hakkai didn�t let it
stop there since these youkai were much more feral than the ones they usually
ran across. This might just even be a tribe of youkai who regularly attacked
people traveling the road. It was even more reason to bury his fist in the
youkai�s stomach hard enough to feel the lower ribcage crack inside its body.

The
youkai was falling to the ground as Hakkai swung around to search frantically
for Sanzo. Goku wouldn�t have cried out for him unless something horrible had
happened. Sanzo was in trouble
right now, that much was obvious as Goku scrabbled in the snow, his boots
sinking further with each step. Hakkai scanned the small battlefield they had
made out of this dead-end to see a large splash in the river and the
glimpse of a familiar blonde head going under the water, far beyond Hakkai�s
reach. All he could think of was how cold the river was in this snow-covered
forest, that Sanzo couldn�t swim, and that he had to stop Goku from jumping into
the currents after the priest.

lasslass=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in;mso-pagination:widow-orphan'>�Goku,
stop!� Hakkai cried out as he darted forward, narrowly missing a sword wielded
by a far more competent youkai than the other one. There was no end to the
things as more poured out from the trees to the nice little trap they had made.
Hakkai had no intention of wasting time fighting, only concentrating on getting
forward to cut Goku off as the boy continued to run with his mind likely set on
diving in after Sanzo without heed for Hakkai�s yell.

ASanzo! Sanzo!� Goku screamed at the
edge of the water. Hakkai managed to grab a hold around Goku�s wrist
protector and swing the boy back away from the edge of the riverbank encrusted
with icicles. Snow dusted up as Goku flew face-forward in the opposite
direction of the river and Sanzo. Hakkai wouldn�t have two drownings on his
hands today. Goku could only stumble and regain his balance to swirl back on
Hakkai, regardless of the youkai screaming as they rushed down the hill for
them.

�Hakkai! What hell was that for?!� Goku roared as he
summoned the nyoi-bo back into his hands without meaning to use it on a singloukaoukai. Hakkai was no longer a friend for keeping Goku from saving Sanzo, even
though the boy didn�t see that Hakkai was only trying to save him from
drowning. He could tell there was real anger in Goku�s innocent, golden eyes
this time, oblivious to the fact that he could just as easily die from the cold
or swallowing too much water in the river.

Or from youkai that would attack two idiots foolish
enough to stand around and argue when a small army was charging at them. Hakkai
couldn�t give Goku an answer immediately, but had to strike out at the youkai
coming up from behind the boy. He fired out a blast of chi, pretty sure that
Gojyo was to the left as youkai howled and screamed, caught up in the blue-white
blow of pure willpower. Even Goku whistled appreciatively, despite the fact
that Sanzo was drifting further downstream as they stood there.

�Goku, we can follow along the river for Sanzo, but we
have to defeat these youkai first,� Hakkai rationalized even though it hurt. He
didn�t want to fight through this army of undeveloped monsters while Sanzo was
likely drowning. Hakkai had already resuscitated Sanzo on two separate
occasions, neither of which he cared to recall in any great detail. The blonde
didn�t even know how to swim and was notorious for swallowing water. Despite being tough as nails, Sanzo
was human after all. His body didn�t do well in extreme chills- like an icy
river in the middle of winter, for example. It wouldn�t do for the legendary
group of four traveling to the West to turn tail and run either, even if it was
to save Sanzo.

Goku�s eyes narrowed for once as he faced off with the
youkai rushing forward on the blackened path Hakkai had cut through the snow on
the ground. Hakkai didn�t have to do a thing but watch as Goku rushed forward
with a wordless roar, already forgetting his anger at Hakkai to go kill the
youkai responsible for delaying him from running after Sanzo. Goku�s
protectiveness of Sanzo was frightening, but how could it not be when the boy
owed his entire life to Sanzo? It hurt Hakkai just as much to not run down the
side of the river where Sanzo should be. The distant terror of him actually
drowning was enough to make Hakkai�s insides twist in nervousness.

He heard the clang of the shaku-jyo against metal and swirled to see several youkai fall down to the snow like broken dolls with their strings
cut. Gojyo spun the metal staff above his head with both arms and a strange,
calm smile on while youkai were screaming as arms and legs were cut off,
throats and stomachs sliopenopen all around him. Hakkai didn�t know what to say
as Gojyo changed the path of the chain with a flick of his wrists to kill more
youkai without any effort at all. He couldn�t believe the sheer number of large
youkai waiting in the trees for their comrades to fall before rushing them.
Didn�t they see it was a lost cause? There was no way these hulking youkai
could defeat them, even without Sanzo.

Hakkai didn�t have time to sit
around an appreciate Gojyo�s technique as more youkai came at him with weapons
and bare claws. It was a female youkai this time, who was howling mindlessly as
she rushed him wearing only a stained and ripped dress. Hakkai sidestepped her
rush and spun to land the edge of his palm into the back of the youkai�s neck.
She fell heavily, knocked unconscious as she fell to the snow. Hakkai had a
soft spot for females and always tried to avoid killing them, except when it
was absolutely necessary. It was yet another pathetic weakness that Sanzo
didn�t comment on a lot, thankfully. Well, at least not as badly as Sanzo criticized
Gojyo�s weakness for women.

Hakkai looked up again to find most
of the large, hairy youkai were staring at the small boy as he rushed forward
screaming with the intent to kill. Goku managed to get in between their ranks
before any of the youkai could react to that speed, effectively blocking any
blast Hakkai could make with chi. The boy didn�t care though, only yelled
wordlessly as he slammed the nyoi-bo into the gut of the closest youkai. The
female choked loudly enough for Hakkai to hear across the river back. She put
one shaking hand around the staf dis disbelief that it was coming from the
middle of her stomach, not ready to accept the fact she was dying. Goku only
had to twist before she exploded, the body sizzling up and crumbling into a dusty
pile of ash before she even had a chance to scream.

That move seemed to change the mood
of the youkai unlucky enough to be surrounding Goku right now. Hakkai lowered the
hands he had unconsciously put up to fire off a blast of his own life force,
seeing that there was really no use for his help right now. Goku swung his
nyoi-bo into the side of the demon�s face and caught it on the ear. Goku
snapped the staff back so fast it whistled through the air before slamming into
the other side of the youkai�s face, this time more on the mouth. Blood flew
out from the youkai�s lips before Goku ducked and rushed a youkai who only
tried to turn tail and run away. The nyoi-bo cracked into the back of the
demon�s skull without any hesistation, killing it
just as surely as if he had made the demon explode, slumping to the ground in a
lifeless heap.

Well, it was enough to assure Hakkai
that Goku wouldn�t be running off to jump in the river after Sanzo, too angry
to do anymore than beat the youkai to death instead of chasing his beloved monk.
Hakkai moved in to catch the youkai that had been staring at Goku�s sudden
explosion of violence as intently as he was. The first one he found was a good
foot taller than him, but it meant nothing when the dumb beast was staring
forward into space. He slammed the back of his fist against the back of its
head, sending the youkai down into the snow, motionless with shock.

That caught the attention of the
youkai nearer to him, and Hakkai smiled politely as he went to greet them
warmly, like he�d promised before. It was the same sort of brawl that they
found themselves caught in just about everyday since they entered the Western
lands. They were all rather used to it, but the fear for Sanzo�s life made
Hakkai�s hands shake even as he broke wrists and ribs of youkai stupid enough
to get close to him. It deadened him to the trail of moaning and crippled
demons that he left behind, because the more time he wasted with them, the
better chance they had of finding a dead and frozen priest.

It continued on without any change
in the tactics, with the number of youkai ready to take other�s places seeming
inexhaustible. It wasn�t until Hakkai was breathing raggedly with his breath
burning in his throat and covered in sticky youkai blood that it seemed like
there were no more demons waiting in the trees and fog. His legs were shaking
from using a little too much chi to enhance his own moves or simply blow youkai
away in mass numbers. He supposed it was like how Sanzo used his own sutra,
except he didn�t have the spiritual strength that Sanzo did. He was only
focusing on fighting, not at all like the purifying forces that Sanzo dealt
with. It didn�t take out significant numbers like the monk�s could.

Gojyo was finishing off the last few
youkai that were staying to fight, not swinging the chain, but using the
shaku-jyo as a quarterstaff to cut through the youkai. He was covered in his
own fair amount of blood, but that cocky smile told Hakkai that it wasn�t
Gojyo�s. The taller man was panting hard, but Hakkai could tell he was pleased
even from this distance. Goku and Gojyo probably didn�t even think of this as
more than the usual amount of exercise. There hadn�t been a strong youkai like
Kougaiji or the others to fight, but the sheer numbers had made them lose
valuable time.

�Goku, that�s
enough!� Hakkai cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed out, figuring
that the remaining youkai should be afraid enough to run from them. The ground
was literally covered with bodies almost as abundant as the snow. Hakkai hoped
his shout was loud enough to be heard over the clang of fighting and Goku�s
shouts. He spotted Goku spinning to slam the heel of his boot into the skull of
a youkai twice his size. There was a frightening grin on Goku�s face as the
demon fell to the ground and he finished it off with a well-placed blow from
the nyoi-bo.

�You dumbass
ape, we have to go after Sanzo!� Gojyo yelled out with more desperation than
Hakkai would have expected from him. There was worry written all over the man�s
scarred face as he released his hold on the shaku-jyo. Instead of falling to
the ground, the long weapon simply disappeared in a cloud of smoke, sent back
to whatever place Gojyo summoned it from. Hakkai wasn�t sure of the details,
and it seemed too personal a question to ask about in casual conversation.

Gojyo�s words
seemed to do the trick, however, because Goku didn�t chase after the youkai
that were screaming now in fear as they ran back from wherever they had come. The
smile dropped as well as the fighting stance Goku was holding, allowing Hakkai
to breathe a sigh of relief. There had been such tension in the air, a pure
terror of Goku going berserk because Sanzo had fallen in the river that left
his mouth dry. They were lucky this time, which seemed to be rarer and rarer
these days.

Goku came
jogging up to Hakkai while Gojyo walked the distance, red eyes locked on the
river the entire time. So, Gojyo could feel a bit responsible for a man he
fought with daily after all. This occasion seemed more terrifying than any time
before, the image of Sanzo�s frozen corpse sickeningly vivid in his mind.
Hakkai didn�t like the worry that had taken root in the base of his stomach
while his own heartbeat pounded frantically in his chest. He wasn�t tired from
the fighting, not at all. Hakkai licked his lips, never liking this feeling of
morbid anticipation. They had to find Sanzo soon to ease Hakkai�s own mind.

He had to calm
down first though, since Gojyo and Goku�s eyes were boring into his with
unblinking concentration. They were waiting from him to say something,
automatically voted leader in the absence of Sanzo by the pair. Hakkai gritted
his teeth and smiled while his mind raced. Hakuryuu in its vehicular form would
likely both break the ice and fall into the river if they followed along the
side, or they would be going so fast they could miss the signs of Sanzo
crawling out. If they just ran along downstream, eventually they would come
across a path. Thankfully, the weather was on their side for once with a fresh
sheet of snow to track in if need be. It also meant Sanzo would freeze faster.

�Goku, can you
jump across the river and take the other side of the bank?� Hakkai ordered with
a pleasant smile on his face, as if this was no more than a complex game of
hide and go seek. Only, in this snow, the main player could end up dead if they
didn�t reach Sanzo in time. Hakkai could only hope that the man had been able
to get out of the river by himself, because there was little hope if the priest
had been in the water the whole time. A human wouldn�t last long in a freezing
cold river very long. They would need to find any trace of Sanzo getting out,
but the river was a good several yards long. Hakkai knew he wouldn�t be able to
make that distance, but Goku had always been the most athletic of them all.

He pivoted to
listen to Goku�s answer, but found himself facing dead air. The path beyond him
had become a bloody mess of disturbed snow, scorch marks, corpcorpses. Goku
wasn�t standing where he should be, but only Gojyo with one eyebrow raised in
confusion as he paused in the middle of lighting the cigarette in his mouth.
Hakkai kept looking with a sigh; just in time to see Goku take a running start
and blow past him before Hakkai could even yell at him to be careful. The river
might actually be wider than it was, considering the ice that had built up on
the side.

Goku launched himself
and was sailing through the air in a wild sort of grace, legs and arms splayed
out as he hurtled over the rushing water. The boy landed hard on the icy
opposite bank before his boots slipped and Goku stumbled to an awkward sprawl
on his knees. There was a loud crash, but Goku didn�t even make a single noise.
Hakkai sighed in relief that at least the boy had fallen forward instead of
back into the river. Gojyo tisked at the awful jump, but Hakkai could tell that
the man was relieved Goku hadn�t fallen into the water. Gojyo worried more
about the boy than he would ever let anyone know and had made Goku into a
little brother with all the bickering included.

�Goku, be sure
to yell if you see something,� Hakkai reminded him with a loud voice to be
heard over the rushing water. Goku waved his hand without his usual goodbye before
he started off at a run through the thick snow. Gojyo cursed and spat out the
barely smoked cigarette to the white, wet ground before taking off to match
Goku�s speed. Sanzo was already worrying Hakkai enough to take a few years off
his life, but to lose Goku as well in this forest would be a little more than Gojyo
or Hakkai could take care of.

�Hakuryuu,�
Hakkai called out to the messy and smoking fight they had left behind. Nothing
was moving beyond a few youkai that hadn�t died yet. Perhaps he had been a
little light in fighting today? Well, it was no wonder when he was worried sick
about Sanzo freezing to death, but it didn�t seem like a good enough excuse.
These youkai deserved to die if he found Sanzo even so much as gasping for
breath.

He heard Hakuryuu�s
high-pitched squeak from behind and glanced up to see the small, flying pet descending
from where it had hidden amongst the trees. A dark and cloudy sky outlined the
thin, white wings, warning that a storm was starting on top of the rest of this
mess. They had to hurry and find Sanzo before the tentative weather broke on
them. He expected no miracles and started running to catch up with Gojyo,
knowing that Hakuryuu would follow behind. It would be easier for the dragon to
fly than to keep a perch on Hakkai�s shoulder while he was going this fast.

Gojyo and Goku
had been going faster than he�d first expected, so it took Hakkai a while until
he could see the back of Gojyo�s unique red hair and coated back. The man
didn�t seem to be ha any any trouble, with his long legs easily moving through
the thick snow. Hakkai already found himself out of breath, but it was no time
to be weak when Sanzo was�well, who knew what state they would find Sanzo in.
Hakkai could only hope that the blonde had already taken care of the youkai
that had tossed him in the river, or Hakkai would with delight instead. It was
an insult that some demon had been able to hurt Sanzo when he was supposed to
be under their protection

Hakkai
caught up shoulder to shoulder with Gojyo, but neither of them said a word to
each other. They were both too busy watching the ground as they ran through the
unbroken snow. Sanzo couldn�t have gone too far in such a short time, or had
they been fighting for quite a while? Hakkai had been having so much fun for a
moment that he�d forgotten himself. It had been a long time since they had been
pushed to the limits or that he had found himself out of breath. All of that
followed by running was getting to be a fine exercise, but he couldn�t forgive
himself for allowing Sanzo to be hurt.

Even though Sanzo always insisted he could take care of
himself, there were times when he failed miserably for reasons Hakkai couldn�t
even begin to understand. Sanzo had a tendency to get into the worst kinds of
trouble if Hakkai didn�t keep an eye on him, just like he had done today. He
had been a fool and Sanzo might end up dead because of it. He owed everything
to Sanzo; the only reason he was wandering around free was because the scowling
monk had spoken on his behalf.

They continued alongside the river without finding a
single mark in the untouched snow. In the unbroken wilderness, ice covered the
sides of the dark and churning water, making a sharp and dangerous obstacle for
a human trying to drag himself out of the river. If so much as a hair on
Sanzo�s head had been damaged, Hakkai would be sure to make the youkai
originally responsible for this mess pay.

Hakkai didn�t like the looks of things at all as time
started to stretch out and they got further and further away from the known
roThe The river was starting to get wilder and huge rocks stuck out of the crashing
water. A small thing like Sanzo was likely to lose a limb if he�d gotten this
far downstream. Hakkai noticed Gojyo�s face becoming darker with each step they
took as the man must have started to realize they had ended up in a race
against time. Hakkai didn�t know why he felt like they needed to rush, but he
wasn�t about to ignore his instincts. Sanzo could be in real trouble this time.

�Hakkai! Over here, I can smell him!� Goku�s voice cut
across the river, forcing Gojyo and Hakkai to skid to a stop on the other side.
He saw Goku swinging around wildly to rush toward the trees without them, Sanzo
a much greater concern than them being able to cross without another accident.
It wasn�t like there was much choice in the matter in the end, so Hakkai backed
up until the snow-covered bushes made it impossible to take another step.
Hopefully a running start would be enough for this. He didn�t have the jumping
strength that Goku had, but at least the river was a little bit shorter across
here. However, the jagged and sharp rocks didn�t look quite as inviting as the smooth
water Goku had to land in.

Hakkai ran and jumped from the very edge of the river
anyway, barely managing to get to the other side. The ice beneath his feet
cracked at Hakkai�s landing and he launcforwforward again to avoid the
crumbling frozen ground while trying to make it all look like it was on
purpose. He wouldn�t want to worry Gojyo before the man tried to make his own
jump. By the time he finally found his balance again, Goku was nowhere to be
seen, likely halfway to Sanzo by now.

Gojyo landed much more easily than any of them not a
second later. His long legs gave him the advantage over everyone else as the
redhead put his hands into his coat pockets like it had been nothing at all. He
didn�t say a single word to Hakkai, but stepped forward to examine the marks in
the snow. Hakkai tried not to frown as he studied the ground as well for signs
of their missing priest.

Goku had left an obvious trail of deep and spread out
boot prints over the long imprint of where a body must have laid. Only Sanzo
was that thin, but the trail of large bare feet definitely belonged to youkai.
There was a small patch of disturbed snow where Hakkai was certain Sanzo must
have tried to fight. However, there was only one set of large, clawed feet that
sunk even deeper into the snow than before as they walked away from the river.
The youkai must have knocked Sanzo unconscious while he was still weak, nearly
being drowned, and carried him off.

�I don�t like this, Hakkai,� G mur murmured darkly next
to him, his eyes narrowing at the evidence on the ground before them. Hakkai
nodded, not about to trust himself with words. He�d lose his smile if he
started talking right now, because all he could think of was finding one
certain youkai and tearing off every single limb one by one. And if he admitted
that, it would only worry Gojyo. It wouldn�t do to create another thing to
think about right now. He had find Sanzo first, then he could make an example
out of the youkai they found for what happened when one hurt his friends.

�It just feels wrong,� Gojyo grumbled as he kicked at the
snow with his boot in frustration. Hakkai noticed that the ill feeling inherit
in the very surroundings had intensified now that they had traveled so far
behind. He was sure that they would have been able to find Sanzo, but now there
was even more time between when the blonde had been taken out of the river and
into a decent shelter. That was, if he had been taken to some hideout. Well,
whatever they found at the end of the path, Hakkai would be sure to give the
one responsible a proper thank you.

Hakuryuu squeaked from behind as the dragon finally
caught up with them. Hakkai didn�t bother to wait for the dragon to come to a
complete stop, but took off after Goku, knowing that it was easier for Hakuryuu
than landing and launching all over again. Gojyo cursed at the snow before
following with a grimace, obviously even more worried about Sanzo than Hakkai
was. For all of the rude and acidic remarks Gojyo shot at the monk, he ended up
being the most concerned for him.

The trail ended up being a clear, straight path despite
the youkai having struggled through a freezing river and now had a High Priest
for a burden. Hakkai could only assume that the demon must know where is
gs
going with its human prize. Perhaps even out in the last bits of familiar
Eastern civilization there were youkai that worked for Kougaiji. Sobering
thought, but either way it meant Sanzo was being kept alive until the youkai
reached its destination. Hakkai could just hope that nothing would happen
between then and when they finally caught up to Sanzo.

think
when he was chasing Sanzo, much less actually stop.

�Where the fuck did the trail go?� Gojyo snapped before
Goku could even explain himself, pointing down at the snow in shock. Hakkai
looked down at that, sure that the two of them just must be mistaken right now.
Sure enough, there was the same heavy imprint of the youkai�s feet leading to
the middle of nowhere was continuing in a wavy line until it was just gone. That
was it; no more sign of the creature that had probably drowned Sanzo in the
river and was still carrying the body as proof. The snow didn�t even look like
the footprints had been covered; they just ended,
like the youkai had sprouted wings and flew the rest of the way. Hakkai felt
like killing himself, knowing that if anything had happened to Sanzo it would
be his own fault for not paying closer attention in the beginning of the fight.

�This is too damn weird. No one just disappears if
they�ve been walking this long,� Gojyo babbled, looking a little wide-eyed at
the loss of Sanzo�s track. Hakkai frowned at the unusual alarm, torn between
saying something comforting and wanting to slap the man. Goku wasn�t even
listening to them now that they had caught up, his eyes closed without the
slightest shred of attention being paid to them while he sniffed the air. Hakkai
wished Sanzo was here to tell them what to do, and at the same time realized
what a pathetic wish it was.

�Calm down, Gojyo. We�ll find him,� Hakkai assured, not
mentioning the fact that they just might end up finding a body instead of a
live and cursing priest. It wasn�t a reassuring image when they had just
impossibly lost the path left behind. There was no place to go in this snow, no
ground thas uas upset from the smooth cover of snow. Hakkai was beginning to
hate the white stuff and began to frantically search the trees, hoping that
there might be some clue to where Sanzo had been taken now. He should have
never been so na�ve to think that things might actually be looking up.

�I can�t believe this
shit,� Gojyo hd asd as he fumbled out a pack of cigarettes from his coat.
Hakkai frowned at the nervous strike up for the lighter, but at the same time
wanted a stick as well. It had been a long time since he had smoked, but Hakkai
didn�t like the feeling this place had given him. The trees and snow looked
wrong, nothing smelled of anything, and Hakkai hadn�t heard a single animal in
the place. To have a set of prints disappear in mid-stride was a little too
much to handle as well.

Hakuryuu didn�t make a noise in greeting this time, so it
was more luck that Hakkai actually heard the flap of wings in time to hold up
his arm. The little dragon landed gratefully with its thin and long mouth hanging
open as it gasped for air. Even though Hakuryuu had been flying, it had still
been a long way to go for such a small creature. Hakkai petted Hakuryuu behind
the horns, knowing that the dragon had tried its best to keep up with them for
only this length.

�It�s not very strong, but I can smell him,� Goku�s voice
was a little deeper than usual, more contained as he continued to sniff at the
air. Hakkai blinked at the confidence in the boy�s tone as he finally opened his
pair of golden eyes that stared straight forward through the woods. Even though
there was no more physical path to follow, Goku seemed certain that he would be
able to trace Sanzo by scent and instincts alone. Hakkai had nothing else to go
on, so only nodded his encouragement to the boy. Gojyo sucked determinedly at
his cigarette without a word, looking ready to start a fight with the next
person who was foolish enough to say a word to him.

Goku didn�t run this time, but started off at a walk in
the direction the trail had been leading in before with his nose held high like
a trained hunting dog. It wasn�t too far from the truth when it came to Goku, but
Hakkai didn�t doubt the boy�s ability to find Sanzo no matter what. Even though
Sanzo acted like he was going to kill Goku, and sometimes there were moments
when Hakkai had serious doubts that the priest wouldn�t pull the trigger, there
was still a connection between those two. Sanzo had insisted that it was
nothing more than like having a stray following him, albeit an extremely loud
and hungry one, but Goku was the one person Sanzo actually trusted. Even Hakkai
wasn�t sure if he could honestly say Sanzo believed in him completely, or
anyone else beyond himself.

�This just feels bad.
I�ve got the creeps about this damn place,� Gojyo insisted, never one to fall
into superstitious beliefs. Except, their only religious member of the group,
if Sanzo could be called that, was missing. Hakkai could understand the
concern, but Gojyo didn�t need to start panicking now. If the man ended up
distracting Goku, Hakkai might end up actually yelling at the idiot. Gojyo
acting too concerned over Sanzo when he was so vicious and always arguing with
the monk. Hakkai pursed his lips, ready to finally say something as they
followed Goku in a single-file line, when he felt it�

Death.

Hakkai regained his breath in a shaky gasp that did
nothing to ban the cold and freezing pain that had settled in his lungs. The
sense of leftover agony and old murder was so strong that Hakkai couldn�t
believe he had been able to ignore it until now. He felt sick with it, every
tree and branch soaked with discontent, every snowflake tainted from grudges
held by souls that heen een killed wrongly. Something terrible had happened in
this forest, and it was long before they ent entered. The feeling of Sanzo
being in danger doubled and tripled until it became a lump in Hakkai�s throat.

�Are you okay, Hakkai? Hakkai?� Gojyo repeated his name
and it took Hakkai a second to realize that he was being spoken too. Hakuryuu
cooed quietly in worry, and now that he looked closer, Hakkai could see that
the tiny white scales covering its body were slightly puffed up as if Hakuryuu
was sensing an attack. Not only had he not been paying attention to Sanzo
during the fighting, he had ignored all the signs under his nose that something
was very wrong with this �wilderness.� Everything was too perfect, even Sanzo�s
trail cleaned up in a manner of minutes before they had even been able to track
it very far. Gojyo had been absolutely right and Hakkai had completely ignored
him and everything else that hinted about something being desperately wrong.

�Many people have been killed here before. Let�s make
sure that Sanzo isn�t one of them,� Hakkai suggested, trying to give Gojyo an
explanation for these mysterious forces that seemed to be at work right now. It
wasn�t an answer for why those footprints had suddenly stopped, but if Goku
could find Sanzo by smell, that would be fine as well. Gojyo blew a cloud of
smoke toward the back of Hakkai�s head as an answer, the steam of his own
breath mixing in the cold air and disappearing into the fog that was only
gettthicthicker as night came closer. Hakkai felt a sudden sense of dread at
the thought of being in these trees during the night, but said nothing. Gojyo
would likely lose his complete composure if Hakkai mentioned anything like that
right now.

�It feels like it�s going to start snowing too. Just our
fucking luck,� Gojyo growled, complaining about everything now that they had
paused long enough to gain his breath back. Hakkai rolled his eyes at that,
thinking that Goku wasn�t the only child in the group at the moment. Given the
chance, Gojyo could whine like the best of them, enough to make Goku look back
with a grimace even though he was trying to find Sanzo.

�Well, let�s find Sanzo before then,� Hakkai tried to
make it sound civil and keep the irritation out of his voice, but apparently he
hadn�t done a good enough job because Goku stopped ahead of Gojyo and glanced
back with a raised eyebrow. He had a perfect right to, but Hakkai had never
expected Goku to be the one to make him feel like he was acting childish right
now. They needed to find Sanzo first and then fight or argue, whatever Gojyo
wanted to. He smiled at Goku, trying to assure the boy that everything was
fine.

�I don�t know how far he is, but this place stinks.
Everything�s so rotten that it�s easy to catch Sanzo�s scent,� Goku explained
before he closed his eyes and began to sniff the air again, twisting his head like
a bloodhound as he tried to find Sanzo�s trail. Hakkai raised an eyebrow,
thinking this entire time that even though they were walking through a pine
forest with a fresh fall of snow, it had smelt like nothing to him. Just what
kind of place were they wandering around in, only slightly better off than
completely lost? At least they had the river to follow before, but now it was
off without a single clue to where they were. Just what Sanzo been dragged
through, and what state would he be in when they found him? Hakkai liked that
thought the least of all.

They all fell back into an uncomfortable silence beyond
the loud inhale and exhale of Gojyo as he smoked behind Hakkai during their
short break. Hakkidn�idn�t bother trying to break it with reassuring talk, much
to caught up in his own thoughts. Why hadn�t the locals told them what was out
here? How could such a cursed forest be unknown of, or was it they had been
afraid to say anything? There were too many questions that Hakkai was finding
no answers for, now that they were out in the middle of nowhere. He couldn�t
ask Gojyo these things, not about to get the redhead worried and start to wear
off of Goku. They need to find Sanzo first, person those youkai could do
anything to him.

Goku huffed at the air, spinning around in the snow in
curious circle. Hakkai grimaced at the seemingly hopeless attempt to figure out
where Sanzo was. No normal youkai could have gotten this far without Sanzo
starting to struggle, and there would certainly be signs of that worse than
unless something was terribly wrong just like he was dreading. Hakkai really was starting to hate this
forest.

It began to snow before they found any sign of Sanzo
again with small, light flakes fallings from the dark grey sky that was only
becoming darker. It would be night by the time they figured out where Sanzo
was, and that was far too late. Sanzo was probably dead from exposure if a fool
youkai carried him all this way without a concern for the delicacy of the human
body. Few demons took into consideration that their human prey had a tendency
to break easily.

Hakuryuu chirped from its perch on Hakkai�s shoulder,
obviously concerned for its master. It was a good thing he was in front where
Gojyo couldn�t see his face since his expression wor worried enough to make
Hakuryuu speak up. Hakkai smiled for the dragon as he schooled his usual
expression back into place. He must never show how troubled his own thoughts
were or he�d make Gojyo and Goku even more anxious.

�I can smell youkai now,� Goku announced without breaking
stride; in fact, he was starting to walk faster now. The scent must be getting
stronger now, which meant they were closer. Hakkai had to fight with himself
from becoming too hopeful that they might find Sanzo alive and in one piece at
the end of this. He needed t cal calm and controlled this time and only
concentrate on rescuing Sanzo. Once they secured the blonde, then he could go
about getting revenge for him.

�Hey, I can smell it now too. Goku, you actually did it,
you little shit,� Gojyo hissed excitedly before he tackled the boy from behind
and they both fell down hard into the snow bank. They wrestled in a muted fury
for once, not about to be so disrespectful to the atmosphere of this land.
However, now that the redhead�s tall back was out of his vision, Hakkai saw a
fire through the trees in the mist, but couldn�t make out anything to hide
from. He was about to tell Gojyo to let Goku back up when the fog shifted a bit
and he noticed a large, furry youkai pacing next to the fire. Hakkai dropped
down to the ground immediately, ready to curse his own stupidity as he crawled
forward to pull up next to Gojyo.

�I can�t believe that something�s actually out here,�
Gojyo hissed as he spat out the filter to his latest cigarette. Goku wasn�t
looking half as pleased at finding a place where Sanzo must be with his face
and hair flecked with snow on the other side of Gojyo. Hakkai sighed at the
two, not really sure why he was so surprised that they could still fight evehoughough Sanzo could be in some youkai�s belly right now. Hakkai doubted that
o wao was edible, and very much less that he even tasted good.

Hakkai�s eyes narrowed as he finally was able to make out
the lines of a large building behind the youkai in the dying light. He couldn�t
believe that there would actually be a guard when the band that had attacked
them had been full of nothing but the most primitive of youkai with brains no
bigger than oranges. But, the house behind the youkai looked like a very rich
mansion with a wooden porch wrapping all the way around the building. Hakkai
couldn�t understand the absurdity of such a huge household being built in the
middle of this wilderness that seemed l'>evil
to top it off, but the longer he stared at it through the fog, the more he
was certain that Sanzo must be in here.

�Good job, Goku,� Hakkai complimented him before standing
up. He didn�t care what was waiting inside or how many of them there were, but
what did matter was getting Sanzo back safe and sound. Gojyo hissed and grabbed
at the leg of his pants in warning. Hakkai looked down and without a word,
shook off his friend�s hand and started forward. He didn�t need to explain his
actions. It was more than simple enough: those who hurt Sanzo had to pay. They
didn�t need to waste time thinking of a plan or trying to break in stealthily.
Hakkai didn�t want to avoid the youkai in the least, striding forward with his
best grin plastered all over his face.

�Good evening. Might you happen to have seen a monk
recently?� Hakkai called out in his most hospitable voice as he strode up to
the youkai standing and circling around the fire on a weak patrol. The youkai
grunted in confusion for an answer before his large, furry face became dark with
anger as Hakkai came into the light. There was a noise that was certainly some
kind of threat, but the thing was simply too mad to even speak properly. The
youkai took several paces to meet Hakkai halfway from where Goku and Gojyo were
still hiding in the snow, large claws held up in a threatening manner.

�No?� Hakkai asked before the youkai swung wildly at him
with bare hands, much more threatening than a human�s with five, long nails on
each. He ducked and dodged without even needing to think about it before
rolling around to the youkai�s side gracefully. Hakkai stopped and braced his
feet in the snow while the youkai staggered forward with the momentum of his
wild attack, exposing its back. Hakkai slammed a fist into the lower part and
heard a satisfying crack as the spine shattered underneath the force of it. The
youkai howled as it dropped to the snow in sudden paralysis, a loud and
unnecessary entrance that Hakkai hoped brought out more youkai. It would be
more to kill, which was exactly what he wanted right now.

�Hakkai, what the hell are you doing?� Gojyo demanded
loudly as he stood up with Goku close behind. They made their way over despite
having to take a large curve around the youkai that was howling and thrashing
its arms in the snow. Hakkai was tempted to kick it in the head as he passed by
the screaming youkai, but Gojyo already looked upset enough. Hakkai pursed his
lips and waited for them to come over, not about to look foolish by yelling
across the clearing.

�We�re going inside, right? What are you waiting for?�
Hakkai demanded as he turned to study the building. The roof looked old and was
starting to bow with the weight of the snow. The floors and walls were covered
with mud and water stains as well as the familiar brown streak of old blood on
the paint. It wasn�t hard to guess that youkai must have killed the residents
of this house and had made it into their own sort of headquarters to wait out
the winter.

�The damn youkai that are coming because of your stupid,
fucking entrance,� Gojyo answered as he pointed at the crowd coming down the
side of the house to investigate the screaming. Hakkai smiled, glad that their
welcoming party had finally chosen to show up. He cracked his knuckles in
pratiration with a warm grin on his face as he waited for the half dozen or so
large youkai to come to him. There was no reason to waste energy by going to
meet them. He had to make sure that any of the demons who had so much as laid a
hand on Sanzo were properly punished.

�Hakkai, leave them to me. Find Sanzo first. I can smell
his blood,� Goku demanded as he stepped forward with the nyoi-bo in both hands.
Goku could be surprisingly rational at times, even taking Hakkai off balance
that the boy had recognized Hakkai was the best person to find Sanzo right now
with his healing ability. They had to be prepared for the worse, now that it
was certain that the youkai had done violence to Sanzo. He could almost be
ashamed with himself as Goku launched himself forward with a loud cry.

�Just
go already. I�ll make sure the dumb ass is okay,� Gojyo insisted as he pulled
out the shaku-jyo next to Hakkai with a grim look on his face. They both knew
that Sanzo was much more important right now than fighting the youkai
responsible. Sanzo didn�t even care if the three of them lived or died, but he
had become and irreplaceable friend for Hakkai. Hakkai didn�t feel comfortable
in silence like he used to, instead finding himself wishing that the monk would
be yelling at them for acting like a bunch of idiots.

�All right,� Hakkai agreed before he stepped up onto the
porch as more youkai were coming from the other side of the clearing, in quite
a few numbers this time. He didn�t have time to stand around and greet the
bastards properly after they had taken such good care of Sanzo. Hakkai threw up
the arm Hakuryuu was perched on to signal for the dragon to fly away yet again,
the small creature flapping whining as it flapped its wings to gain height in
the air, obviously not happy as it started to search for a good hiding place
until he came back out.

It knew something was very wrong.

Hakkai jumped up on the porch and started jogging around
the side as the screams of Goku�s first kill followed behind. He had to
restrain himself from clapping as he rounded the corner, having to take delight
in knowing that at least one had been dispatched. Luckily enough, the front
door to the mansion was on the other side wide open, likely from the youkai
running out to greet them before. Hakkai ran through the doorway and found
himself in a deserted and messy main hall. Furniture was knocked down and broken
everywhere, a chair being used for firewood in the hearth right now. It smelled
of unwashed bodies and urine, but thankfully none of the occupants were there
to greet him.

He picked his way through the garbage strewn across the
floor, watching the floor carefully. It was only because of his desire not to
step in anything that he spotted a patch of fresh blood on the floor that was
still slightly damp and glistening in the light of the fire. Hakkai could spot
another smear of blood that was definitely made from a hand dragging across the
floor. He was very certain that this was from Sanzo by the scratch marks
covering the floor, knowing that only that monk would struggle so much. Hakkai
also noticed large, white shreds from what had been Sanzo�s robes, but there
was no hope of finding a piece big enough to be worth salvaging.

There was one sizeable circle of blood on the floor from
what Hakkai didn�t even want to think about, but only that there was no Sanzo
over it. The drying blood streaked and lead from the main puddle to a straight
line toward the hallway. Hakkai glanced around the empty room once more to make
sure that he was alone before walking cautiously alongside the blood on the
floor. He hoped that it was Sanzo, and yet at the same time didn�t. There was
no way a human could bleed this much and live.

�Sanzo?� Hakkai called out as he continued alongside the
trail of blood on the floor. It looked fresh, but he could never be sure.
Perhaps Sanzo was still alive, but considering the amount of blood he was
finding on the floor, it seemed less and less likely. Hakkai shook his head,
knowing that he couldn�t have thoughts like this or else Sanzo would really be
lost to them. He had to believe in
that chance in hell, because Sanzo had cheated death too many times before to
not now.

�Hakkai, Goku�s going absolutely fucking wild. I think
the smell of Sanzo�s blood is doing it,� Gojyo yelled as he came trotting up
behind Hakkai. The man still had the shaku-jyo held out in one hand in case any
more youkai were to greet them. Hakkai�s eyes narrowed as he noticed the trail
leading to the last door on the left with a large smear in the door way. Hakkai
touched his fingers to it and felt the malignant tingle of youkai blood,
confirming that it wasn�t Sanzo�s. It was still a struggle.

�Has the demon limiter broken?� Hakkai asked as calmly as
possible, swallowing as he distastefully wiped the blood off on his pants.
Sanzo was definitely in this room, and even if Goku was going berserk, there
were be very little Hakkai could do to stop it. Sanzo was priority, even though
it would be better to stop Goku before he could gain enough fighting driv
tr
transform into his true, unstoppaboukaoukai form.

�No, not yet,� Gojyo growled, a threat left hanging in
the air that it was probably going to change very soon. Hakkai�s eyes narrowed
and he put a hand on the doorknob, hesitating yet again because of the sudden
icy dread that was forming in the pit of his stomach. Gojyo coughed behind him,
splattered in a fair amount of youkai blood himself, even though his weapons
usually kept him relatively clean during a fight.

�Then let him,� Hakkai said very softly to Gojyo�s face.
He didn�t particularly care if it did drive the poor boy to become Son Goku. Those
youkai downstairs were responsible for the red stains covering the floor, which
had all come from Sanzo. It was too fresh to be otherwise. Hakkai wanted there
to be a good amount of punishment dished out, and Goku was particularly skilled
at accidentally beating youkai to death. The boy still didn�t know the extent
of his fantastic strength, even after five hundred years of life.

�HakkaGojyGojyo breathed behind him, obviously taken back
at this sudden lack of giving a damn. He didn�t have to be fair and gentle all
the time, and a dark part of him knew very well that the youkai deserved any
pain Goku could press on them before death. He had seen amellmelled the monk�s
blood on their fists and claws. These youkai were the worst of their kind,
losing all touch with the humanity that had kept the demons sane before Gyuumao
had started his resurrection. Being slaughtered like animals was almost too
good for them.

Hakkai gestured for Gojyo to be silent, pushing all these
thoughts aside. The redhead stood back with one hand on his hip gla glanced
over his shoulder to look down the hall in case any youkai decided to show up.
Hakkai didn�t spare a �thank you� for Gojyo, too nervous with the apprehensive
clenching of his stomach. Hakkai didn�t like this feeling, not one bit.

The door knob almost seemed to turn on its own and the
loud click of the lock almost made Hakkai jump out of his skin. He couldn�t
understand his nervousness, but he could feel a sort of wrongness inside the room. Hakkai couldn�t tell just what it was,
but it was like the feeling he got around Kougaiji and his group. It was the
presence of a powerful youkai demon that was making him hesitate as the door
swung open with an ominous creak.

The room was filled with candles, lighting up every
corner until the place was as bright as day. Hakkai could see large splatters
of blood and curiously enough, paint of all shades smeared on the wooden floor.
Everything still looked fresh and glistened in the firelight, telling Hakkai
that they couldn�t be very late at all. The window was open and large, tattered
white curtains were blowing out the window as if to point at the escaping
shadow. Hakkai could guess that whatever youkai that had been in here was
already long gone, probably alerted by the screams of his fellow demons from
downstairs.

Hakkai looked away from the window, looking for his
original reason to be here. The youkai may have escaped, but it meant the room
was empty now. It reeked of sweat and fear, the sharp and unmistakable scents
of urine and blood underneath it. But, worst of all was the stench of youkai
ejaculation, much more pungent than any human�s could be. Hakkai swallowed the
urge to gag, looking around until he finally spotted the bed against the far
wall.

He didn�t mean to gasp, used to seeing and being
responsible for many gruesome acts in his time, but it too too close to
nightmares to be real. It was Hakkai�s greatest fear manifested, so horrifying
he couldn�t help covering his mouth with a hand in horror. Gojyo peeked in
around him, the sudden tenseness of the body behind him enough to tell Hakkai
that the redhead could clearly make out the horrible sight in front of them.

Sanzo was motionless as death, naked and breathless on
the bed with his wrists still lashed to opposite head posts by blood-soaked
ropes. Sanzo had always been pale, but he was the color of the once-white
sheets rnearneath him, the mattress sodden with red-brown liquid. Hakkai could
even small chunks of flesh that had rubbed off onto the shebenebeneath his back.
Huge rents cut the skin open all over across his arms and sides, still lazily
oozing blood even though there wasn�t the slightest stir of life in the body.
Hakkai could see the dull white flash of Sanzo�s ribs in the cuts and on the
side of his thighs, the youkai obviously not caring if their victim survived or
not.

lasslass=MsoNormal style='mso-pagination:widow-orphan'> �Oh�fuck,� Gojyo wrangled out, making a choking noise like
even he might be sick just at the sight of Sanzo�s body. Hakkai couldn�t look
away, entranced and horrified. Too thin legs were still spread open on the bed,
giving testament to what must have gone on while they had been desperately
searching for the monk. Blood was everywhere, though Hakkai had not expected it
to stain Sanzo�s groins and thighs to near unrecognizable as human flesh.
Hakkai had seen youkai with half their body blown off from a not-so-well-aimed
explosion of chi that looked better than Sanzo�s very still body. He closed his
eyes, blinking long enough to have one relieved moment of ignorant darkness
before opening them again. They had been too late.

They had finally been too late.

Hakkauld uld feel it in his bones. Sanzo was dead. Humans
didn�t live through this kind of torture. Not even High Priests. Gojyo said
something to him, but it was lost as Hakkai took several staggering steps
forward, drawn to the body on the bed helplessly. As he came closer, Hakkai
noticed that above from the chin up, there were no bruises or wounds. The
youkai had left Sanzo�s face alone, as if in a finockeockery of the handsome
features that had landed the monk in the mess in the first place. Even in
death, Sanzo�s face didn�t lose its hardness, eyebrows clenched together and
teeth clenched as if the monk was still cursing the gods in his afterlife. Such
heartbreaking beautiful features, not ones a dead man should wear.

Hakkai snorted at that, though it was more of a sob. It
wasn�t Sanzo�s pretty looks, but his own damn fault that this had happened.
That Sanzo was dead. Raped until he died. Hakkai choked, almost unable to
accept the fact without being physically ill. That wasn�t the way he was
supposed to go. There wasn�t any honor, any glory anywhere. How would he ever
explain this to Goku? The miserable, numb shock left a silence clear enough to
hear the light and painful wheeze of Sanzo taking one small, impossible breath.

Hakkai�s eyes snapped open as he watched the chest lift
up ever so lightly, glistening from long slashes left by youkai�s claws. He
heard the wet sound of Sanzo�s exhale, weak and small. Hakkai didn�t know what
to do for a moment, more than certain that it must be Sanzo�s last breath. How
could anyone be alive after taking so many injuries? The chestttenttened out
and Sanzo didn�t move after that, the mere act of breathing being his final
moment.

�Hakkai,� Gojyo hissed in a low, dangerous voice as he
suddenly snagged Hakkai�s upper arm, shaking him back into some sense of reason.
He stared into Gojyo�s familiar eyes and found himself rather lost, frightened
of touching Sanzo right now, like a child seeing blood for the first time. He
couldn�t even consider healing Sanzo right now, couldn�t even get his feet to
move. He was so miserable, pathetic and helpless when Sanzo obviously needed
his help, just overwhelmed be sme smell of blood, sweat, piss, and sex.

�Hakkai, do something,�
Gojyo hissed as the man yanked him forward even closer to the thing dying on the bed. It couldn�t be
considered human now. Hakkai closed his eyes once, trying to remind himself
that it was Sanzo and hold back his own cowardly revulsion to blood. It was
silly to be so sensitive to that precious, red source of life after killing so
many in varyingly gruesome ways�but looking at Sanzo now made him feel severely
ill. It was hard to breathe as his cheeks hollowed out and his stomach started
to clench.

Gojyo�s tightened his grip on Hakkai�s arm before simply
dropping him, letting Hakkai fall to an awkward half-seat on the side of the
bed. The side of his leg already felt damp with warm, sticky blood that had
trailed off the side of the bed and to the floor. He couldn�t believe that all
of this was Sanzo�s alone. Hesitantly, Hakkai put a hand on Sanzo�s chest,
ignoring the feeling of broken skin parting underneath his fingers and dull
throb of a heartbeat that was still trying to provide life. Hakkai touched the
smooth bone of Sanzo�s ribcage without meaning to and had to clench his teeth together
to keep from jumping away in disgust. This wasn�t something a normal person
should have to go through, neither Sanzo nor he. Hakkai hated every time he had to heal Sanzo, each instance he had to coax
the body back into living when anyone else would have let it be a mercy death.

It was amazing what the human body could survive through.
There was an incredible amount of life force gathered up in every joint and
vein underneath the skin. It only took a moment�s concentration for Hakkai to gather
his own chi together and push it through the lines controlling the flow all the
way to his hands. It was a harder thing to get another body to let him into the
new and unique flow of life force. Hakkai should be familiar with Sanzo by now after
having to heal the small blonde so many times, but even now it was still just
as hard as the first time.

Sanzo had a life force and a controlling willpower that
far surpassed any average human being. Hakkai gritted his teeth and tried to
weave himself wha what felt like a stone wall. Sanzo always resisted at first,
unconsciously and instinctively no matter how badly he was injured. Hakkai
could only try harder because Gojyo was expecting him to save Sanzo, regardless
of his how badly wounded he looked. Sanzo was probably not even going to let
Hakkai in before he bled to death.

Hakkai couldn�t hold in a reflexive gasp when the �wall�
he had come across suddenly collapsed. Hakkai could see the lines of Sanzo�s
chi as clearly in his mind as though it was a physical thing. Nothing but
immense warmth that surpassed the sun surred Hed Hakkai�s mind, threatening to
steal away reason and thought. It was peaceful and welcoming, a spiritual
strength that Hakkai could easily be lost in. Hakkai was surprised every time
that such purity of a soul was found in none other than High Priest Sanzo Genjo
himself.

The thought of Sanzo�s name was enough to recall the
attitude and violence that also accompanied the lifeless body he wasn�t
healing. Hakkai forced himself to keep his eyes closed so he would keep the
hard-earned connection with Sanzo. From here on, the slightest frivolous
thought could kill both Sanzo and him. Hakkai refused to be responsible for
Sanzo�s death, not just because he would have three Gods after him, but because
he would also lose one dear friend.

The body knew how to heal itself. All Hakkai had to do
was guide that inner strength into full use. Sanzo had an amazing amount of
will power to live and a stubborn confidence that helped Hakkai every time. It
was no different now, a small coherent thought in the midst of the swirling and
wild mess that was determined to survive. Sanzo�s single-mindedness took
control of Hakkai�s strength and begun the process itself.

Revenge, clear
as if Sanzo had said it himself right now. Hakkai let himself be used, adding
his own strength into Sanzo�s will to live as flesh and muscle began to
tremble. It was painful to hear the squishing sounds of the body stretched and
molded together under his fingers. It was unnaturally fast, tender and as
delicate as any craftwork. It was like the fine work of a spider web, ready to
fall apart at the slightest brush of a hand� or kill both Sanzo and Hakkai at
the slightest mistake.

Except it worked. Golden power took him over and was
fixing the worst first. The body knew what to do better than Hakkai coeverever
do, even though he foolishly thought himself knowledgeable about medicine. He
wasn�t aware of his own breath being stolen away, concentrating too hard on
forcing Sanzo�s own lungs to keep pumping. Even though his body was knitting
together and healing at a rapid speed, it could still forget the simple
functions of breathing.

One heartbeat. Hakkai tried to think of his own even
though sweat started to break out on his forehead. He listened to it behind the
absolute darkness of eyelids, his own heartbeat, his mind wrapped in blinding
light at the same time. He felt dizzy and sick, unable to find the rhythm for a
moment. He almost became frantic, but Sanzo�s own heart made a ragged beat that
echoed thhouthout the yellow center of the man�s being. It let Hakkai recall
his own place in this, too carried away by Sanzo�s stre to to watch carefully.

Another heartbeat. There was a rhythm, slow and calm
despite the horrid scene they had stumbled in on. Hakkai couldn�t let the healing
go on for much longer. That could be just as damaging and even worse if he drew
on too much. He could drain Sanzo�s life force so badly without meaning to
because it seemed so limitless. Sanzo was still human with or without the tremendous
spirit that resided within him.

�Hakkai,� Gojyo�s voice pierced through the rapport and
the hand on Hakkai�s shoulder nearly stopped his heart. Hakkai was brought back
to himself, aware of his fingers and toes before he realized he was almost
falling over Sanzo. Gojyo had caught him before Hakkai had a chance to dive on
Sanzo�s chest and ruin the little repairs he had managed to help along. Hakkai
didn�t mind being ripped away so suddenly, more than certain that he wouldn�t have
been able to drag himself out. Hakkai was weak-willed when it came ending these
connections, because he could never call when it would finally be enough.

Hakkai started to take a breath before it turned into a
desperate sob for air as Gojyo pulled him back. His vision wavered and a hazy grey
grew at the edges of his eyes until Hakkai felt sick to his stomach. All he
could think of was how thankful he was that Gojyo had caught him before he�d
fallen on Sanzo and ruptured all of the healing he�d managed. Hakkai tried to
regain control of his own body first, gaining back his breath and pushing away
the lightheadedness.
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Never No Answer