It was over. Gyoumao was dead. No one person could take credit for the final blow but that didn't matter to the survivors. Kougaiji dealt the death blow to Gyokumen Koushu, whispering in her ear, "For my Mother." Four years, countless youkai deaths and too many bruises to count. The smell of blood and death was all around him. Even the sky seemed to drip with blood. Groans were all that the survivors could manage and even that sound was becoming fainter every minute.
"Is anyone dead? Raise your hand if you are." A cough followed the sound of someone hauling their tired body off the ground. "Come on guys, one of you bastards better answer me. Hakkai? Sanzo? Stupid Monkey?" The tall redhead looked around at the destruction around him. "Nobody gonna answer me?" He lit a cigarette. "Shit, I was hoping I didn't have to move." He took a long drag on the cigarette. He poked at the bodies near his feet. Spying a tree trunk, he moved slowly toward it, stepping over fallen youkai as he made his way through the forest.
Groaning, Sha Gojyo sat down on the massive tree trunk that used to be a tree over 50 feet high. Hakkai did that with his chi. He got pretty good with manipulating chi in the four years since they started this hellish journey. At first, the Sanzo party stayed out of the way as Hakkai learned to control his chi. Gojyo smiled as he thought of the time Hakkai nearly burned off all of Goku's hair with a wild shot. "Stupid monkey better be alive or I'm going to hell to kick his ass." Gojyo ran his fingers through his wild hair, messing it up even more. "Sanzo! Answer me you jerk!"
"God, could you be any louder?" Genjo Sanzo said as he stumbled to the tree trunk where Gojyo was sitting. "Give me a cigarette." Sanzo held out his hand.
"These things will kill you, ya know." Gojyo smiled as he reached in his pocket for another one. Thank goodness for hard packs. "Can't you even say please, your majesty?"
"Just give me a fucking cigarette and shut your mouth or I'll do to you what these dead youkai didn't do!" Sanzo raised his gun and pointed it right between Gojyo's eyes. "Now!"
"Touchy, touchy. Almost getting killed sure hasn't softened you any." Gojyo said as he handed Sanzo a cigarette. "Have you found Hakkai or Goku yet?"
"No but I haven't been looking. I've been trying to get my damn beat up body off the ground and find you're sorry ass." Sanzo took a deep drag on the smoke, closing his eyes, nearly falling off the trunk. "The last time I saw Hakkai, he was over by the river bank. He was fighting off 3 demons who were determined to rip out his other eye." Sanzo blew a perfect ring. Even beat up, he still made it look like he was sitting and watching the clouds go by. "How about Goku?"
"I thought he was near you."
"He was but we got separated. He chased a demon that was swinging an ax at your back." Sanzo glanced at Gojyo. "I can't believe you didn't hear him crashing through the forest."
"He's not my pet. I'm not responsible for the little monkey." Gojyo turned away from Sanzo and looked at his feet. He didn't want the monk to see the regret in his eyes as he thought about how during the thick of battle, he never gave a thought to Goku. He just figured Sanzo would have his back.
"Get off your ass and get moving. If we haven't heard Hakkai or Goku calling our names by now, they need help." Gojyo stood up and held out a hand to Sanzo. "What? Can't a guy be a gentleman now and then?"
Sanzo slapped Gojyo's hand away, mumbling something about the day he took help from a freaking water sprite, would be the day that he shaved his head. Sanzo stood up and looked around him. Bodies littered the ground as far as he could see. The birds finally started singing again and the forest was once again coming to life as the sounds of battle faded.
Leaving the forest behind, Gojyo and Sanzo made their way to the river bank. It wasn't so bad here. The main battle took place in the forest where the youkai felt they would have the advantage by hiding behind trees and attacking from above. They were sorely mistaken. Goku could climb a tree like, well like a monkey, so he took away any advantage that the youkai thought they had.
The river moved swiftly in the dying light. Gojyo and Sanzo knew they only had a few hours of daylight left to search for their companions. Both men cleaned themselves up best they could and drank their fill of the cool, clear water. There weren't many bodies around the bank but there were lots of tall weeds for someone to hide in. By unspoken agreement, Gojyo turned left and Sanzo turned right to search for Hakkai and Goku.
As Sanzo made his way along the river bank, he couldn't help the feeling that something just wasn't' right. Goku and Hakkai should have been nearby and he should have been able to hear them if they called out. "Hakkai, can you hear me? Goku, where the hell are you?" Sanzo shouted. He could hear Gojyo yelling further down the river. "Damn weeds, can't see for shit." Sanzo lit another cigarette, smirking as he thought of Gojyo's reaction when he realized that his smokes were gone. Sanzo stopped and looked around. He was coming to a bend in the river and he didn't want to get lost. A small piece of cloth caught his attentions. It looked like a scrap from Goku's cape.
Sanzo started running calling out to Goku. A large tree growing right next to the river loomed in front of him. "Goku! Answer me, damn it!" All of a sudden the large leaves began to shake and the branches swayed alarmingly. Sanzo stopped and pulled out his gun. He wasn't going to be caught unawares again. Sanzo backed up to the trunk of the tree and looked up. There, in the upper branches, was a bare foot. He tossed his cigarette in the river and aimed the gun. He had the perfect shot but he wouldn't take any chances. He would wait for his prey to come down so there was no chance of a wild shot. More leaves fell and a few branches snapped, making Sanzo's entire body tense.
"What the…?" Sanzo paused almost lowering his gun. Humming? Who the hell was humming? And badly, too. "Gonna eat tonight, gonna fill my belly, gonna eat good tonight!" Sanzo slapped his face with the palm of his hand. There he was. The stupid monkey went off on his own to find food! Sanzo looked up at the body making it's way down the tree, hanging on to dear life what little fruit he could find.
Son Goku landed at the base of the tree, grinning like an idiot. He took a bite of fruit and sighed. "Oh, yeah! Finally!" A hand holding a huge white fan suddenly came out of nowhere. WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! "You stupid monkey! What were you thinking?That's right, you weren't thinking of anything! Did you even stop to think that there might be more youkai around or even care enough to find anyone else? NO! You just think with your damn stomach all the time!" Sanzo was so angry he was shaking. He dropped the fan to his side and did something that no one ever had seen before; he grabbed Goku and hugged him. "I've been looking for you and Hakkai for almost an hour and here you are…eating. Where have you been?" Sanzo pulled back from the hug and shook Goku so hard, he dropped the fruit he was holding.
"Watch it with the fan, Sanzo. I've already got enough bruises on my head to last for a while and I don't need anymore." Goku rubbed the top of his head, hissing as his hand found a few more lumps on his head than he had a few hours ago. "I went to get fruit for all of us. I didn't know if anyone was alive but I was gonna make sure that we all had something to eat if we made it out alive. Where's the water sprite?" Goku looked around behind Sanzo. "Is he with you?"
"He went to opposite way I did to look for Hakkai. We knew the last place Hakkai was seen was by the river so this was the most obvious place to look."
"I think I saw Kougaiji and his bunch down where Gojyo is headed. Maybe they know where Hakkai is. If he is hurt, Yaone can help heal him."
"Alright, get your fruit and let's move!"
Meanwhile, Gojyo had been running for quite some time and he was getting worried. All the bodies he came across were youkai and there wasn't a single sign of Hakkai. He didn't know what he would do if he lost Hakkai. Memories flooded his mind, taking him back to when he first met the demon slayer. Just like the first time he saw Hakkai, night was coming on fast. With the tall weeds and daylight fading, the chances of easily finding Hakkai were becoming slim. He started shouting again at the top of his lungs. A voice caught his attention. A female voice. A very familiar female voice.
Lirin! If Lirin was near, that meant Kougaiji and Dokugakuji and Yaone were probably there as well. If Hakkai was hurt, Yaone would know what to do. As Gojyo picked up speed, he began saying under his breath,"please, please". It was the closest time Gojyo came to praying in his adult life. He came to a sudden stop, taking in the scene before him. They all were there; Lirin, Kougaiji, Dokugakuji and Yaone. That wasn't what made his body go cold with fear. It was the sight of Hakkai on the ground with his head in Yaone's lap.